News on Nursing Education
Net Nurses: Online Nursing School?
By some estimates, more than 100,000 nurses are needed to fill America’s nursing shortage. To address this crisis quicker, a new online nursing program in Texas has just enrolled its first students.
Minnesota’s St. Luke’s Nurses Offered Deal They Like, Strike Averted
The threat of a strike at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth, Minn., has likely been avoided. Nurse negotiators and St. Luke’s management reached a tentative agreement on a contract early Wednesday after 17 hours of mediation. A plan to ensure nurse-to-patient ratio safety was agreed upon, which was the key issue for a strike.
Mediation Goes Late Into the Night With Minnesota Nurses Union
A federal mediation session between Minneapolis’ St. Luke’s hospital and the union representing its nurses continued long into Tuesday night. Nurses at St. Luke’s and SMDC Health System voted overwhelming August 18 to reject contract offers and authorize a one-day strike, although a strike has not yet been scheduled.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Northwest Health Foundation Announce New Initiatives to Build the 21st Century Nursing Workforce
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Northwest Health Foundation (NWHF) today announced nine new grants as part of Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN), a unique national initiative to help find innovative ways to create an adequate nursing workforce appropriate in size and equipped with the specific skills necessary to meet the changing demands of the 21st century patient population. The program provides support to local and regional philanthropies to act as catalysts in their own communities and to develop strategies for creating and sustaining a viable nursing workforce.
Two Chicago City Colleges Closing Nursing Programs
Amid a nationwide nurse shortage, nursing programs at two Chicago City Colleges are being phased out to focus limited resources and guarantee that students graduate from the nationally accredited programs they need to qualify for the "best jobs." Olive Harvey College and Kennedy-King will close this fall due to unaccredited nursing programs.
Georgia Perimeter College Puts Nurses Through Boot Camp
For first-year nursing students preparing for the arduous demands on family and time when attending school, a "boot camp" program at Georgia Perimeter College in Clarkston, Ga., is underway. The program will bolster stronger reading, studying, test-taking and time management skills, which many students lack.
Online Courses, Part-Time Educators Aimed at Easing Nursing Shortage
Susan Taft, an associate professor at Kent State University’s College of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio is helping an untapped pool of nurses become instructors. Through a $200,000 grant with Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future through the Cleveland Foundation, nurses can teach online or part-time who are otherwise disabled, live too far or need to be home with small children.
