Acadian Offers Fast-Track to Nursing Program

Ten Acadian Ambulance Service paramedics are participating in a pilot program at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, LA, that puts them on a fast track toward licensure as registered nurses.

Because of paramedics’ prior knowledge and experience, Nicholls is providing them with an accelerated curriculum in which they can earn an Associate of Science degree in Nursing in 15 months, as opposed to the normal curriculum of five full semesters or 2½ years.

The program is a cooperative effort between the university, Acadian Ambulance Service, South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) and the state Department of Labor.

Dr. Thomas Smith, associate professor and coordinator of the Nicholls “Paramedic to Associate of Science Degree in Nursing Articulation,” says the curriculum can be compressed because of “the existing knowledge of the paramedics and the teaching ability of our faculty.”

Smith says the program should be a model for the nation.

The 10 enrollees have the option of attending lectures on campus or through state-of-the art interactive videoconferencing technology at Louisiana Technical College-Lafayette Campus, Smith says. “The laboratory and clinical component will be done hands-on at the Nicholls campus in Thibodaux; and the third component of clinical learning experience is at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center.”

Smith says he has “nothing but good things to say” about the 10 medics chosen for the program. “It is a very positive, highly motivated group. I see nothing but success here. It should be a model, not just for the state, but for other areas of the country.”

Participant Seth Porche of New Iberia, an Acadian paramedic with 11 years of experience, says the course work is intense and the commitment of the group is strong. “We’re all pretty mature people with a lot of medical expertise already. This is an opportunity to pursue an extended career path and to enhance our job security. When you get an opportunity to grow, you definitely want to take advantage of it. I think everyone in the class feels that way.”

Porche says after becoming a registered nurse, he plans to join Acadian Nursing Solutions, a program designed to offer registered nurses from the Acadian staff to area hospitals on a contract basis. He also hopes to be involved with Acadian’s fixed-wing air medical transports.

According to David LaCombe, director of the National EMS Academy in Lafayette, LA, the idea for the paramedic-to-nurse program resulted from a commitment of the Acadian board of directors to finding ways to develop new medics to meet an overwhelming need, and a way to provide enhanced career opportunities for the medics.

The need for new paramedics resulted in creation of the academy, opened last year by SLCC and Acadian Ambulance. LaCombe explains that the concept of a program to prepare paramedics for licensure as nurses was chosen from several options for extending career opportunities that were considered by the board.

“Because the academy does not have expertise in educating nurses, we realized we needed an outside educational entity and a source of funding,” LaCombe says. “The directors looked at industrial development and worker training grant programs and recognized that the state’s Department of Labor Incumbent Worker Program was designed for projects like this. A grant was successfully pursued, and SLCC was chosen to administer it.”

The next step, according to LaCombe, was to find an educational institution to provide faculty, classroom space and other resources. “We approached Nicholls State University because we had worked with them on a distance-education model for EMS instruction, and because Nicholls is a four-year university with an excellent nursing program.

“Officials there agreed that what we were seeking was basically a transitional curriculum,” LaCombe says. “They got approval for the fast-paced program from the Louisiana State Board of Nursing and, with the funding approved, we started selecting individuals. We picked 10 paramedics whom the Nicholls faculty agreed had the prerequisites. Those 10 are pathfinders—pioneers, really.”

LaCombe says that while the program is now considered a pilot project, he is confident that it will become permanent.

“We probably will not wait for this first program to be completed before we seek additional funding to continue training paramedics to become nurses,” he says. “Like Dr. Smith, I believe this program will become a model not only for the state, but also for the entire nation.”

Other partners in the venture share the enthusiasm. John Warner Smith, secretary of the state Department of Labor, says the program fits perfectly with the goals of the Incumbent Worker Program, which is intended to help people who are already employed to elevate their skills so they can advance in their jobs and earn higher wages. “It offers an excellent opportunity to the participants, while also helping to relieve the shortage of nurses in Louisiana,” Smith says.

Dr. Jan Brobst, chancellor of SLCC, which administers the grant money for the program, says they are happy to be a partner “in developing a new and unique education program” that offers an exciting approach to learning, as well as career advancement.