MAYHEW — Twenty-four students graduated from East Mississippi Community College’s Practical Nursing program June 30 in a ceremony in the Lyceum auditorium.
The Practical Nursing program is a 12-month course of study designed to prepare students to become licensed practical nurses. Students are taught nursing skills, nutrition, anatomy and physiology, human growth and development, pharmacology, maternal child nursing, emotional and mental illness, and medical/surgical nursing.
Many graduates will find work in clinics or nursing homes while others plan to continue their education.
Mantee native Montana Spencer was one of four students who received Clinical Excellence Awards for exceeding the expectations of their instructors.
She is interested in work at a nursing home or an assisted living center.
“I have always had a heart for older people,” said Spencer. “I love kids. Don’t get me wrong. But the elderly people, they are my world.”
Spencer plans to become a registered nurse. And while she would like to work with elderly people, she is keeping her options open.
“The thing about nursing is you can upgrade,” Spencer said. “You don’t have to stay in one area. You can branch out in other areas.”
Shavonne Davidson of Maben was also among the 2018 graduates of EMCC’s Practical Nursing program.
Whitney Blackston, a 2009 graduate of EMCC’s Practical Nursing program was the guest speaker. Blackston, a Caledonia resident employed as an allergen nurse, is enrolled in the LPN to RN program at Excelsior College.
Blackston advised the graduates to take time to listen to their patients.
“Even though nurses can find themselves really busy, listening to your patients is equally important as the clinical skills you acquired here at EMCC,” Blackston said.
EMCC Vice President of Administration Dr. Paul Miller congratulated the students.
“You have done an outstanding job,” Miller said. “You have bright futures ahead of you as graduates of the Practical Nursing program at EMCC.”
EMCC Director of Nursing and Allied Health Dr. Tonsha Emerson presented the graduates, who were confirmed by EMCC Interim President Dr. Rick Young. Hebert and nursing instructors Jamonica Johnson, BSN, and Eljenette West, MSN, conducted the pinning ceremony with assistance by Dean of Students Dr. Michael Busby.
