Rhodes honors first RN to BSN graduates

LIMA — Rhodes State College held its first pinning ceremony for graduates of its new Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program Wednesday, a milestone achievement for the community college.

The community college started offering the RN to BSN transition program — the college’s first bachelor’s degree — to registered nurses last fall to alleviate the region’s nursing shortage.

Five students recently completed the program: Thomas Coon, Kiera Leiss, Mallory Neargarder, Timothy Ranes and Julie Retcher.

“This degree will help elevate them to a promotion or get them to a different position within their healthcare facilities,” said Dr. Melissa Harvey, assistant dean of nursing.

She added, “Employers want that baccalaureate-prepared nurse to take leadership positions.”

Rhodes is one of the first community colleges in Ohio to offer an RN to BSN degree, a pathway for working registered nurses who have finished their associate’s degree to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Classes are primarily delivered online, though students complete two days of intensive training at the Rhodes State downtown campus simulation labs and a practicum in the field.

“Many of our students are working parents that would not be able to go to a four-year university,” Harvey said. “They just can’t, so this offers our nursing workforce the opportunity to get this degree at a community college at an economic cost, but still with the rigors of a high-quality education.”

Rhodes President Cynthia Spiers said the college plans to launch a three-year, pre-licensure bachelor’s degree in nursing program, which would become the college’s second bachelor’s degree.