Paul D. Camp Community College is poised to expand its nursing program to include a one-year certificate in practical nursing. Licensed practical nurses provide basic nursing care under the direction of registered nurses and doctors.

Courtney Darden has been hired as the coordinator for the new Licensed Practical Nursing Program.

“The Practical Nursing Certificate is a good match for Paul D. Camp Community College’s mission of providing education and employment training to the community,” said Dr. Candace Rogers, dean of Nursing and Allied Health. “And we are thrilled with the arrival of Courtney Darden to our college team. She brings a wealth of experience, and she started her career right her at the college in obtaining her certification through our program.”

Darden began her nursing career as a graduate of Southampton Memorial Hospital’s School of Practical Nursing in 2006. She then continued her formal program training with Paul D. Camp Community College, obtaining an associate’s degree in nursing in 2009.

Darden will graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University with her bachelor’s degree in nursing in December. She plans to attend Old Dominion University in the spring of 2014 in her quest to obtain her master’s degree in nursing.

Darden’s background lies in the areas of critical care, management, geriatrics, and education.

“I absolutely love my job and am in awe of this opportunity to return to the family that I learned so much from,” Darden said. “Paul D. Camp is filled with amazing faculty dedicated to student success, and this program will only further solidify the dedication of this college in western Hampton Roads.”

“The new LPN program is going to be such an amazing opportunity for the community, the students, and the college, and I am blessed to be a part of it,” she said. “If I can help my students achieve the same success I have, then I will have accomplished a big part of my goal as an educator.”

Demand for the College’s Practical Nursing certificate is expected to be high. Sixteen of the 24 colleges in the Virginia Community College System offer practical nursing programs. Goals for the initial year of the program include the following:

Receive approval from Paul D. Camp Community College to offer a practical nursing program

Receive approval from the Virginia Community College System

Receive approval from the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia

Receive approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Receive approval from the Virginia Board of Nursing

Market the program to prospective students

Equip the skills lab for practical nursing

Admit the first class of students into the program

For more information, visit www.pdc.edu.