CNM’s Practical Nursing Program Wins Prestigious National Workforce Award

New Mexico needs nurses. More than 3,000 nurses annually, to be exact.  

To help meet this growing need, CNM recently started a Practical Nursing (PN) certificate program that trains nurses to work in many of the state’s most impacted areas, including long-term care and skilled nursing facilities. The accelerated three-semester PN program has a low barrier to entry, high-quality training, and leads to well-paying jobs. 

The unique combination of healthcare support and easy-access workforce development quickly made it one of CNM’s most popular programs. More recently, the program was also recognized with a prestigious award from the National Council of Workforce Education (NCWE). That award was presented this week to Diane Evans-Prior, the Dean of the School of Nursing & Patient Support and Fateesha Graff, the Practical Nursing Program Director. 

“The NCWE award serves as important recognition for the team at CNM who saw a need and built a workforce pipeline that not only leads to crucial care for patients, but also creates a path for students from all backgrounds to enter life-changing careers that strengthen families, communities, and our economy,” said Amardeep Kahlon, CNM’s Vice President for Education and Learning. 

To enroll in CNM’s PN program there are no prerequisite courses, no entrance exam, and no GPA requirements. 

"We’re really excited to offer a nursing program with no barriers to entry because that’s not usually something that’s on the table,” says Evans-Prior. “We’re always trying to find new and innovative ways to open doors instead of building walls.” 

Thus far, the PN program has graduated four cohorts totaling 80 students, and these graduates have achieved an average 80% first-time pass rate of the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN). Those diverse cohorts were 50% Hispanic/Latino, 10.7% American Indian/Alaska Native, and approximately 50% adult learners over age 30.  

Amme Jenkins is an adult learner in the current cohort and she’s set to graduate in 2027. She’s 45 years old and spent 25 years as a stay-at-home mom before deciding to get her PN certificate.  She was excited about returning to school as an adult learner and eager to build the study skills and confidence needed to succeed. She found the Practical Nursing program to be supportive, inspiring, and life-changing for her.  

“I definitely had some doubts, but all the instructors were amazing and I can’t wait to enter the field,” she says. 

Students like Jenkins can expect to make between $22 to $27 per hour, or salaries that pay $45,700-$56,000 annually, according to the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. Practical Nursing students get priority enrollment should they want to continue to CNM’s Associate of Applied Science in Nursing.  

The vision for the Practical Nursing program extends beyond the traditional educational pathway. Building on the current program, CNM is developing a second phase that will expand access to students pursuing their high school equivalency diploma to create meaningful job opportunities with long-term career prospects and pay that’s high enough to support families.  

CNM also plans to make the curriculum portable, enabling other community colleges with NMNEC programs to offer the Practical Nursing pathway to high school students in their communities, thereby meeting critical workforce needs and setting graduates on a path to a possible associate degree in Nursing.  

“This cross-college collaboration decreases the resource costs—human, fiscal, time—for our sister programs because the work is accomplished collaboratively in state-level meetings with representatives from each school, rather than faculty duplicating the efforts independently at every campus,” said Evans-Prior. 

For students like Jenkins, pay is important as she has six kids, some of whom are also going into college. She’s excited to provide economic support, but even more excited to create a career based around care. 

In a couple of years, she sees herself working in a pediatric home healthcare setting and wants to work with kids because she fondly remembers helping her sister recover from a bad burn injury. She said that just a few years back, she never could have imagined finding such a meaningful career that was easy to enter and came with so much support. But now she’s here and wants to make the most of what comes next.  

“I’ve always been a helper, and I can’t wait to continue in that role as a practical nurse,” she said.