Nursing School Programs

Parade Magazine recently discussed the nursing shortage, citing the very same reason that I’ve frequently mentioned here on this site: not enough nursing teachers. Which means not enough nursing classes. Which means not enough students can graduate from nursing school to replace all of those registered nurses who are leaving the field.

Nationally, the article says, 42,866 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing school programs last year. That is very unfortunate; think how much better off patients everywhere would be if all of those qualified, eager nursing school applicants had been accepted. Eventually, of course, some of those applicants are going to get discouraged and give up and seek other fields.

Before they do, of course, I would suggest that they explore some alternative methods of getting past the nursing school waiting lists.

Pensacola Junior College has received a grant from several partners and is expanding a number of its programs. They will be accepting more paramedic to RN students ( a two-year associate’s degree program.)

Recently many paramedic students suffered a big letdown when Florida’s Board of Nursing decided that they were not going to accept the Excelsior online Paramedic to RN program  - even while some students were halfway or all the way through the program.  However, Pensacola Junior College is just one of many community colleges in the State of Florida which offer state accredited paramedic to Rn programs - so there’s no reason to give up.

And here’s an exciting option that we haven’t come across before: CNA to LPN! Apparently it’s a brand new program, and 60 students will be enrolled. Check out the information at the Florida Center for Nursing Webpage, which also has information about other Florida schools which have recently received various nursing grants.

A professor at the University of Central Florida Health Services Administration just did a study which shows that hospitals with higher RN staffing levels have lower patient mortality and less post-operative complications than hospitals with lower nurse to patiant ratios.

Go figure, eh?

Florida, unfortunately, is not one of those states that has a maximum nurse-patient ratio, unlike California.

According to a press release on PR Newswire, nursing students looking for scholarships in North Carolina have a great opportunity coming up. Approximately 400 scholarship awards to both undergraduate and graduate nursing students are expected to be made this year through the North Carolina Nurse Scholars Program. And these nursing scholarships are quite generous; they’re in the range of $3,000 to $6,000, depending on a number of factors.

All recipients must be legal residents of North Carolina, and the scholarhips require the recipients to practice nursing for a certain period of time in North Carolina after graduating. Grades are a criterion, but financial need is not. Click here for more information about these great nursing scholarships.

But the deadline to apply is Feb. 28. What are you waiting for? And if you’re not from North Carolina, here are some more general resources to help you pay for nursing school.

According to a 2007 article in the Birmingham business journal, the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Nursing has received a $1 million gift which will be used to help create a master’s degree program.

45 new nursing students are expected to graduate annually.

The great thing about the two- to three-year master’s degree program is that it is geared towards anyone, from any field, who has a bachelor’s degree. Students who fit this nursing school’s criteria and live in Alabama should definitely check this program out.

The UAB School of Nursing currently graduates more than 250 students a year through its bachelor’s and master’s programs. And they are looking for people to apply to for nursing school scholarships, so click that link and see what they have to offer!

The nursing shortage is featured in a Dallas Morning news article.

The nursing shortage is caused by a lack of nursing teachers, because nurses can make more money outside of the academic setting. Students who graduate from some programs can expect to earn $50,000 a year starting salary in hospitals. Nurses with masters degrees can earn $80,000 a year at hospitals or doctors offices, according to the Dallas Morning News - but nursing teachers with master’s degrees can expect to earn $41,000 when they are hired on as teachers.

Half of all applicants to nursing school in Maryland are turned away because there aren’t enough applicants, according to a Nov. 6 Baltimore Sun article. Hospitals there have a 13 percent vacancy rate for nurses.

The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, Massachusetts, notes that some nursing schools have a four year waiting list.

A new nursing program is opening up at McHenry College in McHenry, Illinois, according to the Northwest Herald. There will be 20 students accepted into the first class of the ADN program.

The Gordon and Betty Moore foundation is donating $100 million dollars to the University of California, Davis, to form a new nursing school. It will be a master’s and doctoral program and and will also support nurses going into research. The school is expected to start admitting students in the fall of 2008, and will serve approximately 456 students.
This is a great way to help address the nursing teacher shortage, which in turn will help ease the nursing school waiting list issue, and then, down the line, the nursing shortage.

According to a study recently released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 42,286 qualified applicants were turned away from bachelor’s degree nursing school programs in 2006-2007 because nursing schools don’t have enough faculty to teach all of those students.

In a way, this is good news for nurses - the nursing shortage ensures that nurses are valued, that they have plenty of job opportunities, and that they are well-paid and collect good benefits. However, this can present challenges for aspiring nursing students who want to get into nursing schools - so be sure to check out some of our tips on getting into nursing school faster!