Several weeks ago, the Bermuda College was featured in a front-page news article that carried the concerns of former nurse Meredith Ebbin, regarding our Associate of Science (Nursing) Degree programme, specifically in respect to its sustainability and accreditation.

Aside from being ill-informed, Ebbin did Bermuda’s nursing students a huge disservice by not first seeking answers about the programme that would have been readily provided by the college.

Certainly, clarification is required in such a complex process and, although the following has been shared with Ebbin in a subsequent meeting, and with key constituents, the college offers these verifiable facts in defence of the programme and on the behalf of its administrators and the students.

Conceived in 2008 by the health minister, late Nelson Bascome, to address the chronic shortage of Bermudian nurses, a partnership was forged with the college, the Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Ministry of Health to explore the concept of creating a local nursing programme. In 2009, the ad hoc committee considered an external partner to offer its Associate Degree in Nursing curriculum through the Bermuda College for four years while the institution established its own ADN programme.

The partnering institution was selected on the basis that it offered both the ADN and bachelor of science in nursing degrees, and was accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the same agency from which Bermuda College was seeking accreditation. The signing of the memorandum of understanding was delayed, however, for several reasons beyond the control of the college.

In January 2012, to avoid further delay, a proposal was submitted to the Nursing Programme Steering Committee and the college’s Board of Governors, recommending that the college offer its own ADN programme using the curriculum of its external partner, beginning in the autumn of 2012.

The recommendation was accepted and the Bermuda College enrolled its first cohort of nursing students in the autumn of 2012.

The ADN programme is contingent upon successfully navigating the pre-nursing core, which consists of six courses for 19 credits and which must be passed with a minimum grade point average of 2.6 and a minimum grade of C+, or 77 per cent, in the anatomy and physiology courses. Only upon successful completion of the pre-nursing core will students be allowed to enrol in the two-year ADN programme.

It was always the college’s intent to have its nursing programme accredited with the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. The ACEN’s accreditation process requires that an international programme be “in operation for a minimum of five years and (have) graduated a minimum of three classes of nursing graduates”.

Despite this stipulation, the Bermuda College applied for candidacy for accreditation of its nursing programme in June 2013, and was accepted in March 2015. The mandatory site visit was scheduled but had to be postponed after bureaucratic delays with graduates being required to apply to the Commission for Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools for assessment of the programme curriculum and student transcripts, and to the New York State Board for permission to write the NCLEX licensing examination in New York.

The New York State Board is one of only a few states that allows students to register without an American social security number. Two of the Bermuda College’s nursing students have already gone through the process and have been approved to sit the NCLEX exam. To prepare for this rigorous exam, students are required to complete the four-day Kaplan Nursing NCLEX Review. In addition, the college is in talks with Lahey Clinic, which has offered to conduct an online NCLEX “boot camp” for our students.

The other college nursing students have completed the CGFNS process and are navigating the New York State Board phase. Once the graduates pass the NCLEX and receive their New York state licence, they will be able to apply to the Bermuda Nursing Council for a licence to practise in Bermuda.

Bermuda College’s ADN programme has been approved by the local council until the accreditation process is completed. In the meantime, the accreditation site visit will be rescheduled after the graduates have written the NCLEX examination.

The Bermuda College is proud of its nursing programme. It affords many in our community the opportunity to embark on a healthcare career that is urgently needed with the highest standards that are internationally recognised. It is to be hoped that our students will be supported and encouraged by their community.

• Evelyn James Barnett is the Director of Communications at the Bermuda College