(ARA) - Liz O'Connor, 24, of Brandon, Fla., has always enjoyed helping others. As a child, she brought home sick animals and nursed them back to health. During high school, she volunteered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and helped take care of the elderly at local nursing homes.
So when Liz reached college age, it seemed only natural that she would pursue a career as a registered nurse. It's an excellent choice on her part, because nurses are in great demand and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the United States has an acute shortage of nurses that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and require more health care.
The latest projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that more than 1.2 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2014. The numbers are high, in part, because many nurses in the workforce are approaching retirement. In fact, a recent survey indicates that 55 percent of nurses working today intend to retire between 2011 and 2020.
Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels. According to AACN's report on 2005-2006 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away 41,683 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing in 2005 due to budget constraints, and an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites and classrooms.
But companies like Corinthian Colleges, Inc., one of the largest providers of post-secondary education and training in North America, are doing something about it.
Two of Corinthian's 126 schools, Florida Metropolitan University (FMU) in Brandon, Fla., and Everest College in Phoenix, Ariz., are in various stages of offering Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs, with programs at several other campuses in the works.
"Corinthian has a long history of providing quality training for entry-level healthcare professionals, so the new ADN program is a natural addition to our current offering," says Jeanne Hately, Ph.D., R.N., Corinthian's regional nursing director. "Our first nursing programs will be offered in Florida and Arizona because our research shows that both of these states have acute nursing shortages."
Everest College expects to complete the build-out of its nursing program facility by March 2007 and to begin accepting students by mid-2007. The FMU Brandon campus is already enrolling its first group of nursing students.
Last year, FMU spent more than $750,000 on an 8,600-square-foot expansion that includes classrooms, modern computer equipment and a unique skills lab designed to replicate a hospital setting. The lab is well-equipped with computerized "patient" manikins that can measure a student's accuracy in checking blood pressure and other vital signs. Students also get hands-on experience working with real patients, thanks to the school's relationships with hospitals and clinics in the area.
Maureen Peterkin, the nursing director at FMU's Brandon, Fla., campus just outside Tampa, says the offering comes at an opportune time in her state. "Our hospitals have been dealing with nursing shortages for some time now, and with so many retirees here in Florida, it's simply unacceptable. I've had people in the healthcare industry tell me this program is a godsend."
David Splitstone, president of FMU's Brandon campus, says the university can help make a dent in the waiting lists of qualified students who want to become nurses and help ease the nursing shortage. "Our nursing students will have everything they need to succeed," Splitstone says.
On average, the program takes 21 months to complete. Once students finish their course work and labs, they will be considered graduate nurses. They will receive their R.N. licenses after successfully passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).
"That's what drew me to the program," says Liz O'Connor, the nursing student from Brandon, Fla. "I don't want to spend several years sitting in a classroom. I want to start helping people right away."
Both FMU and Everest College are still accepting applications, and there is no waiting list. For more information about FMU's Associate Degree Nursing program, log on to www.fmu.edu. Everest College information can be found by logging on to www.everest.edu.
