Moria Dailey
Published: October 12, 2005
Those who hold a bachelor’s of science in nursing and wish to pursue master’s degrees or post-master’s level certifications, to become nurse educators, can now do so at PJC’s Warrington campus.
Thanks to the SUCCEED Florida grant received by Florida State University, and the university’s Florida Panhandle Nurse Educator Project, students at PJC are now able to complete post-graduate studies through Florida State.
Students who wish to participate in this program must apply to Florida State, upon being accepted then complete the courses required at PJC Warrington. The courses are offered via distance learning, currently with videos and online courses, said Janice Ingle, PJC’s director of nursing.
In the future, the money received from the grant will be put toward equipment for interactive television (ITV) lessons, said Eddie Page, the nursing graduate program advisor at Florida State. ITV is a system that will seem as if students at PJC are sitting in the classroom at the university.
“Classes will be taught here on the main campus in Tallahassee,” Page said, “[and] with the ITV, it’ll be like the students in Pensacola are here. They’ll be seen and heard, as well as see and hear [other students and instructors]. It’s completely interactive.”
Page said that the point of the grant received was to increase the number of nursing instructors in the state of Florida. He also said that while the SUCCEED Florida grant provides for only a year of the program, the university plans to continue to maintain a presence at all the colleges and offer all the programs they are offering now.
“[The program] went over extremely well,” Page said, explaining, “There are seven students pursuing master’s degrees and 15 pursuing post-master’s level certifications.”