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January 15, 2004NMC online nursing classes a hitEnrollment up over 50 percentByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Scalpel. "Scalpel." Hemostat. "Hemostat." Mouse. "Mouse?" Northwestern Michigan College is now training nurses online. The online option for the associates degree nursing program will enter its second semester when the spring term begins Friday. It began in the fall and is partly responsible for nursing enrollment growing from 94 students in fall 2002 to 145 students in fall 2003, said Debby Disch, NMC spokeswoman. Ann Ivers, instructor and coordinator of the online option, doesn't know of any other nursing schools offering online courses for first-year students. And patients don't need to worry: The students will not be learning to draw blood or bandage a wound on a video monitor. They will continue to take clinical courses - those that require hands-on training - in a classroom with an instructor present, Ivers said. That's why the courses aren't offered to people outside the region. "I get e-mails from all over the country from people wanting to sign up," Ivers said. "But because of the clinical studies in-person (requirement) they have to be in the area." The college has had on-line courses in other curricula for about five years. Course lineup and enrollment have increased steadily and 31 such courses are offered, Disch said. The college included nursing because of a local demand for nurses. Also, prospective students said they wanted to enroll, but couldn't fit classes into their schedule. Crystal Lavis of Elk Rapids wanted to avoid making a 40-minute drive twice a day. "Especially in the winter, the travel is not fun," she said. Also, she was home-schooled and likes to learn on her own. Lavis usually does her online work - receiving reading assignments from the instructor; discussing topics with classmates on the electronic bulletin board; turning in assignments in an electronic "drop box"; taking quizzes - in the afternoon. The online students pay the same tuition as others, plus an extra $15 fee per contact hour. "I'd be paying more for gas if I had to go in every day," said Lavis, who added it frees her up to work as a nurse's assistant at Munson Medical Center.
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