Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing at Lehigh Valley Health Network Introduces New Evening, Weekend RN Program

The Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) is introducing an evening/weekend RN program beginning fall 2024. The program will be offered at the school of nursing in Pottsville and also at LVHN’s Center for Healthcare Education in Center Valley.

“The time has never been better to consider becoming a registered nurse,” says Tina Van Buren, DNP, Director of the School. “Potential students have asked for a program like this and we are optimistic that it will better fit with their schedules. Adding this program makes it much more possible for someone to become a registered nurse,” Van Buren says.

Applications are now being accepted for the fall 2024 semester for the new evening/weekend program as well as the traditional daytime program.

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For students hoping to enter in the fall, applications must be received by July 1, 2024. The fall semester begins August 26. There are certain educational prerequisites needed for the evening/weekend program. Admissions colleagues are available at 570-621-5035.

Attendees at previous school of nursing open house events shared interest in a nursing education program that had flexibility, such as evenings and weekends. For some, the standard full-time day program does not suit their needs due to the family and time commitments, employment status and travel requirements.

“We have students from our current traditional program who have expressed interest in the evening/weekend program,” says Jennifer Jones-Lapp, DNP, Director of Strategic Development for the School of Nursing. “We also have LVHN colleagues from the Allentown and Pocono area who want to be considered. Some will need the prerequisites before being admitted into the program,” Jones-Lapp says.

The evening/weekend program is identical to the traditional day program: same cost, time for completion, pre-requisites and curriculum. The big different is the flexible hours of two evening classes a week and a clinical rotation every other weekend.

Joseph F. McCloskey School of Nursing at LVHN is a full-time, three-year, non-resident dual enrollment program with Alvernia University. The educational program includes one year (two semesters) of university courses and two years (six terms) of nursing and university courses. The nursing course component builds on a base of 28 credits from Alvernia University – Schuylkill Campus. Required courses completed at other colleges and universities will be considered for transfer prior to enrollment. Graduates of the program will receive both an RN diploma and an Associate Degree in Applied Science. Graduates qualify to take the NCLEX-RN Licensure Examination.

The School of Nursing was created in 1895 as part of The Pottsville Hospital and its founding mission, ‘to care for the sick and injured and to educate nurses.’ When The Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic and Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center merged in 2008, the School’s name changed to the new entity and became Schuylkill Health School of Nursing. In 2012, the Board of Directors of Schuylkill Health decided to honor retiring Chairman of the Board, Judge Joseph F. McCloskey, by naming the school in his honor. Judge McCloskey, as Chairman of the Board of the former Pottsville Hospital, is credited with preserving the school in the mid 1980s. The School of Nursing has graduated more than 2,500 nurses in its 129-year history. It has been the chief supplier of registered nurses to Schuylkill County hospitals, clinics and private practices. Its graduates have worked all over the nation and all around the world.