SGTC graduate returning to prepare for LPN to RN Bridge program
Tyechia Tullis of Buena Vista drove an hour and ten minutes one way for over a year to attend the South Georgia Technical College Crisp County Center Practical Nursing program classes from August 2021 to August 2022. She graduated from the program and is currently working as a licensed practical nurse for Magnolia Manor in Buena Vista.
Today, she returned to South Georgia Technical College to enroll in the core classes needed to be accepted in the LPN to RN Bridge program that the Georgia Board of Nursing (GBON) granted developmental approval for SGTC to begin in the Fall of 2025.
“I was so excited when I learned South Georgia Tech was getting this program. The practical nursing program was awesome and I really wanted to come back here to study to become a registered nurse. SGTC prepared me to be able to work as a nurse. I felt like the classroom was just like the real work world. My instructor, Brandy Nipper, was great,” said Tullis.
“I felt blessed to graduate and pass the nursing exams,” explained Tullis, who quickly added “but it was not easy.” She had the help of her mom, Beverly Tullis; her sister, Jalia Tullis, who is also a South Georgia Tech Practical Nursing graduate; her father and step-mother, George and Barbara Tullis, and her three children.
“I had already graduated from South Georgia Tech’s Medical Assisting program and decided to come back and enroll in the practical nursing program. I found out in July 2021 I had been accepted into the Crisp County Center program. Even though I had to drive the extra distance, I did it because I wanted to be a nurse. That summer, four of us from Buena Vista were accepted into the nursing program. The other three got into the Americus program and I was accepted at the Crisp County Center. We all graduated and became licensed practical nurses.”
When Tullis was accepted into the nursing program, she quit her full-time job as a medical assistant. She thanks God and her family for helping her through that year. “My family was so supportive. Even though I was not working full-time, I never missed a payment on my car, my house, or had anything turned off. And me and my three kids had food to eat. It was hard but I am so glad I did it. I thank my family for their support. My mom told me she had two of my bills for a year while I went back to college and she did.”
For one year, Tullis commuted an hour and 10 minutes two times a day to realize her dream. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, she left her house around 4:30 a.m. to make it to clinicals in Crisp County by 6 a.m.
“I only missed one clinical during that entire year, but I made it up,” laughed Tullis, who said it was hard, but she is so glad she did.
“I have always heard ‘God makes us uncomfortable before he makes us comfortable,’” said Tullis. “And I was definitely uncomfortable driving to Cordele at 4:30 a.m. but I prayed all the way there every week. I knew there would be a light at the end of the tunnel and there was.”
Tullis’ journey in the medical field began when she decided to become a certified nurse assistant to help out a family member who had a stroke. She worked as a CNA for 10 years before coming to South Georgia Tech to study Medical Assisting. She graduated and worked in that field until she returned to enroll in the practical nursing program. Now, she is returning again to start on her associate degree in nursing.
And if she applies the same determination and dedication she exhibited while she earned her practical nursing diploma, she should be successful!
Students interested in applying for the developmentally 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.
To register for the required core classes prior to acceptance into the program, interested LPNs can contact SGTC Admissions Director Candie Walters, cwalters@southgatech.edu or call at 229-931-2299. SGTC will be offering the following core classes on-line beginning October 16 and students can complete these classes in eight weeks. The classes offered for C-term are: English 1101, Math 111, Sociology 1101, Psychology 1101, Humanities 1101 and Art 1101.
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.