Allegany College of Maryland, the region’s only fully accredited nurse training program, will offer a weekend hybrid nursing program starting this fall. The program, which offers individuals the chance to enter the workforce in only two years, will accept 40 students into its inaugural class. Applications are due April 15. ACM’s nursing program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and the Maryland and Pennsylvania boards of nursing. 

The program partners asynchronous online classes with mandatory in-person skills and lab instruction or clinical commitments every Saturday for up to 15 weeks each semester. All clinical hours are completed at UPMC Western Maryland. The program was created at the urging of prospective students whose commitments during the week prohibited them from enrolling in one of the college’s traditional full-time nursing programs. It is geared to those with prior college experience or degrees, individuals seeking to start or change careers, and those who have previously enrolled in, or applied to, nursing or other healthcare programs.  

Students are expected to devote between 18-20 hours per week to their online courses. The length of their in-person skills and lab instruction on Saturdays is determined by individual instructors. Required clinical commitments on Saturdays begin at 7 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. 

Program entry requires the competition of 10 specific general education courses among its other requirements. A full list of requirements and information is available at www.allegany.edu/nursing/weekend-hybrid.  

“It is 100% for those who’ve paused their dream of becoming a nurse because of circumstance, current work commitments, or responsibilities to their families. In less than 24 months and after passing their boards, they can enter the nursing profession where their credentials and services continue to be in unprecedented demand,” said Rick Cooper, associate dean, and nursing program administrator. “They always have the option to return to college, with this degree transferring seamlessly into accredited BSN programs.” 

Part of program growth 

Six hundred students are presently enrolled in Allegany College of Maryland’s nursing program through its in-person daytime and evening nursing cohorts, an online Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) to Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) program, an online LPN to Registered Nurse (RN) program, and an in-person LPN certificate program. With the addition of the weekend hybrid program, Cooper expects the nursing program to double in size by the 2024-25 academic year. The college’s award-winning online LPN to RN program is approved to operate in 10 states with plans for it to become a nationwide program. For more information about the weekend hybrid nursing program, individuals are asked to contact Trina Geisler, advising specialist, at tgeisler@allegany.edu or 301-784-5570.