On Aug. 3, just in time for the next fall semester, Cassandra Porter will take over the role of director of nursing. Porter will be taking over for Cheryl Beam, who has held the position of director of nursing for the past nine years. 

Porter has worked at Lake Land College (LLC) since 2006 as a nursing faculty/instructor. As a nursing instructor, she had many duties such as teaching in classroom, clinical, and laboratory settings. She stated that she “taught across all levels, but most recently taught the second level ADN/RN nursing students. As an instructor we are responsible for keeping our curriculum/instruction up to date on the constant changes that are occurring in health care. For example the National Nursing exam known as the NCLEX has changed its testing format starting this month (April). All instructors have had to update their teaching styles, assignments, and exams to ensure students can be successful in passing the exam. Nursing Instructors also must stay up to date in the clinical setting. We are all creating hospital simulation activities so that students can “practice” in the lab in a safe environment. We then supervise and perform skills right alongside the students in clinical settings so we must keep our own clinical skills up to date.”

Porter’s busy schedule will not diminish as she transitions into her newly appointed role. As the Director of Nursing, she will be responsible for the admission and orientation of incoming students. In addition, she will schedule and create courses and assignments. She must also ensure that her students succeed and that the program stays accredited. Porter mentioned that, “Our nursing program is accredited by ACEN, Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. This requires all the faculty to keep very strict records of all student admissions, retention, and success. While it is a huge responsibility and requires extra time of all the faculty it is very important for our students. Students graduating from an accredited program are more likely to be accepted into bachelor’s and graduate programs and be able to secure employment from certain entities such as the federal government.”  

Porter hopes to bring the same level of success as her predecessor, Beam. She is very excited about her new role and all the amazing things the program will accomplish. She stated that “I am excited to continue leading the nursing program in the direction that Cheryl Beam started it in nine years ago. Our nursing programs are very strong.  We have very hard-working faculty that truly care about student success. We all feel great pride in guiding and teaching our students through a very difficult program and then seeing them thrive in their new role as a nurse in the community. I hope we can continue to grow this program to meet the needs of our students and community.”