By By Michele Gerlach
Special to the Advance
The approximately 1,200 graduates of Jefferson Davis Community College's nursing program have received special mail from their alma mater in recent days, inviting them to attend a reception celebrating the 30th anniversary of the nursing program.
The reception, set for 5 until 6:30 p.m. this Thursday, May 1, will precede nursing pinning at 7.
"Our department first admitted students in 1970," said Ann Mantel, nursing and allied health division chair at JDCC. "We continue to be successful in nursing education. Our graduates do well as RNs and many are pursing bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing."
Included in the mailing sent to nursing graduates is a survey designed to help JDCC administrators better determine where nursing graduates are and how many have received advanced degrees. The survey is addressed and pre-stamped for the convenience of recipients.
Recent growth in JDCC's nursing enrollment mirrors the growing need for registered nurses in the workplace. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates there currently are more than 100,000 vacant nursing positions in the United States. The Department of Labor expects the shortage of nurses to increase to 434,000 by the year 2020.
JDCC's nursing program is fully accredited by the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission and has full approval of the Alabama Board of Nursing. Fifty-five percent of all new professional nurses in Alabama during the past three years have graduated from Alabama College System institutions.