NAU’s School of Nursing has received a $150,000 grant to help combat the shortage of nurses throughout the nation.

The grant, which will award 15 scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each, was donated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to NAU’s accelerated nursing program. The program, which helps students become licensed nurses more quickly, currently houses 40 of the School of Nursing’s 479 students.

Caroline Ellermann, an assistant professor of nursing, said she believes the scholarships will help those who cannot afford an education in nursing and bring a more diverse population into the profession.

“The focus of these grants is to give students from groups underrepresented in nursing an opportunity to become a nurse,” Ellermann said. “Students coming from rural and underserved areas are more apt to return and care for people from those areas.”

This announcement comes just days after ASU announced a slash in budget, resulting in a cut to their nursing program, which comes in response to the anticipated drop in state funding. Despite having 1,800 students enrolled in its nursing program, the changes are expected to be made in time for spring semester.

With accelerated programs, students are capable of becoming a licensed, registered nurse in 18 months. 

To get accepted into NAU’s accelerated program, students must have a bachelor’s degree in any discipline and prerequisites met prior to admission.

Ellermann, who teaches in the program, describes these students typically as “goal-driven,” primarily due to their previous experiences. She said that “they tend to be more disciplined and focused on achieving.”

Each spring, the accelerated nursing program typically receives more applications than can be accepted, but this year provided an exception.

Stacy Herrera, a student in the accelerated nursing program practices sterile techniques of handling a suction tube in a lab setting at the NAU Nursing building. - Stas Yamnitskiy/ The Lumberjack

While 45 people applied for 30 positions in the program, the School of Nursing admitted only 16 students. Ellermann said a number of students mentioned inadequate scholarship funding as the primary reason for not starting the program.

“Second degree undergraduate students have less access to loans,” Ellermann said. “The School of Nursing has the ability to teach more nursing students than we are teaching in this cohort.”

As a result, the RWJF selected NAU as one of its first schools to provide scholarships for accelerated programs. Out of the estimated 600 schools around the nation with accelerated nursing programs, only 62 were chosen to receive funding. The RWJF hopes additional funding will help combat the shortage of nurses.

Gregg Schneider, an academic advising coordinator for the School of Nursing, said accelerated learning programs are beneficial for both the industry and its workers.

“This type of student does not want to go to school for an additional two to three years,” Schneider said. “They want to begin working quickly, and accelerated programs offer this opportunity.”

In the accelerated program, students are able to get into the nursing field within 18 months and have immediate multiple job opportunities, especially in a time of shortages. 

Ellermann said the current shortage of nurses is not just a matter of getting more licensed professionals into the workforce but is also due to the amount of stress and hardships that come with the job, especially in hospitals.

“(Nurses) have a great deal of responsibility in the current complex healthcare environment,” Ellermann said. “(They) may burn out from the high levels of stress and the heavy personal toll nursing can take on their lives.”

A contributing factor to this could be the evolution of the healthcare system into an industry, according to the dean of the School of Nursing, Debbie Thomas. Thomas also expressed her frustration over the current situation healthcare finds itself in.

“Insurance companies dictate how hospitals are run,” Thomas said. “People’s health should not be considered a commodity.”

Despite the job stability that comes with being a nurse, some disagree with this constant intervention of industry. Thomas says that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege for only those who can afford it. Once students see how nursing works in the real world, they sometimes quit, she said.

“They find out nursing isn’t exactly what they thought it would be,” Thomas said. “Some leave nursing altogether.”

Because of the troubles faced in the healthcare industry, Thomas said it takes passion to be a nurse. Despite wages having improved, which has led to growing respect for the field, Thomas said potential nurses need to have something else that drives them if they want to succeed in their intended field.

“It isn’t about the money,” Thomas said. “It’s not a job; it’s more of a calling.”