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Featured Photo: Nurse Aide students at Blue Ridge Community College study outside the Health Sciences Center in downtown Hendersonville. (Photo by: Benjamin Rickert.)
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As the need for healthcare workers rises nationwide, Blue Ridge Community College is helping meet the challenge in Western North Carolina by providing accessible, high-quality pathways to healthcare careers, including associate degree nursing, practical nursing, and nurse aide certification. These programs are helping a new wave of nurses begin or advance their careers in local healthcare settings with capability and confidence.
“Having a variety of healthcare courses and programs available opens opportunities for individuals in our community to take a course that fits their current wants, needs, and schedules,” said Heather Stewart, chair of Allied Health programs at Blue Ridge. “Students can then decide if healthcare is the right fit for them and potentially further their education.”
A Variety of Nursing Pathways
Blue Ridge Community College offers flexible healthcare programs that empower students to begin or advance their careers in a range of settings, including hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and home health environments.
Blue Ridge’s two-year Associate Degree Nursing program equips students with the knowledge and skills required to serve as registered nurses (RNs), while preparing them to pass the North Carolina NCLEX-RN nursing exam. Due to demand, the program increased its capacity in 2022, now admitting up to 74 students annually. The nursing application deadline for the Fall 2025 program is May 19, 2025.
Blue Ridge Community College also offers programs intended for those planning to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing, such as the Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses (RIBN) program offered in partnership with Western Carolina University (WCU). This option allows students to be dually enrolled with Blue Ridge and WCU. A RIBN advisor can guide students interested in this pathway.
The College’s one-year Practical Nursing program prepares students for careers as Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and prepares them to pass the state NCLEX-PN exam. The application period for the Spring 2026 program runs June 2 through Aug. 29, 2025. A practical nursing information session is planned for Monday, May 12, at 6 p.m., in Room 2003 of Hendersonville’s Health Sciences Center.
The Nurse Aide I certification course is an entryway into numerous career pathways through work as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). Students gain instruction in areas like communication, safety, personal care, vital signs, and emergencies. Upon successful completion, students are eligible for listing as a Nursing Assistant I on the North Carolina Nurse Aide I Registry. The College also offers Nurse Aide II and Nurse Aide Refresher courses for more experienced students.
“Our Nurse Aide I course is only 160 hours and is offered in a variety of formats,” continued Stewart, “including the traditional face-to-face class as well as a hybrid option which moves the 48 hours of classroom time online. We typically try to offer a variety of scheduling options, including weekdays, evenings and weekends, to ensure students have access to these courses.”
Additionally, a new program to complement the Associate Degree Nursing pathway is planned for the summer of 2026. The “LPN to RN Bridge” will be a 3-semester option for existing LPNs to further their education and complete the criteria for a RN credential. The College will share more information on this program in the months to come.
An Opportunity for Job-Seekers
Healthcare providers have made no secret of their critical need to recruit qualified nurses, providing an opportunity for individuals seeking stable and rewarding work. Nursing careers offer job flexibility, strong employment prospects, and short training timelines, making them especially attractive to those balancing work and family while seeking meaningful, in-demand work.
At Blue Ridge, students can begin with short-term programs and gradually work toward larger education goals—often earning credentials while continuing to work.
“From my perspective, nursing consists of a team of individuals who provide holistic care to those in need. The scope of practice differs between a practical nurse and a registered nurse and obviously the length of their education differs as well,” said Dr. Amy Szoka, PhD, RN, Director of Nursing at Blue Ridge Community College. “At Blue Ridge, we are offering a pathway that can allow an individual to reach educational goals in small bites.”
Blue Ridge maintains close relationships with area healthcare providers such as UNC Health Pardee, AdventHealth of Hendersonville, and HCA Mission Health to ensure that program offerings and curriculum are closely aligned with employer needs. This also maximizes opportunities for students to gain practical clinical experience while building relationships with their future employers.
“We are deeply grateful to our clinical partners for their ongoing collaboration, which plays a vital role in building and strengthening the healthcare workforce of Western North Carolina,” added Dr. Szoka. “Their partnership allows our students to gain essential hands-on experience and prepares them to provide high-quality care in the communities we all serve.”
The State of Healthcare
Research indicates that the nursing shortage is only expected to become more severe over the next decade.
In 2022, the Health Resources and Services Administration published their Health Workforce Analysis, in which federal health experts projected a shortage of 63,720 full-time RNs by 2030. The analysis estimates that, by 2035, North Carolina will have 13 percent fewer nurses than is considered an adequate supply, firmly positioning the state in the top ten list of states with the largest nursing shortages.
The Program on Health Workforce Research and Policy at the Cecil G. Sheps Center has forecasted a practical nurse shortage of 50 percent in extended care facilities, assisted living, and nursing homes by the year 2033. Hospitals are expected to see a 31.7 percent shortfall of LPNs by the same year.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, several factors contribute to this crisis, from an aging baby boomer-driven workforce to retirements following the pandemic. In a 2023 report, the International Council of Nurses labeled the nursing shortage a “global health emergency.”
Pathways to Success
Through pathways to nursing careers, Blue Ridge Community College aims to bolster the nursing workforce, help future caregivers find and pursue their passions, and ensure that North Carolina’s healthcare facilities are well-staffed and prepared to treat those in need.
“Having worked in other sectors of nursing education, I am proud to say we have an outstanding nursing program,” said Dr. Szoka. “Nursing as a profession continues to offer a wealth of opportunities in the healthcare setting, whether that be in a rural community or inner-city. Blue Ridge lays a strong foundation whichever pathway a student chooses.”
Information about all of Blue Ridge Community College’s healthcare pathways is online at www.blueridge.edu/healthcare, and students can begin their applications at www.blueridge.edu/admissions. Blue Ridge’s summer semester begins May 19, 2025, and the fall semester begins August 18, 2025.