Operation graduation

Fort Worth, TX

5/7/2010

By: Mandy Carnes, Schieffer School of Journalism

Nurses, FALL IN. The call to have nurses form up and ready to enact further orders is a representation of the shortage we currently have in our nation’s military and how TCU is working with ROTC to alleviate the problem. TCU is one of the top colleges in the country to graduate Army ROTC cadets from the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences.

Nurses are in need in both the civilian world and all military branches. The demand for nurses to assist in the healing and injured on the battlefront is a hot commodity. It takes a special individual to handle the pressures of war.

Army ROTC is an Army officer-commissioning program that demands the dedication of cadets for roughly 10 hours per week for four years, according to the TCU Army ROTC Web site. Cadets must adhere to certain academic, physical and leadership standards in order to be eligible for the program and have the distinction of becoming a commissioned Army officer. The first two years in the program are not obligatory and cadets can leave the program if they feel the program is not for them.

Being both an Army ROTC cadet and nursing student at TCU is not an easy feat. Between keeping up with both physical training and coursework, the average ROTC nursing student has limited time.

“It’s like having two jobs,” said 2nd Lt. Matthew Watson, a December 2009 graduate of the Harris College. “My friends talk about how much fun college is for them but I do not have the free time like they have.”

The commitment of being in the Army ROTC program encourages the leadership abilities of students, making them a perfect fit for the Harris College, according to Dr. Paulette Burns, dean of the college.

“Our nurses are leaders in their field and help establish the high standards of our nursing program,” Dr. Burns said. “This makes the nursing program an excellent match for ROTC cadets.”

The Harris College has a long-established relationship with the Army ROTC program and even has designed a course schedule to meet the needs of Army ROTC cadets. There are no classes in session on Thursday afternoons so cadets can attend their mandatory lab courses.

Because nursing is an extremely competitive degree program, it is not guaranteed that the average nursing student will be admitted the required upper-level clinical nursing classes.

According to the TCU Army ROTC Web site, Cadet Command implemented a program called “Partnership in Nursing Education (PNE),” which establishes a “partnership” with qualified schools with both a nursing school and an Army ROTC program. TCU earned its PNE status in 1996. PNE guarantees progression of qualified Army ROTC nurse cadets into clinical nursing classes.

Dr. Burns said the nursing program has a 90 percent graduation rate. The four-year program also has a high retention rate.

Watson wants to be a trauma nurse and hopes to make the Army a career. His enthusiasm for completing both the nursing program and the Army ROTC program is obvious.

“The Army has paid for my education here at TCU and will pay for the continuation of my schooling. Why wouldn’t I take advantage of the retirement benefits from the Army?” he said.

Teamwork and comradeship are the core necessities for both TCU students and ROTC cadets and these traits show in the growing number of TCU Army ROTC nurse cadets graduating from the Harris College.

Nurses, DISMISSED.