As nurses”™ roles evolve in an expanding health care industry, area schools are developing programs to meet the needs.
Both traditional colleges like Fairfield University and schools like the online-based University of Phoenix, which has a location in Norwalk, have enhanced their nursing programs.
Fairfield University is offering a “doctor of nursing practice in nurse anesthesia” program in conjunction with Bridgeport Hospital and Bridgeport Anesthesia Associates. The doctoral program, which is set to get under way in May, makes Fairfield one of the first institutions to offer such an adaptive approach to a nursing curriculum.
“It puts us on the cutting edge and at the forefront of nurse anesthesia education,” said Nancy Moriber, nurse anesthesia track coordinator at Fairfield University.
She said creation of the program was directly related to shifts in the health care industry ”“ it comes in response to a new professional standard in the field, requiring nurse anesthetists to hold a practice doctorate by the year 2025.
An expanding work force
In 2010, work force analysts with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that more than 581,500 new registered nurse positions would be created through 2018, which would increase the size of the work force by 22 percent.
The need for talent is recognized in neighboring New York as well. Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a plan that extends the Physician Loan Forgiveness Program, the McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship Program and the Nursing Faculty Loan Forgiveness Program, which provide benefits to physicians who agree to practice in areas with physician shortages and to nurses who agree to serve as educators in nursing programs.
In December, the University of Phoenix College of Nursing was reaccredited for 10 years by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, an autonomous accrediting agency for nursing education. The time period is the longest accreditation offered by the organization, something Pam Fuller, dean of the College of Nursing, said is related to industry need.
“The work we are doing here is to help address the nation”™s nursing shortage,” said Fuller. “There are few other industries with such a great need.”
The need for health care workers is not a new one. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported hospitals, long-term care facilities and other ambulatory care settings added 21,000 new jobs in November 2009, a month when 85,000 jobs were eliminated nationwide.
Filling new roles
“There is a crucial need to prepare advanced practice nurses to take on a leading role among caregivers,” said Jeanne Novotny, dean of the Fairfield School of Nursing. “At the same time, there is an emphasis toward clinical doctorate in nurse practitioner certification for all advanced nurses within the next decade, and this program addresses both those needs.”
Representing the largest segment of the health care work force, registered nurses are likely to be recruited to fill many new rolls. In its 2009 report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said 613,000 jobs had been added in the health care sector since the recession began the previous year.
Moriber said that in addition to routine surgical cases, nurse anesthesia students enhance their preparation by participating in trauma, major burn and high-risk obstetrical cases.
“Because nurse anesthetists are responsible for direct patient care, students gain hands-on experience in a variety of regional, neuraxial and peripheral blocks, and general anesthesia techniques under the supervision of certified registered nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists faculty,” she said.
Students who complete the Fairfield program earn a doctor of nursing practice degree from the university and a certificate in nurse anesthesia from Bridgeport Hospital. Upon graduation, students will be eligible to sit for the certification exam administered by the Council on Certification of Nurse Anesthetists.
“This is a time of opportunity in the nursing field,” said Moriber.
