Todd Jansen already had a good job when he heard about South Dakota State University's Nursing Accelerated Program.
Mark Martens got a job in his field right out of graduation, but when he read about the program, he knew it was for him.
Stacie Peters gave up working at the Sauk Institute Molecular Nuero-Biology Lab in San Diego so she could be in the first class in SDSU's Nursing Accelerated Program.
They are three of the 32 members of an accelerated program approved by the South Dakota State Legislature in March. HB 1296 provided the funding for SDSU to add 3.75 faculty positions to teach an additional 32 students this year and next.
The accelerated program requires the students to have completed science core classes before acceptance.
Students will spend a full year in the classroom and at clinical sites in Sioux Falls, S.D., as well as at labs at the Brookings, S.D., campus. "The program exactly mirrors the standard program. The curriculum is exactly the same," according to Tish Smyer, assistant to the undergraduate department head.
In the traditional, five-semester program, 12 hours of clinicals are required in a semester. The accelerated students complete 24.
"That's what makes it so rigorous," Smyer said.
Students are taking 63 credits in one calendar year. The nursing sequence is normally spread over two and one-half years with no classes in the summer.
The idea behind the plan is to get pre-qualified students out in the field quickly to help alleviate the state's nursing shortage. Martens knows the program will be demanding, but he is thankful he can be out working a year later.
A dairy herdsman by family upbringing and by education, Martens went through financial aid to get loans to cover living expenses.
For Jensen, who was an operating room buyer at Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls for four years before becoming a full-time student this fall, the financial issue is "an obvious concern, but it's something I've been trying to save for."
Peters, 25, had worked at the noted Sauk laboratory in the three years since her graduation from SDSU with a biology degree. In returning to her native Sioux Falls, she turned to financial aid to make the finances of a year away from a paycheck pan out.
All three are willing to trade a year of hard work for what could be a lifetime of career satisfaction.
Jensen explained: "I work every day in an operating room setting. Being around a clinical setting has encouraged me to work toward a clinical degree, where I can work with patients. Avera McKennan has provided me a good opportunity to see everything that goes on with health care.
"Nursing seems like something I will definitely enjoy."
Martens was encouraged by his family to pursue nursing and was looking at a two-year program before the accelerated option was approved. "I like to deal with people, which is something you don't do much of as a dairy herdsman," he noted.
However, the 25-year-old Madison, S.D., native noted there are similarities between nursing and working with dairy cattle.
"You're doing a lot of the same things. Two of my sisters and my mother [who are all nurses] all grew up on a dairy and they've helped me. They're closely related. They're care-giving professions--giving medicine, overall monitoring of health," he explains.
Peters also worked with animals in her previous position. As a lab assistant, she performed surgeries on mice as she worked with the head of a laboratory in the study of Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.
"I've always wanted to work in the health-care industry and to be able to complete the program in one year was a good opportunity," she said.
Peters learned of the program through her mother, Christine Clayton, who is a nurse at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls. But Mom didn't have to twist Peters' arm too hard to convince her to switch fields.
"I thought about nursing as an undergrad, but I decided to get a biology degree first and try research; then get my degree in nursing and go into clinical research," Peters said.
Of the 32 students accepted into this year's class, 31 already have a bachelor's degree. One also has a master's degree. The breakdown shows 53 percent with a biology degree, 19 percent with another health related degree and 25 percent with a non-science degree. Those students had majors in fields that ranged from English to economics.
"We have EMTs, business owners; people with in-depth knowledge in various specific areas. The accelerated program lets them see their own area of expertise through the eyes of a nurse.
"All of this expertise can come together to provide a wonderfully diverse background for nurse professionals," Smyer said.
"Most of us that are teaching in this [program] are real excited because the students are motivated. Jensen--he's been buying surgical instruments for four years--think what business background he is going to bring," Smyer said.
As for Jensen, the 27-year-old biology major is concerned about his lack of clinical background.
But the chemistry minor also knows he has the right internal formula for the accelerated program. "It's a program that is ideal for me. It's an intense commitment. For someone like me, who's very dedicated, it'll be perfect," Jensen said.
After talking with Avera staff nurses, he said "it just became obvious this was something I wanted to pursue."
The enthusiasm expressed before classes began may not carry students all the way through Aug. 22, 2003. Classes are generally 9 to 3 and require a tremendous amount of study time, Smyer said. Clinicals start during the second eight-week term and are nine-hour days on Fridays and Saturdays.
During the screening process, students were warned of the stress the year would have on family and finances.
Screenings were conducted by College of Nursing Dean Roberta Olson, Smyer, and Gloria Craig, head of Nursing Student Services. Without advertising for enrollment in the accelerated program, the College received more than 150 inquiries.
"Next year it's going to be tremendously competitive" to get into the program, Smyer said.
The legislation provides faculty funding for another 32 students in 2003-04. Beyond that, "We'd like to make it self-supporting and keep it ongoing. There are so many people with degrees that could become nurses," Smyer said.
People like dairy herdsmen, instrument buyers and music educators.
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