It
h

as been said that nurses are at the center of health The grants are part of the RWJF New Careers in Nursing
care. Without them, health care — like the body — fal- Scholarship Program, an initiative in partnership with the
ters. Or worse, collapses. Yet by 2025 America’s health American Association of Colleges of Nursing. The Founda-
care system will fall 250,000 nurses short of the demand. tion is focused on alleviating the nation’s nursing shortage
That’s because a many of today’s nurses are nearing retire- by expanding the pipeline of adult students who enroll in
ment; at the same time, hospitals expect more education accelerated nursing programs. The program especially seeks
from the nursing workforce. The National Advisory Council to bring diversity to the nursing profession by expanding
on Nurse Education and Practice is calling for two-thirds of groups traditionally underrepresented in nursing. These
nurses to have earned a BSN or higher. Today only about 47 are minorities, males, and those individuals from an eco-
percent of working nurses have their bachelor’s degree. nomically disadvantaged background who already have a
With its array of BSN, RN
bachelor’s degree in a field other
to BSN and MSN degree
Demand is high for the nursing than nursing.
programs, the MNU School of
workforce, and the outlook
In being selected for the schol-
Nursing and Health Science arship grant, MNU’s School of
is helping solve the national
is challenging. MNU joins a select group
Nursing and Health Science has
problem. Nursing growth at
of universities attracting attention –
found itself on the national stage
MNU has been tremendous in nursing education, along-
since its beginning in 1981,
and funding – to be the solution.
side perennial health education
and innovation is part of its leaders Duke, Johns Hopkins
history. In fact, MNU’s accelerated nursing education model and Villanova, who also received grants from the founda-
became the first of its kind in Kansas in 1991. tion. Only 51 universities received the 2009 New Careers in
Recent interest in MNU’s programs has also grown sig-
Nursing grant – a huge accomplishment for MidAmerica
nificantly. Since 2003, declared nursing majors at MNU have
Nazarene University.
more than tripled — from 87 students to 277 in 2010. “We went through a rigorous application process,” says
MNU recently gained national support for its accelerated
Susan Larson, Ph.D., R.N., interim dean of the MNU School
curriculum, receiving a $100,000 grant from the Robert Wood
of Nursing and Health Science. “We were the only school in
Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that will allow MNU to award
Kansas to receive this grant. I think our 20-year experience
10 scholarships of $10,000 each for new nursing students. The
with accelerated nursing education made a difference in
first awards are slated for May 2010.
winning this award.”
4 | Accent magazine | Spring 2010
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