Newton Sussex County Community College is helping to alleviate the nursing shortage with its unique collaboration with Passaic County Community College. The partnership enables students to obtain an outstanding nursing education in Sussex County. Recently, 22 students took part in the nurse pinning ceremony at SCCC. The evening included an awards ceremony, candlelight ceremony, the International Council of Nurses Pledge, and the presentation of the class gift. Many of these graduates have employment already in place with Newton Memorial, St. Clare’s, Chilton Memorial, and Morristown Memorial Hospital. With the graduation ceremony the students now just have to prepare for their licensure exam. The following awards were presented: ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Linda Geary (student with the highest GPA throughout the program). PROFESSIONAL NURSING AWARD: Mora Erwin (student who demonstrates clinical excellence throughout the Nurse Education Program as: Provider of Care, Manager of Care, and Member of the Nursing Profession). NEW JERSEY LEAGUE FOR NURSING: Theresa Schulok (Student who is a resident of New Jersey who demonstrates involvement in Student Activities, and demonstrates involvement in community activities, particularly those related to consumer health projects.) NURSE EDUCATION SERVICE AWARD: Dana Pietrodangelo (Student who demonstrates both quality and quantity of contributions to the program, College, community and peers). SPIRIT OF NURSING AWARD: Kim Forrest (Candidate who demonstrates professional involvement, leadership and academic achievement demonstrating commitment and passion in the role of student nurse). Jacinta Ukah-Ogbonna, MSN, RN, Director of Opthamology Services, UMDNJ, Adjunct Faculty PCCC Nursing Program, was a featured speaker the evening of the Nurse Pinning Ceremony. She spoke about “The Golden Rule” and doing unto all patients as you would do unto your mom, dad, spouse, and children. The graduates who received their Associate of Applied Science Degree recently were the seventh graduating class of the Nurse Education Program. In this innovative program, qualified students who are admitted to the Passaic County Community College Nurse Education Program offered in conjunction with SCCC take the clinical nursing courses with PCCC here on the SCCC campus. These clinical courses comprise a four-semester sequence, which begins each January and is designed to include both general education and nursing courses for students who have selected careers as registered nurses. General education courses from the sciences and liberal arts enhance the students understanding of clients with acute and chronic health problems. The curriculum prepares students to practice in hospitals and health agencies within the framework of the American Nurses Association’s Standards of Practice and the New Jersey Nurse Practice Act. For more information about the Nurse Education Program please contact Susan Melroy at Sussex County Community College at 973-300-2284 or visit www.sussex.edu. The graduates are: Sharon Busch, Christine Casazza, Holly Chadwick, Stephanie Cox, Karen DeStefano, Jeanie Ellwood, Mora Erwin, Kimberly Forrest, Linda Geary, Nicole Haws, Donna Ludwick, Dana Pietrodangelo, Elizabeth Ramirez, Siobhan Rinker, Rosalie Santos, Jill Schade, Theresa Schulok, Tracey Sweatt, Kimberly Tapia-D’Acuna, Andrielle Van Hook, Karen Wegmann, and Chuck Weiss.