Plymouth Nursing Students Join the Front Lines

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Plymouth State University  (PSU) senior nursing students quickly adjusted to virtual simulations and other alternative methods to complete their final semester of clinical training. Today, these nursing students graduated early, a full month ahead of schedule, which allowed them to begin working on the front lines in the state’s hospitals and other health care settings.

The class of new registered nurses will work as graduate nurses until they complete the National Clinical Licensing Exam (NCLEX) later this spring.

“This was a true team effort – from our faculty who ensured students met all course objectives, to our government relations team who worked with the Governor’s Office, and our registrar who processed the degrees overnight, to the New Hampshire Board of Nursing that facilitated early licensure applications, to the students themselves, for their flexibility and diligence under stressful circumstances,” says Jean Coffey, Ph.D., APRN, FAAN, director of the PSU Nursing Program. “Nursing requires teamwork and performing under pressure, and the challenges of this semester demonstrated to our students the importance of remaining calm and focused.”

Seventy percent of PSU’s 2020 nursing graduates expect to become licensed in NH, and many will begin working at the hospitals where they completed their senior capstone semesters. Marshall Mosher, a senior nursing student from Lyndonville, Vermont, completed his capstone semester at Littleton Regional Hospital and will begin work in its emergency department as soon as his graduate nurse license is approved. “The route to graduation changed, but the goal was still the same,” says Mosher, who is excited to begin his nursing career.

“This is especially important now,” says Kim Force, clinical director of inpatient services at Littleton Regional Hospital. “PSU’s graduate nurses will be at the forefront, and we look forward to bringing them aboard.”

For information about Plymouth State University and its nursing program, visit www.plymouth.edu.

Pictured above: In this file photo, PSU nursing students train together. Now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, students use virtual simulations and other alternative methods of clinical training.