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Nurse Education
SUCCEED Florida - Education Grant Program Recipients

Barry University: "Partnerships to Create Nursing Faculty for Florida"
Abstract
Background
By 2011 Florida will need an additional 41,584 RNs (FAWI, 2005). While nursing schools are encouraged by the increased interest and number of applications, they can do little to remedy the looming nursing shortage if they don't have adequate faculty. Compounding the issue are the regional and national accreditation standards that have introduced higher standards for faculty educational preparation. To be responsive to the state's nursing workforce needs, nursing schools need assistance with creating a pipeline for future educators, and assuring that their current faculty are not lost from the faculty pool because of their educational preparation.

Purpose
This collaborative project between Broward Community College (BCC), Nova Southeastern University (NSU), and Barry University (BU) will immediately increase the number of qualified nursing faculty by increasing the education of those faculty members who do not currently hold the required degree to continue teaching and will create a pipeline for new nursing faculty to meet the state's workforce needs. Although the project will primarily support the upgrade of faculty at BCC and NSU, faculty members of universities and community colleges in Indian River, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Brevard Counties will also be included.

Project Description
Each project partner will support the educational programs of the other partners so that a seamless, accelerated path for current and new faculty is created. Up to 30 BSN-prepared faculty from BCC and other community colleges will enter an accelerated on-line master's program offered by NSU. Twenty faculty from BCC, NSU, and other colleges and universities will enter BU's PhD in Nursing program - 10 at the Miami Shores site and 10 as an Orlando cohort. Financial support for project participants will include academic support services, and scholarships for tuition and fees. A pipeline to encourage and prepare new nursing faculty for the future will be developed by identifying AD and BSN nursing students with potential for faculty roles and mentoring them into faculty career paths.

Partnerships
Qualified faculty from each project site will be adjunct/guest faculty for the other sites, serving as guest lecturers, preceptors, faculty, and/or dissertation/thesis committee members. A project coordinator (PC) at each site will be responsible for advertising and recruiting students into the project. PCs will provide support-advising, securing faculty, and coordinating courses. All three schools will fully participate in all aspects of the recruitment and retention activities related to the overall project.

Evaluation
Project participants will complete formative and summative evaluations of all aspects of the program. Outcome measures will include the program's effectiveness to create current faculty (enrollment, retention, progression, and graduation rates of participants) and future faculty for the state.

Implications
Nursing schools must engage in creative, collaborative approaches to produce and retain nursing faculty. Joint ventures sharing faculty, resources, and teaching-learning strategies and offering programs across all areas of Florida will create more responsive and supportive programs to attract and prepare our state's future nurse educators who are essential in relieving the nursing shortage.

Florida International University: "Enhanced Nursing Capacity & Diversity Initiative"
Project Abstract
Critical shortages of registered nurses (RNs) and nursing faculty, especially those from underrepresented minorities, are widely documented at the Miami Dade County, Florida State, and national levels. The need in Miami-Dade County, with only 574 RNs per 100,000 population, is even greater when compared with Florida, where there are 785 RNs per 100,000 population. Miami Dade College (MDC) and Florida International University (FIU) propose to work collaboratively to address these shortages in Southeast Florida by expanding the enrollment and instructional capacity of their respective nursing programs through implementation of the Expanded Nursing Capacity and Diversity Initiative (ENCDI). The proposed project will enable MDC and FIU to:

  1. Increase capacity and nursing workforce diversity by admitting 222 new nursing students.
    1. 128 new students at MDC for the bridge (n=48), accelerated (n=50), and part-time generic (n=30) options.
    2. 94 new students at FIU for the Foreign Physicians Nursing Program (n=70) and the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Nurse Educator Track (n=24).
    3. At least 75% of the students will be from underrepresented minority groups.
  2. Enhance the recruitment, development, and retention of nursing faculty at MDC and FIU through the collaborative "Grow Our Own Nursing Faculty" project - with scholarship and stipend funding from the Health Foundation of South Florida - as well as an advertising campaign and faculty workshops to build a shared pool of adjunct faculty, and a faculty training program for nurses interested in teaching at MDC and FIU.
    1. Promote enrollment in the "Grow Our Own Nursing Faculty" project with 24 new MSN students in the Nurse Educator Track, who will commit to teach at MDC or Broward Community College for two years after graduation.
    2. Train current faculty for distance education delivery in order to increase the MDC and FIU pools of qualified online and videoconference instructors to support the increased enrollment.
    3. Train 10 new instructors at MDC and 8 at FIU beginning in Fall 2005.
  3. Implement innovative practices in nursing education through the joint use of clinical simulators and innovative instructional delivery through online and videoconference teaching.
    1. Develop Human Patient Simulator (HPS) scenarios specific to the MDC and FIU nursing curricula and document improved student performance in critical thinking testing by 5% over baseline.
    2. Adapt all the currently offered theory courses at MDC for online delivery and at FIU for web-enhanced delivery in the Foreign Physicians Nursing Program beginning in January 2006. In addition, the development of these courses online at MDC will assist in increasing capacity in the full-time generic option in Fall 2006. At FIU, the development of more online and videoconference courses will help extend the delivery of the Foreign Physicians Nursing Program beyond Southeast Florida.
    3. Implement a National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) preparatory course at MDC for December 2005 and April 2006 graduates, and improve student performance on the NCLEX-RN examination by 5% over baseline for those who attended the course.

Florida State University: "Florida Panhandle Nurse Educator Project"
Project Summary
The impact of the nursing shortage and its affects on health care agencies in Florida has been well documented. According to the Florida Hospital Association (2005), the Panhandle area of Florida has the highest nurse vacancy rate in the state. A major factor that contributes to the nursing shortage is the low numbers of registered nurses (RN) graduated by educational institutions in Florida each year. Surveys indicate that nursing education programs in Florida are unable to increase student enrollment unless more faculty are available to teach in their programs. Unfilled faculty positions, projected faculty retirement, and the shortage of students being prepared for the faculty role threaten the nursing education workforce.

Florida State University (FSU) School of Nursing is proposing a partnership with six community colleges in the Florida Panhandle area: Pensacola Junior College, Okaloosa-Walton College, Chipola College, Gulf Coast Community College, Tallahassee Community College and North Florida Community College. This partnership will allow FSU School of Nursing to provide graduate nursing courses via distance learning (videoconferencing and online) in the communities served by these community colleges. Use of innovative delivery strategies such as online courses and videoconferencing provides increased efficiency in the use of FSU nursing faculty and provides greater flexibility for working nurses pursuing advanced degrees.

Current community college faculty who do not have a master's degree in nursing will be able to enroll in graduate course via distance learning and complete a Masters in Nursing (MN) degree within 15 months. In addition, other BSN prepared nurses in each community who desire to teach in community colleges will be recruited for the program which affords participants the unique opportunity to complete school while continuing to work in their own communities. Masters prepared nurses who are interested in teaching in community colleges are another population who will be recruited. These candidates will be able to complete a nurse educator certificate program in 12 semester hours. All graduates will be eligible for national certification as a nurse educator by the National League for Nursing.

By partnering with the community colleges, FSU will be better able to meet the needs of the nursing educational community. A Steering Council, consisting of representatives from the FSU School of Nursing and each community college, will be formed to oversee the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the project. This collaborative partnership will allow for input from each partner that ultimately can strengthen the alliance, improve the product, and produce more nurse educators.

The proposal requests $428,421 to (1) purchase equipment for videoconferencing, (2) pay for tuition, fees and books for nurses enrolled in the FSU graduate courses during the 2005-06 academic year and (3) pay for salaries and benefits of faculty and administrative staff. Another important partner providing external support for the Florida Panhandle Nurse Educator Project is Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. Their financial commitment of $175,000 will expand and extend the project in several critical ways:

  1. Include on-campus Tallahassee nurse educator students with tuition, books and fees,
  2. Increase enrollment in the project beyond the proposed 16 students,
  3. Add faculty, full and part-time, as needed to respond to enrollment demand,
  4. Include a unique practicum learning experience for all students to research, design, implement and evaluate the renovation of skills and simulation laboratories in support of student clinical instruction and proficiency evaluation,
  5. Continuation of the project after the non-recurring grant funds expire.

Lake City Community College: "Nights & Weekends - Fast Track LPN to RN Bridge Track"
Abstract
Lake City Community College, in partnership with Lake city Medical Center/HCA, North East Florida State Hospital , and Gilchrist County School District, will implement a "night and weekends" Fast-Track LPN to RN Bridge Track, increasing their Registered Nurse education capacity from 60 to 80. This creative approach to resource utilization will increase access to clinical sites, facilitate the recruitment of qualified faculty members, and reduce barriers to career advancement for incumbent Licensed Practical Nurses in rural counties. SUCCEED Florida funds will also support increased distance learning capacity and leverage additional financial support from the Hospital Corporation of America for faculty salaries.

The goals of the program are to:
  1. Increase the capacity of the registered Nurse program to accommodate up to 15 new students the first year and up to 20 students by each year following.
  2. Increase participation of Licensed Practical Nurse students from outlying counties.
  3. Increase the numbers of Registered Nurses available to work in the region and throughout the State of Florida.

These goals will be achieved through a variety of methods, including the use of night classes, distance learning through compressed video, use of Blackboard, and part-time faculty available at distance learning sites. These methods will allow Masters' prepared Registered Nurses working traditional day shifts to teach evenings and weekends. The program is slated to begin in January 2006.

Lake-Sumter Community College

Project Abstract
Lake-Sumter Community College (LSCC) proposes a three-pronged attack on the severe local, regional, and statewide shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs). First, since 52% of the credentialed RNs in Florida are not currently in practice, LSCC proposes a brand-new Nurse Refresher course to fast-track qualified nurses to the workforce. Demand for such a program is strong since the College and local hospitals receive at least 50 inquires per year; in addition an aggressive advertising and recruiting campaign will help locate RNs who wish to return to practice. The College will adapt the Nursing Transition courses currently taken by paramedics and LPNs to bridge into the Nursing Program to refresh qualified RNs and prepare them for immediate employment. This unique non-credit program will provide 60 didactic and 96 clinical hours over a six-week period to a minimum of 12 non-practicing RNs per semester for two semesters. Participants will sign a contract that they will return to the active practice of nursing in Central Florida. With normal attrition, this program will add at least 20 RNs to the bedside within one year. Adjunct instructors will teach this course and its clinical components with oversight from the Program Manager/Recruiter and the LSCC Director of Nursing.

Second, LSCC will fast-track an additional 16 RNs to the workforce within one year by providing tuition, books, and other expenses to 20 Paramedic/LPN Bridge students. Previously secured external funding provided these costs for the Nursing Transition course, but that funding source has subsequently decided not to provide promised support for the year of classroom and clinical education required to complete the transformation of these students into RNs. Since many of these students have no hospital sponsorships and since they have to cut their work schedules to part-time status in order to attend classes and clinicals, they were dependent upon this promised funding to complete the Nursing Program and as many as 90% of them will be forced to drop out without this support. These are students who have a proven track record of success in medical occupations and who will be immediately employable upon graduation.

The grant will also purchase two state-of-the-art patient simulators that will be available for joint use at clinical sites, in recruitment presentations, and in other grant activities. In addition, since the College and local hospitals each have the technology in place to enable two-way interactive video communications, the only thing limiting the innovative use of distance learning between the College and its major clinical sites is lack of technical support. The grant will fund a Technology Specialist to troubleshoot problems and enable participants in Nurse Refresher courses and Associate Degree programs to progress effectively and efficiently to employment.

Third, LSCC will address the primary constraint upon expansion of nursing program in Florida, the lack of Master's-qualified faculty members, in two unique approaches. First, through agreement with the University of Central Florida (UCF), LSCC will recruit and fast-track 10BSNs to MSN status in one year by paying the cost of the MSN programs. To make completion in one year feasible, UCF will waive the requirement that the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) be taken prior to admission and will only require that it be taken prior to completion of the program. Local employers of the Bachelor's-qualified nurses will support this program by providing flexible, reduced-hour work schedules for participants. These brand-new MSNs will increase the pool of faculty members available for expansion of nursing programs, especially since six of the College's BSN adjunct instructors have expressed interest in such a program. Second, by increasing interaction between local practicing nurses and LSCC faculty members, the College will stimulate longer-term interest in careers in nursing education. Talented nursing instructors will provide Grand Rounds (detailed examinations of interesting local cases), continuing professional education opportunities, and opportunities for joint publications and presentation to nurses in practice.

Through a variety of activities, the proposed project will generate a cohort of educationally advancing prospective and licensed RNs, creating a pipeline for candidates to serve in areas of critical need from the bedside to faculty positions in colleges and universities.

Manatee Community College: "MCC's Nursing Education Expansion Project"
Project Abstract
Manatee Community College's Nursing Education Expansion Project is designed to help alleviate the critical nursing shortage being experienced by the West Gulf Coast region of Florida. During the grant period, the Nursing Education Expansion Program will increase the baseline number of nursing students enrolled at the College by 36, or 13%, with an additional 36 students to begin their studies in fall 2006. The project will add a total of 72 new nursing students to its baseline enrollment of 255. Currently, approximately 100 nursing students graduate from Manatee Community College (MCC) each year, but this is only a fraction of the 300 to 600 new registered nurses needed every year to fill positions created by a combination of industry growth and separation of incumbent workers. MCC is the only publicly-funded, two-year institution in Manatee and Sarasota counties with a nursing program that is fully accredited by the National League for Nursing and has full-approval from the Florida Board of Nursing; therefore, it will take the lead in addressing this critical shortage.

Over the last two academic years the leadership of MCC nursing program has increased MCC's total nursing enrollment figures by more than 34% through several innovative strategies: adding a full-time faculty position, using creative scheduling of clinical experiences and expanding partnerships with area hospitals and the local workforce board. The proposed project will receive support from these partners and endowments administered by MCC's foundation, as well as additional anticipated donations.

Program participants will be recruited from MCC's existing nursing wait list, made up of approximately 185 qualified MCC students. The list contains a diverse group of candidates, including underrepresented and nontraditional students. Instructional content and delivery will include face-to-face interaction in a lecture format and web-enhanced materials. Active learning will be promoted through the use of technology, such as Smartboards, Internet assignments and multimedia resources. The clinical portion of the program will be enhanced by using the Human Patient Simulator and Personal Digital Assistance devises (PDAs) for reference purposes, monitoring and journaling.

Four hospitals in Sarasota County have made written commitments to provide clinical rotations for the additional nursing cohorts, which will be instructed in southern Sarasota County (MCC Venice). The Suncoast Workforce Board will pay expenses related to the nursing program for qualifying students.

MCC's nursing students have an excellent record for program completion, passing the licensure examination and placement in RN positions. Student success, retention and satisfaction rates will be the interim evaluation criteria. Final evaluation will include completion and placement rates as well as student and employer satisfaction statistics. The proposed project will increase the number of MCC nursing students enrolled, graduated, licensed and placed over the next two years, without sacrificing program quality or intensity.

Goals and Objectives
The project's primary goal is to increase the number of qualified nurses entering the workforce to serve health care institutions in Manatee and Sarasota counties through an expansion of MCC's existing nursing program. To accomplish this goal, the project will meet the following objectives:

  • enroll 36 additional nursing students at MCC Venice campus for the 2005 fall semester
  • enhance laboratory and clinical experiences utilizing new technology that will reflect the technology and healthcare situations likely to be encountered in a healthcare facility: human patient simulators and personal digital assistant devices (PDAs) to create a safe and secure environment for students to put theory into practice
  • utilize technology to promote more active learning: piloting and improving web-enhanced course elements and assignments that utilize multiple dimensions of learning and problem solving that will enhance the classroom and laboratory experience
  • promote the educational opportunities available for career ladder development via existing partnerships with educational and healthcare partners (CNA, LPN, RN, BSN, MSN tracks that can lead to careers in nursing and nursing education)

Miami-Dade County Public School District
The number of newly-registered nurses licensed annually in Florida dropped more than 50% in the past five years while the demand for them over the next 10 years is projected to grow by 29%, requiring about 36,000 additional nurses. The shortage is particularly acute in Miami-Dade County, which has 6.0 Registered Nurses per 100,000 people compared to 7.8 for the state as a whole. To respond to the critical nursing shortage, Miami-Dade County Public Schools has received funds from the Florida Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Education, for the Project Succeed Florida - Nursing Education Grant Program. This will increase the school district's capacity to produce practical nurses who will continue their education toward an Associate or Bachelor degree in nursing. The grant is for Miami-Lakes Educational Center, a dual post-secondary/secondary school that hosts the district health science program to produce nurses by:

  • hiring additional clinical and laboratory nursing instructors; encouraging students to pursue careers in nursing via field trips to nursing laboratories, peer mentoring, and job shadowing at clinical facilities;
  • sponsoring job and career fairs in partnership with institutions of higher education and health care employers; engaging in an informational campaign to attract students and career changers, especially those traditionally under-represented in the profession;
  • facilitating transfer of students to colleges and universities offering associate and baccalaureate level training in nursing via workshops on financial aid and application procedures; and
  • training additional faculty to use Human Patient Simulators; and developing new clinical training sites.

Okaloosa-Walton College
Okaloosa-Walton College is pleased to have received a $172,337 Succeed Florida-Nursing Grant from the Florida Department of Education. The grant, "Expanding Nursing Education Regionally (ENERgy)", is designed to increase the supply of nurses by increasing enrollment and enhancing the curriculum of the nursing program. The college will use grant funds to support a two-fold project: increasing the freshman cohort of the nursing program by 50% (eighteen students) and providing support for an innovative curriculum project, "Standardized Patient Simulation Laboratory (SPSL)", which will enhance and improve students' psychosocial nursing skills as evidenced by higher scores on national standardized achievement tests. Progress to-date: 18 students have been admitted to the freshman class; additionally, two full-time and one part-time instructors have been hired to handle the enrollment. The SPSL is currently "under construction".

Pensacola Junior College: "ASCEND (Alternative Strategies for Continuing Education and Nursing Development)"
Abstract
Although Pensacola is a regional center for health care, with four hospitals among the top fifteen private sector employers, there is a persistent, growing shortage of nursing staff in the region. NW Florida leads the state in both nursing vacancies and turnover rate. Pensacola Junior College (PJC) is constrained in its capacity of meeting this critical manpower need by problems facing most community college nursing departments: limits on clinical teaching beds, difficulty in recruiting faculty, and student retention.

PJC is undertaking a three-year project - ASCEND (Alternative Strategies for Continuing Education and Nursing Development) - that will serve new populations and significantly increase the number of nursing graduates both by increasing student retention and by admitting more students to current and new options. It also aims at increasing the local availability of Master's prepared nursing faculty by providing both financial support and dedicated space to local RN's in graduate nursing programs available via distance learning.

The project will leverage college resources, using federal, state, and private funding to accomplish the project goals. Long-term and integrated strategic partnerships involving the college, school districts, the University of West Florida, health care organizations, and economic development and community organizations will insure continuing success of the project.

This SUCCEED grant will support one essential component of the overall project, the upgrading of the adult human patient simulator (HPS) and the addition of nursing specific software. The HPS will serve not only as a core teaching strategy for the PJC ADN and LPN programs. It will continue to be scheduled by BSN faculty at UWF for their generic students and will be used by students in the planned joint UWF/PJC BSN program to be located on the health campus of PJC. Plans include making the HPS available to graduate programs partnering with PJC to increase MSNs in the area.

Tallahassee Community College
Project Abstract
The goal of this project is to increase the capacity of the nursing program at Tallahassee Community College (TCC) to produce more professional Registered nurses (RNs) to enter the workforce in Florida. This goal will be achieved by attaining the following objectives:

  1. Establish the only Evening/Weekend Nursing Education Program in the region that will increase enrollment by 20 students annually and lead to an Associate of Science (AS) Degree in Nursing within 36 months (9 semesters) for part-time students and prepare graduates to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for RNs;
  2. Develop cooperative arrangements with local health care providers that will increase the number of qualified faculty to serve new students;
  3. Expand clinical sites at local faculties to increase TCCs capacity to serve new students;
  4. Utilize innovative clinical simulation equipment as a tool to address clinical placement issues, and more actively engage students in learning experiences; and
  5. Utilize innovative distance learning/blended classes to enhance nursing education.

The project will be conducted through a synergistic partnership with the area's largest health care providers: Capital Health Plan, Capital Regional Medical Center, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, and Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic. At the end of the one-year project, the partnership envisions the successful attainment of the following five Funding Priorities for the SUCCEED Florida-Nursing Education Program:

  1. Strategies to increase enrollment capacity without causing a negative impact on existing programs;
  2. Collaborative agreements for recruiting faculty;
  3. Innovative clinical education using simulators;
  4. Agreements that expand clinical sites; and
  5. Innovative delivery by using evening/weekend classes to serve non-traditional students who have obligations that preclude them from attending traditional full-time, day-time programs.

University of Miami: "Education Certificate Program"
The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies will launch a new certificate program to prepare nurse educators aided by a one-year, $1.28 million grant from the Florida Department of Education's SUCCEED Florida Nursing Education Program. Students in the six-month, fifteen-credit program, which begins in January 2006, will receive full tuition support as a result of state funding during the pilot year.

The program will be offered to nurses at different levels of the career ladder: from ASN and BSN graduates interested in serving as preceptors and clinical instructors for community colleges, to MSN and doctoral graduates interested in teaching as clinical instructors in baccalaureate and graduate programs. Students at the post-baccalaureate and post-master's levels may apply program credit toward advanced nursing degrees. By preparing talented clinicians to work as preceptors and clinical instructors, UM will help nursing programs statewide to increase their capacity and address the critical nursing shortage. By encouraging students to pursue advanced education in nursing, UM will increase the number of baccalaureate, masters and doctorally-prepared nurses statewide, improving the quality of health care for all Florida residents.

Distance learning technology will enable UM to offer the program to educational and clinical partners statewide. In the pilot year, partners include Florida Keys Community College and Brevard Community College as well as hospitals throughout South and Central Florida including: Lower Keys Medical Center, Fishermen's Hospital, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami Children's Hospital, and the Baptist Health South Florida and Wuesthoff Health Systems.

University of North Florida
Project Abstract
The need for more nurses and a better-educated nursing workforce is well documented, as is the barrier to increased enrollment of nursing students due to insufficient clinical sites and faculty. Through this project, the nursing programs at the state's two major education institutions in the Crown Region, the University of Florida (UF) and the University of North Florida (UNF), will collaborate to increase the enrollment of accelerated baccalaureate nursing students by 38 and to enroll 20 students in new Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) master's degree (MSN) programs.

The accelerated baccalaureate degree (BSN) is a fast-track educational program designed to increase the supply of registered nurses by targeting those holding a non-nursing degree and enabling completion within 16 months. The CNL is a master's degree track that prepares registered nurses to coordinate and provide expert clinical care, and to assist in clinical education of nursing students. Funds are requested for scholarship and book stipends necessary to recruit CNL students, nurses who will be foregoing earned income while attending school. Establishment of a computerized clinical placement system will maximize use of Jacksonville area health care settings through coordinated, online scheduling of student clinical education experiences. A state-of-the-art learning laboratory will be equipped and housed in space contributed by Shands Jacksonville Medical Center (Shands Jax). Grant funds will support initial staffing of the laboratory as well as purchase of simulation equipment and supplies for use by nursing students and by nurses at Shands Jax to enable development and practice of new skills.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield has generously committed $700,000 in essential support toward sustaining the innovative clinical educational experiences provided through this grant.

Valencia Community College
Project Abstract
Healthcare industry growth, fueled by significant population growth (78% through 2015) and an aging population (31.5% increase through 2010), has had a tremendous impact on the need for Registered Nurses (RNs) in Central Florida. Census Bureau data show that nursing jobs in Central Florida will grow by 34.5% through 2010, and when job openings due to retirements and separations are factored in the demand is greater. Valencia Community College and its education, industry, and workforce partners will provide unique and collaborative strategies to increase the nursing student enrollment capacity to address the critical shortage of RNs in Central Florida. Project resources and activities include: clinical/medical simulation equipment to support expanded clinical instruction/training; an expanded Nursing Arts Lab that will include clinical equipment necessary to support clinical instruction and student training in real-life, hands on clinical environments; a two-week Boot Camp for new faculty that will develop clinical instruction skills; clinical training sites for students at the partner hospitals; a nurse remediation/refresher course to support student retention and anywhere, anytime access and training modules that extend outside the classroom; and expanded computer labs and software programs to support student preparation for graduation (including remediation requirements) and passage of the State RN licensing exam.

University of Central Florida
Abstract
The greatest barrier to expansion of nursing programs in Florida is the shortage of qualified faculty. The University of Central Florida School of Nursing (UCF-SON) will increase enrollments in three of its programs to prepare nurse educators in order to produce more nurses to enter the workforce in Florida. This project proposes to recruit and enroll 15 new students in the RN-MSN fast-track Nurse Educator program, 28 new students in the MSN program, Nurse Educator Track, and 4 new students in the PhD in Nursing Program. All courses for the identified programs will be available on-line or web mediated using innovative Interactive Distributed Learning Methods (IDLM). UCF will collaborate with community colleges and regional hospitals to implement strategies to fill faculty vacancies, to increase opportunities for nursing student clinical practice, recruit BSN nurses for the MSN in Nursing Education Track, provide internships for MSN nurse educator students, and to recruit associate degree (ASN) nurses and senior students for the RN-MSN fast-track nurse educator program.

Project Description The University of Central Florida School of Nursing (UCF-SON) proposes a unique web-based nurse educator program. Enrollments will be increased in three of its program options: 1) RN to MSN fast-track Nurse Educator Program, 2) the Master's (MSN) Nurse Educator Track, and, 3) the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in nursing program. Specifically, the project will prepare nurse educators to teach in nursing programs, healthcare agencies, and community organizations. The MSN is required to teach in Associate Degree nursing programs; the MSN and Doctoral degrees are required to teach in baccalaureate and master's degree nursing programs. Appropriate academic credentials of faculty members are important factors to enable schools of nursing to meet accreditation requirements and Board of Nursing approval.

To help meet the current and emerging need for nurse educators, the UCF School of Nursing will enroll a total of 47 new students in 2005-2006: 15 in the accelerated RN-MSN Nurse Educator Program, 28 in the MSN Nurse Educator Program, and 4 in the PhD in Nursing program. This project will prepare more nurse educators to enter the workforce in Florida utilizing collaborative partnerships with community colleges and healthcare agencies, innovative educational strategies, and efficient use of existing faculty and resources.

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