Southern Illinois Online Nursing Initiative
Many college students throughout the region juggle class work, homework,
family, and job requirements. Arranging for childcare and commuting are just two of
the many obstacles students can encounter, those along with the time constraints of
the traditional face-to-face classroom setting, can take a dent out of the 24 hour day.
When Suzanne Aldrich prepares for class work, she travels no further than
her computer. Aldrich is one of an elite group of Shawnee Community College
students who are enrolled as part of the Southern Illinois Online Nursing Initiative.
The SIONI program delivers coursework through an online setting along with
conveniently scheduled clinical sessions. The successful one-year program
completion delivers the student an Associate Degree in Nursing.
"The online RN program gave me the ability to keep working and be able to
go to school. I always wanted to go back and get my RN, but never thought it would
be possible. I LOVED the fact that with this program, students focus on one class at
a time, helping to keep me focused on the task at hand," said Aldrich. Her goal is to
work full-time in an emergency room setting. Aldrich received her Licensed Practical
Nursing certificate and EMT-B training at SCC, using her skills through her work at
the Johnson County Ambulance service.
Most clinical classes are scheduled on Saturdays, and although Aldrich
wasn't excited about dedicating so many Saturdays, she said, "At the end of the
program I realized I would give up 100 more Saturdays to know I have accomplished
my goal of becoming an RN. I would definitely recommend the program to others. I
think it is a very good way for people of all ages to be able to go back to school
while continuing to have a full time job!
"The instructors at SCC are very understanding and are willing to work with
you. I had a lot of family issues going on while I was in the Online Program, and all
of the instructors were great and very understanding." SCC offers no-cost tutoring
and the nursing faculty staff work with students to provide a positive learning
experience, with successful completion of the program as the goal.
Online classes can be isolating for students, but Aldrich and her classmates
banded together from the start, sometime meeting at a local McDonalds to study
together. Such extra sessions are not required, but classmates would bring their
children along to play while the parents studied.
Aldrich attributes her success in the program to the support from her family
and the teachers at SCC, along with Carbondale Memorial Hospital and their staff.
Aldrich offered this encouragement, "Anyone thinking about taking this course
should go for it and do not give up. The program all looks very daunting, but if you
take it one day at a time, and lean on your fellow classmates for support, you can
and will make it to become an RN."
Application to the Southern Illinois Online Nursing Initiative ADN program
beginning in August, 2012, can be submitted to the SCC nursing department. The
application deadline is April 1, 2012, but students are encouraged to complete
prerequisites during the upcoming spring semester. SIONI classes will be taken one
class at a time over a 5 to 6 week period. Students are required to come to campus
four evenings during that time for testing and lab skills performance. Three clinic
days are required for each course and will be held mainly on Saturdays. An
occasional clinic day during the week may be required.
For more information on the program, contact Denise Griffith, MSN, RN, APN,
Director of Nursing at Shawnee Community College at 618-634-3277.
