IVCC nurses to seek accreditation
By Jo Zulkowsky
The IVCC Associated Degree Nursing Program will be undergoing a voluntary accreditation in February of 1999. The accreditation will be done by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC).
Bonnie Grusk, chair of the Health Professions Division, said the nursing program has to follow set guidelines and meet certain standards in order to be accredited.
The accreditation process involved preparing a self study report to validate that they do what they are supposed to do. In this report, there are eight standards and 19 criteria that must be addressed. The second part of the accreditation involves peer evaluation.
From February 23-25 there will be two nurse educators on campus to evaluate the nursing program. They are from North Carolina and Florida; one has a Ph.D. and the other a Masters Degree.
On February 25, a preliminary report of the nurse educators’ findings will be given to the IVCC nursing staff. Grusk explained that the preliminary report will give the nursing staff an idea as to where they stand.
The final results won't be in until the findings are reviewed by the NLNAC board in June. Grusk said the nursing staff members are thinking positively as they hope for an eight-year accreditation with a possible two year progress report.
The previous accreditation was done in 1994, with a recommendation made for another accreditation to be done in 1999. Grusk said in 1994 the NLNAC board felt that IVCC had things in place but they needed to keep better records. She said she feels that the NLNAC Boards concerns have since been answered.
The nursing program has been preparing for this evaluation since 1996. They have revised and reconstructed their philosophical concepts, objectives, outcomes of their own systematic evaluation plans and sent out post graduate surveys to past students and to their employers.
The feedback from the surveys has been used to make improvements and other changes in the nursing program, enabling students to function better after graduation.
The voluntary accreditation has many benefits to IVCC nursing faculty and students, Grusk said. A major benefit is that this accreditation enables IVCC to keep up to date with national standards for Associate Degree Nursing Programs. The NLNAC board makes recommendations for improvements as happened with IVCCs program in 1994
NLNAC accreditation also helps to quicken the process for graduates who intend to receive a Bachelors Degree. If IVCC's standards are the same as the national standards then testing and classes won't have to be repeated.
Also grants for nursing students are available through NLNAC to students who enroll at a college with their program.
Overall the NLNAC accreditation helps IVCC's nursing program to keep up with the constant changes in health care, Grusk said.
As a part of the accreditation, the nurse educators don't just evaluate the A.S. degree nursing program, Grusk said. They look at the entire college. They look to see if classes unrelated to nursing are beneficial to the nursing students and at the departments to see if they are helpful to the nursing program.
"This (accreditation)is a good process used to better educate students, which in turn makes a good program better," Grusk said. She added that "this is a faculty driven process that is making them more aware of what everyone does."
Public notice – nurse accreditation
The public is invited to comment on the Associate Degree Nursing program at Illinois Valley Community College as part of the program’s February visit by its national accrediting agency, the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.
IVCC is seeking public comments in preparation for its evaluation visit Feb. 23-25, 1999. IVCC has been accredited by the NLN/NLNAC since 1968.
The team will review IVCC’s ongoing ability to meet requirements for accreditation.
All comments should be directed to Bonnie Grusk and received in writing by January 23, 1998. A time will be scheduled for an open meeting with site visitors during the visit.
For more information contact Bonnie Grusk at 224-2720, ext. 485.
12/10/98