VGCC Nursing Program Head Elected to Statewide Nursing Board

Dr. Anna Seaman, program head and instructor of Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) at Vance-Granville Community College, was sworn in as a newly elected member of the North Carolina Board of Nursing (NCBON) on February 21.

A career nurse with decades of experience, Seaman holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, one of the highest degrees a nurse can achieve. In her role with NCBON, she specifically brings her perspective as an ADN/diploma nurse educator.

“As North Carolina continues to face a dire nursing shortage, it will be my mission to protect the public, support nurses in the state, and focus on nursing education as NC programs experience a dire shortage of qualified nursing educational professionals,” she said. “I am very interested in creative strategies to assist with this nursing shortage.”

Seaman is well acquainted with the needs of ADN students and what will help them succeed. She herself graduated from VGCC’s ADN program in the 1990s. Then, starting in fall 2004, she served as lead instructor and course coordinator for the program, actively working with students to improve retention and NCLEX exam scores. After more than a decade in that role, she became VGCC’s program head in fall 2016. Her new position with NCBON gives her the opportunity to serve nursing students and professionals across the state, not just those close to home.

“My experience in nursing and nursing education will greatly assist me in serving NC’s public as it relates to safe and effective nursing practice, as well as being an advocate for NC nurses and nurse educators throughout the state,” she explained.

Seaman’s election to NCBON is a testament to the quality of VGCC’s nursing instructors. Each spring, qualifying nurses are nominated to serve on NCBON by their peers, fellow nurses licensed in the state. After nominees have been validated and approved, NCBON conducts a statewide election in the summer so that licensed nurses may select the board members that influence their daily nursing practice. Once elected, new board members begin their four-year term of service the following January.