The University of Colorado College of Nursing (UC-CON) and the Community College of Aurora (CCA) held a reception Nov. 4 in the Health Sciences Library to celebrate the launch of the new Integrated Nursing Pathway Program.
Officials at CCA and UC-CON at the Anschutz Medical Campus announced the creation of the Integrated Pathway to Baccalaureate Nursing Education Program (Integrated Nursing Pathway) in June. The program is a collaboration that will benefit students looking for a meaningful career and health care providers who seek to hire baccalaureate-prepared nurses with outstanding preparation for professional practice.
The first cohort of 17 students was admitted to the program and attended an orientation on Aug. 19. This first group of students represents a very diverse population regarding gender, ethnicity and age.
The program is designed to increase access for CCA students to baccalaureate nursing education, and its creators say the partnership is among the first in the country and the first in Colorado. CCA is noted for its innovative programs in science and support services for its exceptionally diverse community; the UC-CON is known nationally for excellence in nursing education, clinical practice, and research. Students accepted into the Integrated Nursing Pathway will successfully earn an Associate of General Studies degree from CCA before moving seamlessly to UC-CON to earn a Bachelor of Science.
Students will be simultaneously admitted to both institutions and will be supported throughout their 126-credit program by a top-quality team of faculty and other professionals dedicated to their success.
Reception attendees included students from this inaugural class of the program, members of their families, Melissa Miller, Aurora city council woman, Ledy Garcia-Eckstein, senior management analyst from Denver’s Office of Economic Development, Division of Workforce Development, Bernice Harris, PhD, formerly with CCA and now provost of Community College of Denver, CCA President Linda Bowman, PhD, UC-CON Dean Patricia Moritz, PhD, RN, FAAN, Nancy Case, PhD, RN, Dean of the CCA Health Sciences Division, other CCA and UC-CON faculty and administrators, UC Denver Provost Roderick Nairn, PhD, and chief nursing officers from area hospitals.
Photos: Top, from left, Nancy Case, dean at the Community College of Aurora, Colleen Goode, RN, PhD, professor at the College of Nursing, both of whom helped start the program with UC- CON’s Gayle Preheim, RN, EdD (not pictured), and Dean Patricia Moritz, CON. Bottom, 17 students have been chosen for the first cohort.