Department of Labor Grants Fund Nursing Education Programs

Published Jul 30, 2005

by VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN

Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

In June, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced the awarding of a series of grants totaling more than $12 million to address opportunities to build a world-class health care and biotechnology workforce. The 12 grantees were selected from nearly 230 applicants competing for funding under the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative. Five of the grants address the nationwide shortage of nurses with funding specifically designated for nursing education programs, including those intended to broaden the pool of nurse educators. They are as follows:

Indiana - The Indianapolis Private Industry Council (PIC), Inc. received a grant of $1 million to join forces with Ivy Tech State College to expand opportunities for radiology technicians, RNs, and respiratory therapists. The PIC will also work to develop an accelerated master of science program for RNs and identify clinical opportunities in the area.

New York - The Orange County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) was awarded a grant of $1,048,300 to train new nursing instructors and mentors, who will then be available to teach more nurses. The WIB will form a consortium with area health care, education, and training providers to address the nursing faculty shortages that have limited enrollment in local nursing programs - a situation which has led to shortfalls in skilled nurses and health

care professionals. As a result of this project, 50 nurses will be trained as instructors; 100 nurses will be trained as mentors; 70 nurses will be trained as adjunct instructors; and 1,000 students will be admitted to health care education and training programs. Key project partners include the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association, Pace University, and seven WIBs that comprise the Southern/Mid-Hudson Valley. Representative Nita M. Lowey (D-NY), who helped secure the grant, said the nursing shortage had become a chicken-and-egg problem. "Without enough educators in the field, we can't train nurses," Lowey said at a news conference held at Pace University to announce the grant. "And without more nurses, we can't expect more faculty to rise out of the ranks of nurses." At Pace's Lienhard School of Nursing, which Chao toured, the grant might translate into three full-time faculty members this year and two to three next year.

Texas - The United Regional Health Care System was awarded a grant of $846,325 to generate a pipeline of new workers for the health care industry through targeted recruiting of veterans, dislocated workers, minorities, and non-traditional workers. In addition, United Regional will provide entry-level training for new hospital workers and specialty skills training for incumbent workers through the Career Mobility Initiative (CMI), a model that supports health care workers' careers. As a result of this project, 11 nurses and nursing faculty will enroll in advanced nurse educator training.

Utah - The University of Utah was awarded a grant of $871,707 to increase the number of clinical faculty available to train nurses at the baccalaureate level and help retain clinical nurses and faculty by promoting career advancement through a Clinical Faculty Associate Program. Training additional clinical faculty associates will allow the university to admit more students into its nursing program. The project will develop a customized Teaching Nursing Specialty curriculum. Thirteen clinical faculty will enroll in that program and 32 additional students will enter baccalaureate nursing programs.

Wisconsin - The University of Wisconsin System was awarded a grant of $1,365,101 to address shortages in Wisconsin's nursing faculty by reducing the training period for nurse educators by 18 to 24 months. The shortages have resulted in more than 3,000 individuals wait-listed to participate in nursing programs. The project will develop a public/private collaboration to recruit and train health professional educators, and use that unique hospital-university-technical college partnership to allow participating nurses to balance clinical and educational roles to increase their annual salaries. The collaboration includes the Wisconsin Technical College System, workforce development boards, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, and several health care employers. The grant will be combined with $1,650,939 from the partners, including more than $881,000 in cash, more than $461,000 in in-kind contributions, and $308,000 in federal aid the state receives for workforce investment. Wisconsin nurses collaborated on the grant proposal, and the innovative project was viewed as one that could be replicated across the country to accelerate nursing education and begin to address the shortage of nurses. Specifically, the project streamlines course work, offers scholarships, and arranges schedules to let working nurses with associate and bachelor degrees outside of nursing to get master's degrees in nursing in two or three years. The project will also develop options between nursing schools and health care employers to let nurses both practice and teach, allowing them to continue earning the higher pay associated with clinical nursing.

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