South Georgia Technical College

The Georgia Board of Nursing (GBON) voted at its May meeting to grant initial approval for South Georgia Technical College to offer an Associate of Science Nursing (LPN to RN) Bridge program on the Americus campus, announced SGTC President Dr. John Watford and Vice President of Academic Affairs Julie Partain.

The program is set to begin in August 2025 with an initial class of 40 licensed practical nurses (LPN’s) seeking to earn their registered nurse (RN) associate degree.
“We are very pleased the Georgia Board of Nursing granted initial approval of South Georgia Technical College’s application to begin a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to registered nurse (RN) Associate of Science Nursing Bridge Program,” explained Dr. Watford. “The Practical Nursing program began at South Georgia Tech in 1953 and now 72 years later, SGTC will start its first Registered Nurse Class. Many people have worked hard to make this application successful, but I have to give special thanks to Vice President for Academic Affairs Julie Partain. She has worked tirelessly on this project to get us to this point.”

South Georgia Technical College submitted its application to the Georgia Board of Nurses in July of 2024 and the Board granted developmental approval at its September meeting. The GBON visited South Georgia Technical College for a site visit in early 2025 and voted at is May 2025 board meeting to grant initial approval.

“South Georgia Technical College’s associate degree nursing bridge program is currently in compliance with all rules and regulations, and the Board voted to grant Initial Approval under Rule 410-8-.02 (1 (b). Initial Approval is required prior to the enrollment of at least 20 students in the first nursing courses,” wrote Stevan Van Hooks, GBON Nursing Education Consultant and Natara Taylor, Executive Board of Nursing after their May meeting.

“Nursing is the largest profession in the healthcare industry. At present, there is a critical shortage of Registered Nurses in rural southwest Georgia, the state of Georgia, and the nation,” explained Dr. Watford. “South Georgia Tech has a solid Practical Nursing program and we plan to build on that program to prepare currently Licensed Practical Nurses to become Registered Nurses through a Bridge Program. This one-year program will allow LPN’s who have been working for six months or longer to get a jump start on the RN degree.”

Students interested in applying for the initially approved program at SGTC must have completed 17 hours of college core classes to include: English 1101 – Composition and Rhetoric; Math 1111 or Math 1103 – College Algebra; Biology 2113 and Biology 2113L – Anatomy and Physiology I and Lab I; Sociology 1101 or Psychology 1101 – Introductory Sociology or Introductory Psychology; Biology 2114 and Biology 2114L – Anatomy and Physiology II and Lab II; Biology 2117 and Biology 2117L – Introductory Microbiology and Lab and two of the following courses: Arts 1101 – Art Appreciation; English 2130 – American Literature; Humanities 1101 – Introduction to Humanities and/or Music 1101 – Music Appreciation.

In addition to those 17-hours of core courses, a high school diploma or its equivalent is required for admission. Individuals must be 18 years of age or older and have achieved appropriate scores on the college’s placement test or submission of acceptable SAT or ACT scores. Individuals must have an unencumbered Georgia LPN license with at least six months of experience as an LPN. The LPN licensure must be maintained throughout the ASN program. Failure to maintain LPN licensure will result in dismissal from the program. Students will not be eligible for apply for admission to the ASN program if they have unsuccessfully completed any ASN, AND, or BSN programs at another institution. Students will be considered for admission to the ASN Bridge option three (3) years after the last nursing course failure.

All students will be required to take and achieve minimum required scores on standardized and program-generated achievement tests (TEAS) and a competitive process will be used to determine which students are admitted to the program. Completion of all general education courses and completion of required exams does not guarantee admission to the program and does not guarantee participation in the clinical setting. A criminal background check may be a stipulation of the clinical facility before beginning the clinical rotation.
Once admitted into the program, there are 36-credit hours of courses including: Principles of Pharmacology, Transition to Professional RN Practice, Adult Health Nursing I, Mother/Baby/Family and Pediatric Nursing, Adult Health Nursing II, and Mental Health Nursing.

South Georgia Technical College has already hired a Director and two full-time nursing instructors for the proposed LPN to RN Bridge program. Darrell Thompson is the Director and Sherri Cartwright of Shellman and Madeline Mock Roberts of Plains are the full-time instructors.

To register for the required core classes prior to acceptance into the program, interested LPN’s can contact SGTC Admissions Director Candle Walters, cwalters@southgatech.edu or call at 229-931-2299. Contact Candie Waters or visit the SGTC website, www.southgatech.edu and click on Apply on the right top side of the website home page to get started.