BRADENTON, Fla. — State College of Florida will introduce a new dual-language nursing program this fall, and school officials say it’s the first in the Tampa Bay area.
What You Need To Know
- Instructors in the two-year dual-language program will speak both English and Spanish
- The goal is to help Spanish-speaking students pass the NCLEX, which officials at the college say is in English
- SCF is starting off with a small group of students this fall, then expects the number to grow to 24 students next year
- The program is only being offered at the Bradenton location on 26th Street West
Carlos Alana is in the Associate of Science Nursing program at State College of Florida–Manatee-Sarasota.
“I have parents, I have uncles, I have friends, I have people that are the same way, that I help them,” he said.
Alana, who is originally is from Spain, moved to Bradenton about four years ago and is currently a nurse intern at a local hospital.
This fall, he’ll start in the region’s first dual-language nursing program.
“Honestly, it’s a great advantage and a nice resource," he said. "Like, we have to enhance our knowledge and get more information in our mother language, which is Spanish, and that’s the way that we can improve our knowledge in the nursing program."
Instructors in the two-year dual-language program will speak both English and Spanish.
The college expects to start with eight students.
Tammy Sawmelle, the dean of Nursing and Education at SCF, said she is hopeful this program will help more students pass.
“So our licensure pass rate is 99%," she said. "As we dug into that a little bit more, we realized that students who were not passing and getting through to the end were Spanish-speaking students."
The program will also be available for English-speaking students who want to refine their skills in Spanish.
“So, when it’s in English, in case they have a question, they can ask it in their native language," Sawmelle said. "In skills lab, which is where we are now, it will always be in English. And when they’re in the clinical unit practicing, it’ll always be in English. But they will have a bilingual instructor so that they practice their English and practice their Spanish."
Alana said it's a program that will help him with future patients when he becomes a nurse.
“Now I have the chance to compare the terminology and the knowledge I already have in English," he said. "At the same time, to fuse all the knowledge in both languages is amazing."
He hopes this new way of instruction will enhance his ability to help people in both languages.
SCF expects the number of students in the program to increase to 24 next year.
