Learning Objective #1: Identify barriers to successful nursing school completion

Learning Objective #2: Discuss how service and education can successfully collaborate to achieve a common goal: more nurses for tomorrow

---

With the existing shortage of registered nurses in Mississippi and the predicted increase in demand for RNs in the future it is imperative that every effort be made to foster nursing student success. Attrition from MS Schools of Nursing is in excess of 50%. Consequently, half of the individuals who are interested in a nursing career and who meet admission requirements may be lost to the profession. The Office of Nursing Workforce (ONW) developed and administered the Nursing Education Barriers Identification Survey in the fall of 2002. On the survey, students identified four major barriers to successful completion of a nursing program: • lack of financial support • family issues • inability to balance family and school • inability to work and go to school. One school, Hinds Community College, took the data from this study and developed a proposal to establish the position of Student Navigator to counsel and support students in navigating the barriers to nursing school success. The school then presented this proposal to its hospital partners representing eight area hospitals. The hospital partners funded the position for academic years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. Over a period of three years the partners will have provided funding of approximately one half million dollars for this position, for an awareness campaign within the community and for recruitment of nursing students.

At the recent Healthcare Workforce Summit sponsored by ONW and Mississippi Development Authority, Dr. James Bentley, AHA Senior Vice President for Strategic Policy Planning, cited this as an example of “best practice” for what educators and hospitals can do to guarantee the workforce needed for tomorrow.