“Fortunately, my dad pulled through, but my friend was not so lucky,” Meek said. “I learned that nurses held my friend’s phone, letting her Facetime with family after being extubated and as she passed. The kindness of nurses struck me over and over again – and solidified that nursing was my calling.”  

Fortunately for Meek, his transition from a marketing career to nursing was aided by a ’s workforce grant. A scholarship and funding support allowed him to take an accelerated path from work as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to earning a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN). “Earning my BSN is something I knew I wanted to do, but cost and time were the initial prohibiting factors,” Meek said. “I know for certain that I would not be working on my BSN right now if it were not for this incredible scholarship opportunity.”

, the $3.9 million Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) grant was designed to create an accelerated LPN to BSN pathway to address Kentucky’s nursing shortage in medically underserved areas, as well as reduce financial barriers for working LPNs to advance their nursing education.��

Program helps transform student lives and communities

Enrollment soared from 24 students in the first year to 74 in the second year, and the program also has expanded from 19 to 41 Kentucky counties. Ninety-two percent of applicants and enrollees live in medically underserved areas. Based on current progress, 60 students are projected to complete a BSN degree within the next 24 months, strengthening the Registered Nurse workforce in rural and underserved communities.

“Not only are we making this program accessible to students but also having the scholarships and the stipends available has been a major factor why we have seen such growth in year one to year two,” said Heather Mitchell, project director and associate professor of nursing education. “Students are having a very positive experience and they’re going back and telling their peers.”

Through this , UofL is bringing baccalaureate education to all parts of the state and preparing nurses to serve the communities in which they live. Incorporating the best practices of online education ensures that even in the most rural and remote locations, students are able to attain the same high-quality education as someone who lives just two minutes away from UofL.

“Our students are participating in community-based experiences for the clinical education in their home areas and developing projects that directly impact those communities with tangible outcomes,” Mitchell said.��

����ֱ�� innovation through real-world scenarios

Innovation in nursing education is also a hallmark of the LPN to BSN program, including the use of simulations to expose students to scenarios they might encounter in their nursing practice.��

Through team collaboration, Mitchell, along with Simulation Director Christina Pennington, Program Director Diane Riff and Program Manager Joel Schmidt have created a simulation directory that blends academic and real-world learning. The directory includes scenarios on respiratory disease in coal regions, gun violence trauma response, mental health and homelessness, among others.��

The students aren’t the only ones to benefit from these resources. Each simulation is being embedded into RN-BSN online courses and being prepared for public release as open-source resources with full documentation, ensuring broad access. This will extend the impact to nursing programs statewide and nationally.

Mitchell said she is proud the innovative program is providing such an enriched experience for students. Schmidt agrees. “I receive comments from students about how much these scholarships and stipends mean, and how anchored in purpose these students feel for being able to go back and work in their own community. It’s something bigger than themselves.” 

Data from the , the , and the document the significant need for additional nurses in Kentucky. The School of Nursing’s ongoing commitment to increase access to quality nursing education across the commonwealth is helping to address local, state and regional health care workforce shortages.

“Our objective is to address the shortage of practice-ready registered nurses by increasing access to baccalaureate nursing education across Kentucky,” said Whitney Nash, dean of UofL School of Nursing. “This collaborative effort with health care partners will provide greater opportunity to recruit and train more nurses, and meet workforce needs in medically underserved areas of Kentucky.”

The funding provides greater opportunities for students to obtain significant financial support, therefore reducing the amount students need to work while pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. The award also will help lessen student loan debt and provide students guaranteed employment upon graduation.

These dedicated HWIF scholarships, in addition to the school’s other academic scholarships, will increase the overall number of financially supported nursing students at UofL.

Research shows that an increased ratio of BSN-prepared nursing staff within a health care facility can lead to improved patient outcomes with regards to mortality, post-surgical complications, rapid response recognition, length of stay and readmissions.

With nine Kentucky counties in the UofL Health service area and 16 counties in the Owensboro Health service area, UofL BSN graduates employed by these health care partners can impact the health of Kentuckians in 21% of the commonwealth’s counties – the majority of which are designated rural and medically underserved areas.

“This grant and health care partnership make a BSN education more accessible and affordable for students, which is a true win-win for the community and the commonwealth,” Nash said.��

“It’s vital to help ensure the workforce needs are met across the state of Kentucky,” said School of Nursing Dean Sonya Hardin.��

The accelerated BSN program, which is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing ����ֱ��, is designed to provide an expedited pathway into the nursing profession and ideal for those with a bachelor’s degree in another field who desire a career in nursing. The program will be offered in Louisville and the School of Nursing’s extension in Owensboro, Kentucky.

The program makes it possible for students to earn a degree in as few as 15 months, or four semesters. The program will be offered in a hybrid format, allowing students a more flexible format to embrace the benefits of online education and in-person learning. Lecture content will be offered online, with in-person clinical experiences. The blended instruction will provide students flexibility in completing their coursework. Graduates will be prepared for taking the national licensure exam (NCLEX) upon graduation.

“The School of Nursing faculty possesses a wide variety of teaching and practice expertise and incorporates opportunities for students to provide care to diverse patient populations in hospital and community settings,” said Assistant Dean of Owensboro BSN Programs Amy Higdon.

Applications for the accelerated BSN program begins in November 2021 for the first cohort and classes will begin in May 2022.

More information is available online here.��

Story written by Adrianne Kelly, marketing specialist and events coordinator, UofL School of Nursing.��

Two University of Louisville School of Nursing PhD students have received a major boost in their endeavor to become academic leaders.

Adam Booth and Ander Flynn recently were awarded $20,000 scholarships from the , the nation’s leading philanthropic funder of graduate nursing education. The Jonas Center created the Nurse Leaders Scholar Program in 2008 to abate nursing school faculty shortages by supporting the educational development of doctoral students who want to become faculty members.

Booth and Flynn are the first UofL School of Nursing students to receive the scholarships. The award will support their education over the next two years and they will receive leadership training through webinars and a development conference in Washington, DC, next year.

“This scholarship provides two of our doctoral students – as emerging nursing faculty – financial support, exposure to national issues in nursing and excellent networking opportunities,” said Marcia J. Hern, EdD, CNS, RN, UofL School of Nursing dean. “I am extremely confident that our two students will be greatly enriched as Jonas Scholars.”

The scholarship will give Booth the financial freedom to focus on research during the final two years of his PhD studies. His clinical experience over the past six years as an intensive care unit nurse shaped his research interest in moral distress experienced by nurses caring for end-of-life patients.

“My heart is in academia,” Booth said. “I want to teach and create a better nursing educational experience for beginning nurses, and I will be able to achieve these goals through an academic career in a tenure-track position.”

Flynn, a family nurse practitioner, will enter his second year of PhD studies this fall with a focus on researching health disparities in the deaf population.

“Receiving the Jonas scholarship is a tremendous honor,” Flynn said. “It represents many things, including the level of trust and support given to the University of Louisville by the Jonas Center.”

The UofL Jonas Scholars will be among more than 1,000 future nurse educators supported by the Jonas Center throughout the United States, where nursing school faculty shortages limit student enrollment amid a growing need for nurses.

U.S. nursing schools turned away nearly 70,000 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate programs in 2014 due in large part to insufficient faculty numbers, according to the .

Aging faculty, competition from clinical employers that offer higher salaries and graduate programs that do not produce enough nurse educators to meet demand have contributed to the shortage.