Women’s History Month? City College’s award-winning, all-female led Nursing Program is making history every day, thanks to instructors such as Christine Crane and Dr. Lea Federe, who are among the latest faculty joining the program.

Crane, a City College Nursing Program graduate who spent eight years as an intensive care unit nurse at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, was hired as a full-time professor in January of 2024. Federe, a bedside nurse at UC San Diego Medical Center for 25 years, was hired a little more than seven months after Crane. Both complement a program offering a robust blend of knowledge, clinical experience, a commitment to the ongoing development of nursing education and practice, and more.

“Our faculty commitment to student preparedness is unsurpassed,” said Crane, who has a cohort of 65 first- and second-year students. “I know each of our students’ names, where they work, what challenges they face outside of school. There’s just a lot of individualized attention, not to mention the resources we offer. Child care, mental health services, student success advisors. The list goes on.”

Added Federe: “I really like the people I work with. There is a lot of collaboration, and that really makes a difference in a work environment to have that kind of camaraderie. The fact that we’re all experienced nurses also makes a big difference.”

Ranked No. 1 in the county and No. 3 in the nation, City’s Nursing Program has a 100% pass rate for program graduates taking the required state NCLEX-RN exam the past two years and four of the past five. Since 2019-20, just one of 262 graduates failed to pass the exam required for being licensed as a registered nurse.

Students are among the program’s biggest fans. “This program has been transformational for me,” said graduate Ashley Watson. “The faculty’s expertise and support have been invaluable in shaping me into a competent, passionate nurse.”

Federe and Crane embody the program’s excellence.

A native of New Jersey, Crane volunteered at an assisted living program while in high school and was convinced nursing was the right path for her when she helped take care of her mom, who died from cancer when Crane, then 24, was working as a certified nursing assistant. She graduated from City with an associate degree in nursing in 2014, earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Cal State San Marcos and her master’s in nursing from Cal State Dominguez Hills. During her master’s program, while simultaneously working at Scripps Memorial Hospital, she served as a student teacher at City College as part of her clinical requirements. City hired her as an adjunct professor in the fall of 2023. She became a full-time faculty member the following January.

“I loved what I was doing, but Covid kind of burned me out a little bit, and I always wanted to teach,” she said. “City was such a valuable program for me, I love the diversity, and I always felt coming back here was the place to be.”

Federe found her fondness for teaching while working at UCSD Medical Center, where she engaged in trainings and worked closely with nursing students and new hires in intermittent preceptorships. She had a wealth of knowledge and practical skills to pass on; Federe, who began her medical career as a certified nursing assistant at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, earned her associate degree in nursing from Southwestern College and her registered nursing degree, master’s in nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice at Pt. Loma Nazarene University, where she also taught while working at UCSD.

“The fact that our faculty here at City are all experienced nurses makes a big difference,” she said.