Virginia Appalachian Tricollege Nursing Program

In the fall of 1972, the nursing program began as a two-year college program with 34 students, three faculty members, the Director and a secretary. All nursing courses were given at the Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC) campus in Abingdon, VA.

In 1975, an agreement was made with Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) that allowed 12 students from that region to enter the program. In the summer of 1976, the three-college program was approved and the name became the Virginia Appalachian Tricollege Nursing Program (VATNP). Also in 1976, the program received accreditation from the National League for Nursing.

With this new three college program, first year nursing students and support courses were taught at all three campuses. The second year courses were still taught at VHCC.

In 1984, an off campus site of Southwest Virginia Community College (SwVCC) was established in Grundy.

Enrollment on each campus has steadily increased and the program now accepts 156 new students each fall semester. The program is able to offer the majority of students their clinical experiences close to their home campus and second year classes are now taught on each of the three main campuses.

In 1996, second year courses were presented to students on all three campuses through the Compressed Video Network and the Fiber Optics classroom. This technology has enabled both students and faculty to remain on their home campus and thus decrease travel time and expense for both students and faculty.

In the spring of 1999, first year students received part of their course lectures via the Virginia Distance Education Network (VDEN) on all three campuses.

The two-year Associate of Applied Science Degree curriculum in Nursing is designed to prepare selected students to qualify as contributing members of the health team rendering direct patient care as beginning practitioners of nursing in a variety of health service facilities. Upon successful completion of the curriculum, students will be eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination leading to licensure as a registered nurse (RN).

The VATNP is accredited by the Virginia State Board of Nursing and the National League for Nursing. The program fluctuates in size between being the first or second largest nursing program in the state of Virginia.

History of the Pin
The VATNP school pin is received upon successful completion of the program during a pinning ceremony held in May. Designed by a committee of nursing students enrolled through the three-college consortium (MECC, VHCC and SwVCC), the pin is a gold Maltese cross with an inner circle of blue exhibiting the name of the nursing program. In the center is a triad circle of blue and gold which symbolizes the cooperation of the three colleges in the operation of the nursing program and the joining together as one in thought, purpose, and practice in nursing. In the center of the triad is a small, gold replica of the Florence Nightingale lamp that has become symbolic of nursing throughout the world.

History of the Cap
The faculty and the first graduates of the nursing program, the Class of 1974, formed a committee to design a nursing cap that was unique and meaningful to the Virginia Highlands-Southwest Virginia Program. The cap was designed to have three “peaks”, one on each cap edge and in the center. The center peak represented the mountainous terrain of Southwest Virginia and the two peaks on the edges represented the two community colleges. The back portion or button flap of the cap was designed with seven “mock” pleats that represented the seven quarters it took to complete the nursing program. First year freshmen students wore a plain white cap while second year sophomore students placed a single ¼” blue stripe on their cap. Graduates placed two ¼” black stripes on their caps representing VHCC and SwVCC.

In 1975, Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) joined the VH-SV Nursing Program and the name for the three-college consortium was changed to the Virginia Appalachian Tricollege Nursing Program. Consequently, the nursing cap was redesigned to reflect the inclusion of MECC. As a symbol of the unity between the three community colleges, the stripes were changed to one single ½” stripe. Sophomore students now placed a single ½” blue stripe on their cap while graduates placed a single ½” Black stripe on their caps.

Reflecting the national trend of nurses not wearing caps in clinical settings, in 1993 students from all three campuses and Grundy voted not to wear their student nursing caps. Each year the students have the option to wear their graduate cap as part of the traditional pinning ceremony.