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Wichita State University Allows More Undergraduate Nursing Students

Posted on: Wednesday, 12 October 2005, 00:00 CDT

By Andi Atwater, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

Oct. 12--An increased demand for nurses has prompted Wichita State University to open its doors to more undergraduate nursing students.

WSU officials decided to permanently expand the baccalaureate nursing program by 50 percent. That means beginning in January, WSU will take an additional 20 students a semester, raising its limit from 40 to 60 students and phasing in four new faculty members.

"There's a huge nursing shortage out there," said Peter Cohen, dean of the College of Health Professions. "It's a huge problem, and we're trying to do whatever we can in our region to meet whatever needs we can."

More than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Yet almost 500 students were turned away from 12 Kansas baccalaureate nursing programs in the 2004-05 academic year, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported. Nationally, 32,797 qualified applicants were turned away.

WSU had almost 90 students on the waiting list this fall.

"They met our program qualifications, but we couldn't accommodate them," Cohen said.

Now WSU administrators are guaranteeing the money for 40 more nursing students a year, at a cost of about $300,000.

Local hospitals are stepping up as well. Via Christi Regional Medical Center donated $80,000 this fall to pay for a cohort of 10 additional students into the two-year program.

That will cost the hospital system about $320,000 over the next two years, but officials said it's a crucial investment.

"These are building blocks for the future," said Frank Creeden, chief operating officer for Via Christi's St. Joseph and Good Shepherd campuses.

"It helps the college enhance its faculty and directly impacts our ability to provide care for our patients in the future," he said.

HCA's Wesley Medical Center is in the middle of its commitment to pay for the staff and resources to accommodate three sets of 10 nursing students at WSU.

The grants began four semesters ago and will see the first set of students graduate this year. The funding is part of Wesley's long-term strategy for attracting and retaining nurses.

"We are preparing for nursing shortages in several different ways," said Sue Ebertowski, chief of nursing. "Not just funding nursing students, but in programs (where) we offer nursing students employment as they finish their semesters . . . "

Wesley president and chief executive David Nevill said hospitals cannot do it all. Real change will have to come from the top, where legislators have the power to funnel more money into the state's nursing schools.

"The great limiting factor remains the size of education and training programs in the pipeline," Nevill said. "We wanted to demonstrate through the Legislature and university officials that the problem can be solved with the allocation or reallocation of funding. We put our money where our mouth is."

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)

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