A new $616,500 grant funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration will expand the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing graduate programs to offer a new educational track for nurses who want to teach nursing – either in a clinical setting or an academic setting. The grant is one of five grants totaling $4.26 million awarded recently to the college that will expand Nebraska’s nursing workforce.
The goal of the grant is to expand the number of nurses with nurse educator expertise to fill critical shortages in the nurse-faculty workforce.
There are three ways to become certified as nurse educators:
- through one of the college’s advanced practice registered nurse master’s degree specialties;
- a post-master’s certificate;
- the doctoral program.
Graduates of the master’s degree and post-master’s degree will fill roles as advance practice nurses with nurse educator skills. Graduates of the doctoral program will be for nursing research and teaching.
Sarah Thompson, Ph.D., Niedfelt Distinguished Professor and associate dean of academic programs, UNMC College of Nursing, said the education options are ideally suited for registered nurses who want to teach in clinical nursing or in an academic setting. “We need nurses interested in making an impact on the future generation of nurses,” she said. “Addressing the faculty shortage is one of the most effective ways to attack the nursing shortage.”
She said about 20 percent of UNMC’s nurse faculty are expected to retire in the next five years. Without additional nurse educators, the projected retirements will cripple the nurse workforce in Nebraska, said Dr. Thompson.
Nurse educator qualification is earned by taking four courses worth 12 credit hours.
“Most practicing nurses have not had training in teaching nursing skills,” Connie Visovsky, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing of the UNMC College of Nursing. “This provides training so nurses have competence in teaching.”
Courses will be delivered through distance education computer technology. The time frame for degree completion is flexible. Students can earn a master’s degree in two to four years, a post-master’s degree in one year and a doctoral degree in four to seven years.
Within three years, the college anticipates 60 enrolled students with 20 graduates to fill vacancies in Nebraska, said Dr. Thompson. Applications are being accepted now. The college hopes to enroll 15 students beginning in January.
For more information about the program or to apply, click here or go to www.unmc.edu/nursing and click on “Nurse Educator Track,” or call or e-mail Dani Eveloff at (402) 559-5184, develoff@unmc.edu.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources exceeds $100 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 3,200 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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