January
20, 2003
The director of the nursing program
at Hesston College has been appointed to the National League for Nursing
Accrediting Commission's Evaluation Review Panel for associate degree
nursing programs around the country.
Bonnie Sowers will begin her three-year
appointment January 30-February 3 by attending the Evaluation Review
Panel meetings in Chicago, Ill.
According to Sowers, the panel meets
for a week twice a year in either Chicago, or New York City. The National
League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) is based in New York
City.
The role of Evaluation Review Panel
members is to assure that the process of peer evaluation occurs according
to the accreditation standards and criteria. They review the findings
of the Program Evaluator team and make recommendations for accreditation
status to the NLNAC. During the upcoming week in Chicago, the panel
will review a total of 46 college and university nursing programs. Sowers
will be involved in reviewing nine associate degree nursing programs.
Sowers is pleased to be on the Evaluation Review Panel. "Through
this role, I can be of service to my profession. It will also give me
valuable opportunities to network with nursing colleagues across the
nation."
Sowers continued, "In addition,
it will expose me to new ideas that could potentially strengthen our
nursing program at Hesston College."
Sowers has been a Program Evaluator
for the NLNAC since 1978. She previously served on the National League
of Nursing (NLN) Accreditation Committee and the NLN Appeal Panel.
Sowers has served as a nursing professor
at Hesston College 1970-72, and since 1975. She has been director of
the nursing program from 1980-83 and from 1985 to the present.
Sowers attended Hesston College
in 1965-66. She received a bachelor's of science degree in nursing from
Goshen (Ind.) College in 1969, and a master's of science degree in nursing
from Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, in 1975.