Major Grant Provides Expansive Career Opportunities for Nurses About 3,000 more registered nurses will be needed annually in Connecticut.* Southern is helping to address the shortfall, aided by a grant from Yale New Haven Health System.
AN
EXPANSIVE FOUR-YEAR PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE YALE NEW HAVEN HEALTH SYSTEM (YNHHS)
AND SOUTHERN will double the number of students
graduating with bachelor’s degrees in nursing (BSN) within the next four years — helping to address a critical nursing shortage in Connecticut heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The YNHHS grant provides Southern’s School of Nursing with staff resources, clinical placements, and financial support to boost enrollment in the established and highly regarded traditional BSN and Accelerated Career Entry (ACE) programs. Both have long-standing first-time pass rates ranging from 95% to 100% on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), a premier standard used in the U.S. to ensure nursing competence. Southern’s rates are significantly higher than national levels: in 2021, for example, the average first-time NCLEX pass rate for candidates from all baccalaureate degree programs was 86 percent. In a bid to boost diversity in the nursing ranks, the grant also funds two new initiatives providing nursing education and career growth opportunities for certified nursing aides and high school students, respectively. These strategies will gradually increase Southern’s nursing graduate numbers from an average of 100 annually to 205 by 2026. “This groundbreaking partnership with the Yale New Haven Health System will further enhance the university’s mission of access, social justice, and service for the public good,” says President Joe Bertolino. “More than 85% of our graduates stay on to live and work in the state, so this investment will positively impact both the capacity and diversity of Connecticut’s nursing workforce.” 24 | Southern ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Under the agreement: • The traditional BSN program will be expanded from a baseline of 90 students per year in 2021 to 100 students in 2022 and 120 students per year in 2023. • The Accelerated Career Entry one-year nursing program, for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree in a discipline other than nursing, will double in size. The existing summer cohort of 36 students will be supplemented by another 36-strong winter cohort by 2023. • A part-time, three-year program for working professionals was established in August 2022, with classes available on evenings, weekends, and on-site at YNHHS facilities. Admitting up to 24 students per year, it provides a career path for those now serving as certified nursing aides in retirement communities, hospices, and other healthcare facilities. • An Accelerated High School Nursing Scholars Program will also be offered, providing students with the opportunity to complete one year of nursing prerequisite courses in high school and then earn their BSN at Southern in three years. Five students will be admitted in 2022 and 12 in subsequent years. “Southern is uniquely positioned for a successful partnership with YNHHS due to the diversity and local residence status of its student population; shared values of patient-centered care, respect, and compassion; and the strong history of YNHHS employing its nursing graduates,”
