{"id":60518,"date":"2024-08-09T10:46:30","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T14:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=60518"},"modified":"2024-08-12T11:02:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T15:02:06","slug":"an-accelerated-year-to-remember-utcs-first-absn-cohort-celebrates-graduation-and-new-beginnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/08\/an-accelerated-year-to-remember-utcs-first-absn-cohort-celebrates-graduation-and-new-beginnings\/","title":{"rendered":"An accelerated year to remember: UTC\u2019s first ABSN cohort celebrates graduation and new beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The first cohort of the UTC ABSN program, including (from left) Taniya Nichols, Katelyn Nash and Addison Holt, attended a pinning ceremony at St. Paul\u2019s Episcopal Church. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Having conquered a rigorous three-semester, 59-credit-hour curriculum in just one year, the inaugural cohort of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program has officially crossed the finish line.<\/p>\n

During a late-afternoon Honors and Recognition Ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 8, at St. Paul\u2019s Episcopal Church in Chattanooga, 15 ABSN students and four new graduates of the RN-BSN Gateway program\u2014registered nurses who returned to school to earn their BSN\u2014participated in the traditional pinning event symbolizing the completion of their UTC School of Nursing program.<\/p>\n

For the 15 ABSN students, the ceremony marked their transition from students to professional nurses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all understand that this is monumental for our School of Nursing. These 15 individuals represent a significant milestone for us,\u201d School of Nursing Director Chris Smith said in her welcoming remarks. \u201cNeedless to say, these students sitting here have experienced something that we weren\u2019t quite sure what it was going to be like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.

Dr. Chris Smith provides welcome remarks<\/p><\/div>\n

Announced in February 2023\u2014with a first class beginning with the start of the fall 2023 semester\u2014the UTC ABSN program stems from a critical nursing shortage impacting health care nationwide.<\/p>\n

The ABSN program was created for individuals who already hold bachelor\u2019s degrees in other fields who wanted to transition into nursing careers. The program allows these students to bypass the prerequisites, general education and elective courses required for traditional full-time nursing undergraduates.<\/p>\n

The ABSN students took 19, 20, and 20 credit hours during the three semesters; in contrast, Smith said the typical undergraduate course load is 12 to 13 hours each semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve completed more than 950 clinical hours in three semesters,\u201d she continued. \u201cThese students have been in class an average of eight hours a day when they are in clinical or the community facility\u2014and 12-hour clinical experiences once and maybe sometimes twice a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith lauded the first cohort for being a tight-knit group \u201clifting each other up in any way they could\u201d because they were committed to everyone being successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe saying, \u2018A rising tide lifts all boats,\u2019 is extremely true for this class. All were lifted because each and every one wanted the same thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Smith said that the RN predictor suggests that all 15 will pass their licensure exam on the first attempt.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are the first, and future cohorts will be different. The challenges will be different,\u201d she told the ABSN graduates. \u201c(Your) legacy has been set. All others most likely will be measured against you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sierra

Sierra Davis, left, and Dr. Brooke Epperson<\/p><\/div>\n

ABSN graduate Sierra Davis earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in exercise science from UTC in 2021. She said she worked in a pediatric outpatient clinic for two years and \u201cfell in love with the medical profession. I decided I wanted to go to nursing school.\u201d<\/p>\n

After looking at accelerated programs around the country last year, she learned that UTC was launching a program of its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cI applied for it and I was like, \u2018This is perfect. I\u2019m used to UTC and I love it here,\u201d said Davis, a native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, who is set to begin working in the pediatric intensive care unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.<\/p>\n

The year, she said, was wild and very hectic and \u201cwent by super fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like my cohort has gotten so close, and the professors have been such great supporters,\u201d Davis said. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have been possible without us coming together as a cohesive unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was crazy, but it was a really good year full of great learning opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katelyn Nash, the cohort\u2019s class representative in addressing the audience, is a graduate of Gordon Lee High School in nearby Chickamauga, Georgia. She received a bachelor\u2019s degree in biology with an emphasis on pre-med from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix in 2018\u2014where she was a member of the school\u2019s basketball team.<\/p>\n

\"Katelyn

Katelyn Nash<\/p><\/div>\n

After her time in Arizona, she earned a Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Vanguard University in California.<\/p>\n

\u201cI then went and worked a year in a hospital to try to figure out what avenue I wanted to take into medicine; I didn\u2019t want to make a rush decision,\u201d Nash said of her time as a tech at CHI Memorial. She then worked for two years in Unum\u2019s short-term disability department.<\/p>\n

When she heard about the launching of the ABSN program, \u201cit was a game changer for me,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI knew I wanted to go into nursing and (my husband) was very supportive of me going wherever I needed to go to get the best degree possible. But I was a little bit set on a one-year program. I knew that\u2019s what I wanted to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when this program opened up, it was honestly life-changing for me because I knew I didn\u2019t have to move. It allowed me to stay with my family. It allowed me to keep stability while also getting a really quality education that I would say would rival the best in the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September, Nash starts her residency in Erlanger\u2019s surgical ICU.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, it was hard work, but everything in life that\u2019s worth anything is hard work,\u201d she said in summarizing her last year. \u201cIncredible people are surrounding you here, and I wouldn\u2019t trade it for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The accelerated program accepts and enrolls a new cohort of students each semester\u2014fall, spring and summer\u2014creating a continual admission and graduation cycle. When UTC\u2019s fall 2024 semester commences on Monday, Aug. 19, the ABSN program will introduce its fourth cohort of students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t have the words to describe how excited I am right now,\u201d Dr. Jason Peter\u2014the ABSN program coordinator and Mary B. Jackson assistant professor\u2014said before the ceremony began. \u201cThis cohort has just done so well throughout the entire program. I know that every one of them is going to make an incredible nurse and they\u2019re really going to be there to combat the nursing shortage that we\u2019re experiencing here in this country and in this city. They\u2019re just wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Named the top Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in the country by Nurse.org, the UTC School of Nursing program boasts a 100% employment rate and a five-year average pass rate of 97% on the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN) for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates.<\/p>\n

ABSN first cohort graduates<\/h4>\n