TIFTON—With the 2020 fall semester just underway, more students are enrolled in nursing classes at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College that at any other time in the 54-year history of the program at ABAC.
“The reputation of the ABAC nursing program has never been higher,” ABAC President David Bridges said. “ABAC turns out quality graduates who are much sought after in an industry that looks for more nurses every day.”
ABAC Registrar Amy Willis said 326 students are currently enrolled in associate degree nursing classes at ABAC Tifton and ABAC Bainbridge. That figure tops the 304 students who were enrolled in classes at the two locations in 2019.
A total of 895 ABAC students are pursuing nursing degrees, many of those taking core curriculum classes to prepare them for the nursing program. Fifty-nine students in that total are enrolled in ABAC’s bachelor’s degree program in nursing.
“This impressive increase in enrollment speaks volumes about the quality of our nursing program, our faculty, and our clinical partners,” Dr. Jeffrey Ross, Interim Dean for the ABAC School of Nursing and Heath Sciences, said.
Ross said that employers throughout the state hire ABAC graduates, knowing they will provide incomparable patient care while being leaders within their institutions.
“I also attribute this increase to our various program options, the diversity of clinical experiences we provide due to our hospital and healthcare facility partnerships, our graduates’ performance on the NCLEX-RN licensure exam, and the fact that all of this is achieved at an extremely reasonable cost for students,” Ross said.
ABAC nursing major Reagan Clack from Leesburg believes the preparation she is receiving will pay dividends in her career.
“I chose ABAC because it felt like home when I was on campus visiting, and everyone here wants to see you be successful,” Clack said. “The nursing program is a great example of that because it prepares you with all the skills and knowledge you will need by using all the incredible hands-on resources ABAC has to teach students.”
Alejandro Torres from Ambrose completed his ABAC bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2019 through the RN to BSN program.
“I love the nursing program at ABAC and the profession for helping me grow in ways I didn’t know possible,” Torres said. “The nursing faculty motivated me to work my hardest academically and professionally.”
Ross said ABAC offers two widely sought-after associate degrees in healthcare for both beginning undergraduate students and current healthcare professionals.
“We offer both a traditional track to becoming an RN and an option for practical nurses, paramedics, and respiratory therapists to become registered in just one year through the Bridge track,” Ross said. “We are proud to boast one of the highest NCLEX RN pass rates in the state and a 100 per cent employment rate for our graduates.”
For more information about ABAC’s nursing program, interested persons can contact Ross at jeffrey.ross@abac.edu.
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