by Christina Morgan | Jun 7, 2019 | News |
The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) School of Nursing is looking to expand to meet the increasing demand for nurses in the state. Nursing is one of the most in-demand professions in the country and Alaska is no exception. The Alaska Department of Labor estimates that the state will need to hire an additional 1,141 registered nurses by 2026.
Marianne Murray, director of the UAA School of Nursing, reports that the demand for nurses in Alaska is increasing as the state’s population ages. She tells www.ktva.com, “One of the reasons why is because Alaska has what we call a ‘silver tsunami’ which is, our population is aging. And of course, with an aging population, we have an increase in health care needs.”
UAA is working to help fill the gap for nurses by offering a four-year bachelor’s degree and two-year associate’s degree in nursing. However, the university is experiencing a problem with space. There are far more people interested in UAA’s nursing programs than there are room for. The nursing school receives about 280 competitive applicants each year for the baccalaureate program and admits 120 students. The university hopes to expand that number to 180 open slots by 2025.
To learn more about Alaska’s nursing shortage and how the University of Alaska Anchorage School of Nursing is working to expand their nursing programs to meet an increased demand, visit here.
by Christina Morgan | Jun 1, 2018 | News |
Jacksonville State University (JSU) has nearly doubled enrollment for its nursing program this fall in anticipation of expanded classroom space. New classroom space is being created after a tornado in March damaged the nursing building, allowing for a redesign of the space which will accommodate more students.
Nursing program administrators at JSU are expanding enrollment to meet demand after having to turn away students for years due to lack of room. Insufficient space and faculty to keep up with student growth is a rising problem in nursing programs across the country, especially as demand for nurses has risen.
JSU is planning to expand nursing enrollment by 45 percent in the fall semester, which equates to 104 new nursing students starting in the fall. The program usually sees between 64 and 72 new students starting each fall. The nursing program will also add three new employees to teach more students.
Expanded nursing enrollment has also been partly due to an increase in the application rate. The university has worked with the community college system to recruit and increase enrollment. When the JSU nursing building reopens in the spring it will have four enlarged classrooms and more than 120 seats, plus the basic skills lab will be expanded to hold 20 hospital beds instead of 8.
To learn more about Jacksonville State University’s decision to nearly double nursing enrollment to meet industry demand, visit here.
by Christina Morgan | Oct 6, 2017 | California, News |
As demand for registered nurses continues to grow nationwide and in the state of California, Concordia University Irvine (CUI) has expanded their Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program to accommodate more students. The nursing program added 24 student spaces to its fall cohort, bringing the number of new students up from 40 to 64, and will add another 24 spaces to a new cohort beginning in the summer semester.
“The ability to enroll more qualified applicants allows Concordia University Irvine to replenish the pool of exceptional nurses who are retiring and leaving the profession.”
The accelerated program is designed for people who hold a bachelor’s degree, allowing them to earn another bachelor’s degree in Nursing (BSN) in 11 to 18 months. Students are required to complete 765 hours in clinical settings and 127 units total are required for the ABSN degree, 75 of which can be transferred from a previous degree, including prerequisite work that has been completed at an accredited college or university.
A survey from UC San Francisco conducted in the fall of 2016 showed that 89 percent of California hospitals reported moderate demand or higher for registered nurses, a 48 percent increase from the same survey done in 2013. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the RN workforce is expected to grow to 3.2 million in 2024, up from 2.7 million in 2014, a total increase of 16 percent.
The nursing program expansion at CUI will include adding new staff and classroom space at the Park Place campus in Irvine. CUI plans to add full-time and adjunct clinical faculty, two new classrooms, an additional clinical skills and simulation lab, and more conference rooms. CUI Assistant Dean and Director of the Nursing Program Cheryl Smythe-Padgham tells OCRegister.com, “The ability to enroll more qualified applicants allows Concordia University Irvine to replenish the pool of exceptional nurses who are retiring and leaving the profession.”
To learn more about Concordia University Irvine’s plan to expand its Accelerated BSN program, visit here.
by Christina Morgan | Nov 10, 2016 | News, PhD |
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected a demand for 1.1 million new nurses over the next seven years to fill 575,000 new positions and replace 550,000 nurses who will retire by 2022. To meet growing demand for nurses nationwide and in the state of Indiana, Purdue University’s School of Nursing will expand undergraduate enrollment and plans to launch a new PhD in nursing program expected to open in fall 2017.
According to Jane Kirkpatrick, professor and head of the School of Nursing at Purdue, the shortage of nurses in the Midwest is particularly high. As a critical component of the health care system, doubling undergraduate nursing admissions from 100 to 200 students can make a big difference in meeting the state’s workforce needs in the field. In combination with enrollment expansion, the School of Nursing has also renovated its Center for Education and Simulation lab to accommodate the increase in students.
Purdue currently has a 100 percent job placement rate for nursing graduates, with 70 percent of those students being from Indiana. The increase in student enrollment is expected to take place over the next three years and will include the hiring of 30 additional new faculty members to meet state instructor to student ratio guidelines.
The School of Nursing is already accepting applications for the new PhD in nursing program. Designed to develop nurse scientists who can lead transdisciplinary teams to address complex challenges in health care, the new program will help meet the national goal to double the number of nurses who hold doctorates by 2020. Currently only one percent of all nurses hold PhD degrees with demand for nursing scientists, nurse executives, and nursing faculty far exceeding the supply.
