{"id":949,"date":"2021-09-28T11:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T17:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/?p=949"},"modified":"2021-10-19T14:26:56","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T20:26:56","slug":"accs-nursing-program-recognized-as-one-of-the-best-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/blog\/2021\/09\/28\/accs-nursing-program-recognized-as-one-of-the-best-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC\u2019s Nursing Program recognized as one of the best in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Austin Community College District\u2019s (ACC) Nursing program is being recognized as one of the best in Texas. A new report released by Nursing Schools Almanac \u2013\u2013 a comprehensive and analytical resource for prospective students \u2014 ranked&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nursingschoolsalmanac.com\/rankings\/adn\/texas\">ACC\u2019s associate degree in nursing (ADN) program 5th overall, outranking every other Central Texas institution.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Almanac ranked programs based on several factors through an extensive database from 2011 through 2020, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) pass rate<\/li><li>Academic prestige and perceived value<\/li><li>Breadth and depth of nursing programs offered<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cI am proud of the work our faculty and students continue to do to meet the growing demand of nurses to serve Central Texas,\u201d says Dr. Nina Almasy, ACC dean of Health Sciences. \u201cThere is no secret we are facing a shortage of nurses. As one of the largest and well-respected nursing programs in the state, our program remains committed to filling the workforce need while continuing to offer high-quality education by utilizing state of the art simulation technology and innovative teaching strategies.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ACC Nursing Student Achievements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 250 nursing students graduate from ACC every year, with 247 already earning their degree so far in 2021. Graduates are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) to become a licensed RN. Pass rates among first-time test-takers at ACC averaged 93.9 percent over the last decade according to the Almanac \u2014 consistently exceeding&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsbn.org\/1237.htm?_ga=2.11084721.446595180.1632345427-1967529461.1632345427\">state and national averages<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Growing Need for Skilled Nurses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects there will be a need for 1.1 million new RNs by 2022 due to healthcare expansions and upcoming retirements. BLS says over the next decade, employment is expected to grow 7 percent faster than average for all occupations with an average yearly salary of more than $76,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ACC provides a full nursing career pathway, from the fast track&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/continue.austincc.edu\/nurseaide\">certified nurse aide<\/a>&nbsp;(CNA) (currently offered as part of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/news\/2020\/12\/acc-extends-expands-tuition-cuts-fast-track-training-programs\">50 percent fast-track tuition discount<\/a>), to an advanced certificate in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/academic-and-career-programs\/areas-of-study\/health-sciences\/nursing\/vocational-nursing\">vocational nursing<\/a>&nbsp;(LVN) or an associate degree in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/academic-and-career-programs\/areas-of-study\/health-sciences\/nursing\/professional-nursing\">professional nursing<\/a>&nbsp;to become an RN. The college also offers a pathway toward a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing through the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/academic-and-career-programs\/areas-of-study\/health-sciences\/nursing\/rn-to-bsn\">RN-to-BSN program<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/10\/Amarachi-Amaikwu-Vocational-Nursing-scr.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-952\" width=\"458\" height=\"304\"\/><figcaption>ACC RN-to-BSN student Amarachi Amaikwu <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy experience at ACC has equipped me with the skills, compassion, and spirit of service to tend to the needs of others. Working toward my Professional Nursing degree has been a challenge, but rewarding,\u201d says Amarachi Amaikwu, ACC professional nursing student. \u201cThroughout my time, I also worked full-time as a licensed vocational nurse. On top of that, the snowstorm in February took a lot of strength and effort to overcome and catch up on school work. I am so excited to continue at ACC and work toward my BSN this fall.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI became a Licensed Vocational Nurse decades ago and told myself I would go back to school when my son was older. I got just comfortable enough financially, I didn\u2019t go back until now. My son is now 33 years old. I guess it\u2019s better late than never,\u201d says Nichelle Hudnall, ACC professional nursing student. \u201cI had to cut my hours to do the program and overcome some major test anxiety, but the professors were firm and fair. They pushed me out of my comfort zone which helped me grow.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nursingschoolsalmanac.com\/rankings\/lvn\/texas\">ACC\u2019s LVN program was also recognized, with a 94.2 percent first-time NCLEX pass rate over the past decade.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, visit the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.austincc.edu\/degrees-and-certificates\/areas-of-study\/health-sciences\/nursing\">&nbsp;college\u2019s Nursing Program webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Austin Community College District\u2019s (ACC) Nursing program is being recognized as one of the best in Texas. A new report released by Nursing Schools Almanac \u2013\u2013 a comprehensive and analytical resource for prospective students \u2014 ranked&nbsp;ACC\u2019s associate degree in nursing (ADN) program 5th overall, outranking every other Central Texas institution.&nbsp; The Almanac ranked programs based [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[12,119],"class_list":["post-949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chancellors-priorities","tag-awards","tag-nursing","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infohub.austincc.edu\/shared-governance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}