App State announced in July that the nursing program will be receiving nearly $2.2 million in grant money awarded by the UNC System. These grants are part of an effort to address the nursing shortage faced in the healthcare systems in North Carolina and across the country.
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, there will be a projected shortage of 78,610 full-time RNs by 2025, with North Carolina projected to be in the top 10 states with the highest shortage by 2035.
Tammy Haley, the nursing program’s interim department chairperson, said there are typically more than 100 students that apply each year.
“Sometimes it’s considerably more. It just depends on the year,” Haley said.
Jean Bernard, App State’s director of undergraduate nursing programs, said the nursing program has been increasing their enrollment. In the current senior class, there are 49 students. Sixty-one new students were admitted this year, and Bernard said the program hopes to have up to 75 students over a three-year period, which will be the number they cap at.
“We’re excited about that,” Bernard said. “We are excited to have that opportunity, because we know the need of our citizens of North Carolina and we know, really, across the nation there is a need for good nurses.”
Haley, who was once a practicing nurse, also expressed excitement about the program.
“I think the thing I’m most excited for is just to be able to help to provide the supports to students and the opportunities to find that career that speaks to them,” Haley said. “I’ve been a nurse a long time and it’s an amazing profession.”
Bernard said the money will go toward growing the faculty to keep up with the growing student enrollment.
“Anytime you grow a program, you have to think about faculty positions. Much of that money will go toward hiring more faculty and, of course, all the resources you need: labs, maintaining mannequins and simulations, and always, always keeping abreast of current teaching strategies and new innovative ways to teach,” Bernard said. “This faculty is very much attuned to that.”
She said despite the program’s growth, they are working to keep class sizes small enough so faculty can know each student individually.
“I think even on the hardest of days, students will tell you that our faculty are really dedicated and want them to succeed; we do,” Bernard said. “You won’t be just a number here, that’s not what we’re about. We build relationships with our students.”
Bernard said a large percentage of the nursing program faculty are practicing nurses, which allows them to stay current to their practice, which translates into the classroom. Additionally she said nurses spend time at conferences, and many do research, which includes research on effective teaching strategies and practices.
Bernard explained that App State’s location allows for students to get experience in both rural hospital settings in small critical access hospitals in places like Newland, Canon and West Jefferson, and larger regional hospitals in places like Hickory, Wilkesboro and Winston-Salem.
“To me, a student who comes to App State just gets such a solid view of nursing in so many different settings, such that by the time they complete the program, they’re really marketable anywhere,” Bernard said.
