Chowan s First Nurses to Graduate
CHOWAN'S FIRST GRADUATING CLASS OF NURSES — With the towers
of Duke Hospital in the background are seven “angels of mercy” preparing
to receive their degrees at Chowan College on May 28. They are, from left,
Kitty Garriss of Jackson, Marsha Purvis of Ahoskie, Julia Hayes of Rocky
Mount, Betty Jean Crawford of Ahoskie, Sandra Hare of Edenton, Judy
Shearin of Roanoke Rapids and Judy Grimm of Springfield, Va.
The first class of nursing gradu
ates at Chowan Colleoe will receive
their Associate of Arts Degree in
Nursing on May 28, having com
pleted the college’s 33-month pro
gram and then becoming qualified
for admission to the licensing ex
amination to become Registered
Nurses.
This program, which arose to
help meet increasing demands for
more skilled nurses in Coastal Ca’"0-
lina, is only offered by Chowan Col
lege. Other colleges are currently
planning to begin offering programs
similar to Chowan’s in the near
future.
Facilities of Roanoke-Chowan
Hospital in nearby Ahoskie and Duke
Hospital are used, but the program
is completely under the control and
supervision of Chowan College.
Students gain supervised experience
at Roanoke-Chowan during their
second year in the program and,
along with regular academic courses
to meet lequirements for degrees,
students attend lectures and con
ferences in medical-surgical nursing
and maternal-child care, and care
for patients under the supervision of
their instructor in clinical nursing,
Mrs. Sa'-ah Bryant Tankard.
Chowan instructors coordinate
conferences and clinics with direct
care of patients at Duke, a com
bination designed to help students
gain better understanding of how to
meet patient needs in medical-sur-
gical nursing, maternal-child care
and in psychiatric nursing.
Co-ordinator of the program at
Duke is Miss Maryiva Carpenter,
professor in Chowan’s Department
Mrs. Almira Hoppe Hemstead
Ockerman is Chairman of Chowan’s
Department of Nursing.
Forty-four young women are now
enrolled in the college’s Department
of Nursing, which extends the col
lege’s campus across a large portion
of North Carolina through its unique
program of education for nursing.
Chowan’s first nursing graduates
all plan to become “angels of mercy
to Coastal Carolina.”
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The Chowanian