100th class graduates from PN program

Congrats to you all! Pennsylvania: 100th class graduates from practical nursing program

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Twenty-nine graduates of the Franklin County Career and Technology Center's practical nursing program took their oaths by lamp light Thursday night in the sanctuary of St. Paul United Methodist Church, the 100th graduating class in the 50-year history of the program.

After 230 days of classes and 1,610 hours of instruction, the 27 women and two men joined the nearly 2,400 who have graduated since the program's inception in 1958, the program administrator Janyce Collier said.

The program was associated with the Chambersburg Area School District and Chambersburg Hospital for many years, but now run is through the career center with classes held at Wilson College, she said.

There are two graduating classes each year, Collier said. Some of the graduates will go directly into the work force, while others will continue their education to become registered nurses, she said.

Samantha Hopkins of Marysville, Pa., earned the class' Scholastic Award, and Holly Perna of Hedgesville, W.Va., earned the Clinical Award.

Amanda Furry of Shippensburg, Pa., earned the Geriatric Award for her scholastic work in that area of nursing, and Sandra Rose Jones of Carlisle, Pa., was presented with the Florence Nightingale Award as the student who best exemplified the spirit of nursing.

"One heart can love many ... One person can make a difference. That person can be you," said Mary Ellen Piper, who has spent 29 of her 47 years in nursing as an instructor with the program.