Licensure Requirements
Are you called to be a nurse? Applicants should have a character of integrity - worthy of the public's trust. Additionally, applicants should have a teachable spirit, positive communication skills, compassion valuing all people, effective critical thinking skills, work well with others, and be responsible and detail-oriented in their work. Nurses need emotional stability and spiritual resilience to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stresses. The faculty desire to produce nurses with Christ-like character and wisdom to lead in their ministry of healing. If you are interested in attending a Christian college with an excellent reputation for whole-person education, College of the Ozarks nursing program may be for you!
The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and holds Full Approval Status from the Missouri State Board of Nursing (MSBN). The charter class began nursing courses in August, 2007, after Initial Approval Status was granted from the MSBN. The charter class graduated in May 2010.
College of the Ozarks, in its long tradition of excellence, offers a traditional, four-year professional Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program. After acceptance to the College and completion of at least one year of Nursing program prerequisites, the student may apply to the Nursing major. Prior to acceptance to the BSN degree program, a series of academic and physical assessments and an interview are required, including a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 and a preferred ACT composite score of 21.
Nursing courses are offered in sequence over a six-semester plan. Clinical courses include instruction by expert nursing educators in the areas of maternity, pediatrics, adult health, geriatrics, simulation, mental health, community health, and leadership.
Clinical settings in the beautiful Ozark Mountains range from rural to metropolitan. During the last semester of the program, students engage in a preceptorship course where they work one-on-one with a Registered Nurse (RN) caring for a typical patient caseload. Additionally, through our Christian nursing school, students will be prepared for success on the National Council Licensing Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®) and for graduate study. Job placement in nursing remains excellent.
Title: Professor of Nursing and the Don and Marie Garner Nursing Program Director
Email: jwilliams@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Leadership, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, Adult Health – Diabetes
Education: A.S.N., Union University, 1985; B.S.N, Union University, 1987; M.S.N., University of Tennessee-Memphis, 1988; N.D./D.N.P., Case Western Reserve University, 1998; CNE, National League for Nursing
Dr. Janice Williams is a Professor of Nursing and the Don and Marie Garner Nursing Program Director. Her research interests include leadership, teaching students how to reason well, critical thinking assessment in nursing education, and diabetes education. Dr. Williams is a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) by NDBDE, a CCNE Site Evaluator and Missouri State Board of Nursing Adjunct Surveyor, and she has a Parish Nursing Certificate. Altogether, Dr. Williams has 30 plus years in nursing education with 20 plus years in nursing administration.
Title: Associate Professor of Nursing
Email: rhamon@cofo.edu
Education: A.A., Sinclair Community College, 2005; A.S.N., St. John's College of Nursing, 2008; B.S.N., Southwest Baptist University, 2010; M.S.N., Cox College, 2014
Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) by the National League for Nursing
Email: lherchenroeder@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Prerequisite courses for nursing from College of the Ozarks
Education: Diploma, Burge School of Nursing, 1993; B.S.N., University of Virginia, 1999; M.S.N., University of Virginia, 2000; PMHNP, University of Virginia, 2020
Ms. Lisa Herchenroeder received her undergraduate nursing degree from Burge School of Nursing and her BSN, MSN and Post-Masters Psych Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville (UVA). She is also a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE).
Title: Associate Professor of Nursing & Simulation Coordinator
Email: kshepherd@cofo.edu
Education: Diploma, St. John's School of Nursing, 1992; B.S.N,, Southwest Baptist University, 1996; M.S.N., Missouri State University, 2007
Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE), Society for Simulation in Healthcare
Email: dtlustos@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Gerontology; Health Promotion; Health Assessment; Adult Med-Surg
Education: B.S.N., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1995; M.A., Covenant Theological Seminary, 2001; M.S.N., Southwest Baptist University, 2018
Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) by the National League of Nursing Certified in Gerontology Nursing by American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC)
Title: Assistant Professor of Nursing
Email: msanders@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Adult Med/Surg, Nursing Research, and Maternal/Child.
Education: B.S.N., College of the Ozarks, 2015; M.S.N., Southwest Baptist University, 2020
Mrs. Melissa Sanders is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at College of the Ozarks. Her professional career includes clinical education, medical-surgical, family practice nursing, and maternal child nursing. Mrs. Sanders’ research interests are reducing compassion fatigue, and nurse burnout in nursing students.
CNE, National League of Nursing; MEDSURG-BC, American Nurses Credentialing Center; RNC-OB, National Certification Corporation
Email: lpaul@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Adult Medical-Surgical/Fundamentals
Education: B.S.N., College of the Ozarks, 2015; M.S.N., Western Governors University, 2017
Certified in Critical Care Nursing by the Nursing by American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC)
Email: kmsmith@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Medical-Surgical Nursing, Pharmacology
Education: B.S.N., Missouri Southern State University; M.S.N., Cox College
Mrs. Kimberly Smith is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at College of the Ozarks. Her professional career includes medical-surgical nursing with emphasis on cardiac care. Prior to coming to College of the Ozarks she served as a nursing coordinator/instructor for seven years at a local community college.
Email: rprather@cofo.edu
Education: B.S.N., College of the Ozarks, 2018; M.S.N., Palm Beach Atlantic University, 2022; D.N.P., Palm Beach Atlantic University, 2024
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