As the class of 2020 prepares to graduate at College of the Canyons, 60 students from the college’s nursing program are preparing to enter the healthcare world in a “baptism of fire” as they join the frontlines in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

While many graduating students from the College of the Canyons class of 2020 will leave the college unsure of what their futures may hold, the 60 soon-to-be graduates of school’s Registered nursing programs know exactly where they are heading.

After graduating virtually with the rest of their peers on Wednesday, June 3, they will be joining other nurses and healthcare workers across the nation in the frontline battle against COVID-19.

“This semester has been unlike any other,” said Mary Corbett, director of the college’s nursing program, in an official statement Friday.. “For us to be sending 60 graduates into practice, having met all Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) requirements to sit for the NCLEX licensure examination, is nothing short of amazing. We are so proud of our students for never giving up through an incredibly challenging time.”

The road for the 60 graduates to become registered nurses was not without its unknowns. As the number of coronavirus cases began to increase throughout the country, nursing clinical training programs came to a “screeching halt” as hospitals began to focus on more on the influx of COVID-19 cases.

“Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the safety of all nursing students being a top priority, I was concerned how we would finish our clinical hours that are required by the BRN since local hospitals are not allowing nursing students to perform clinical hours,” said Ashley Olivier, a first-year COC nursing student who is set to graduate on Wednesday.

However, Olivier’s concerns were abated on April 3, when the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) waived restrictions on nursing student clinical hours.

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This waiver reduced the requirement that clinical hours be in direct patient care from 75 percent down to 50 percent for nursing students in obstetrics, pediatrics, and mental health/psychiatric courses, according to COC officials. 

COC Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook called the waiver a perfect “example of getting a barrier out of the way so we can work better, together.”

“I am beyond proud of our nursing faculty and students who refused to give up and demonstrated incredible grit, courage and ingenuity,” Van Hook said. “I am confident that this experience will make our students better prepared for the challenging and rewarding profession that is nursing.”

The waiver also made it possible for the Nurse Education Consultant, a local BRN representative for COC, to approve clinical sites through a “simplified process, which allowed for timely approvals for programs seeking new settings for clinical instruction.”

Olivier referred to the waiver as the “best news she has received in weeks.”

“I’m now able to complete my clinical hours and do it in a way that’s never been done before in the history of the College of the Canyons nursing program,” Olivier said. “I am excited to be able to complete my clinical requirements by using my skills I am learning in my current psychology rotation to help any which way I can in the community using telehealth.”

In response to current conditions, the faculty of COC’s nursing program designed and launched a telehealth program focused on “providing mental health and self-care support for Canyons Promise students at the college.”

Nursing students who provided information and support utilizing these instructor-developed materials were able to count the hours spent providing mental health services toward the training hours needed for their psychiatric nursing course.  

“To have the ability to use this technology to help our fellow students in our college is not only helping us nursing students, but also the rest of the college campus,” said COC nursing student Jacob White. “To be a nursing student going through their psychology portion during a pandemic is something you would never expect, but I am proud of our nursing faculty and school’s administration for providing us with this ability.”

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White also noted that college students are “eager” for follow-up calls, and have become aware of college resources that are available to them. 

“I feel proud to have the opportunity to be a part of a team that can change students’ lives for the better,” said Dr. Kathy Bakhit, Dean of School of Health Professions and Public Safety at the College. “I am inspired by their moral courage, their dedication to the students, and their attention to the quality of the program.”

Bakhit went on to praise Van Hook for her “strong leadership and advocacy toward pushing for the changes.”

“Honestly, without her effort and focus where she organized and rallied over 65 other college presidents and chancellors across the state to elevate the issue and articulate the changes needed, I am not sure that colleges would have this opportunity we have today,” Bakhit said.

On Saturday, June 6, the 60 nursing graduates are set to receive their COC nursing pin and certificate of graduation at a special drive-thru event at the Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook University Center. Organized by COC Professor Shaunasey Lane and student, the event will allow graduates to take photos with a guest and nursing faculty in a “socially distant manner.”

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