Partnering with rural communities to meet the demand for a qualified nursing workforce.

Full Abstract

The registered nurse (RN) shortage threatens rural health care quality and economic vitality. Educational institutions have the opportunity to collaborate with rural communities in building pipelines for a more highly educated, sustainable nursing workforce. Leaders from 19 Midwestern rural counties approached a university about their regional nurse workforce issues and a desire to locate a nursing campus in their community. This article describes the partnership between a university and a rural community and the process for addressing their concerns and determining program feasibility. A Task Force of faculty and community leaders used the Determining Program Feasibility model to frame data collection and analysis. The Task Force met regularly with a Community Advisory Board for problem-solving and formative feedback. The sound methodology and transparent process facilitated a successful collaboration and resulted in a final report outlining the significant opportunities and challenges to overcome. Plans are underway for a new rural nursing campus and the community has raised monies for the new facility. The state legislature will address needed start-up funds.

Author information

Author/s: Cramer, Mary (M); Duncan, Kathleen (K); Megel, Mary (M); Pitkin, Steve (S);

Affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, Omaha, NE 68198-5330, USA. mecramer(-atsign-)unmc.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Nursing outlook (Nurs Outlook), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2009 May-Jun; vol 57 (issue 3) : pp 148-57

Dates: Created 2009/05/18; Completed 2009/07/30;

PMID: 19447235, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 8/20/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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