In another move to help address a statewide nursing shortage, Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa will soon begin having Rogers State University nursing students on site as part of an extended-campus partnership.
The extended campus, which will have dedicated space in the hospital, will open in the fall semester with its first cohort of 16 students and will add 16 more for the next spring semester.
The program is open to juniors and seniors working toward a bachelor of science degree in nursing at RSU in Claremore. The ultimate goal is to serve 64 nursing students — 32 juniors and 32 seniors — at Saint Francis annually, officials said.
“Thinking outside of the box has become very necessary in these post-COVID days to figure out new ways to develop partnerships and produce nurses,” Dr. Carla Lynch, director of health sciences at RSU, said Monday at a news conference announcing the program.
People are also reading…
“This opportunity with Saint Francis has really fit that bill and allows us to get those nurses out sooner and meet the needs of the community.”
Officials said the partnership will allow RSU to expand its total number of nursing graduates by over 50% annually.
RSU President Larry Rice said: “One of our goals along with Saint Francis is to provide an educated workforce. With this partnership we will be able to graduate more nurses, and that’s what it’s all about. Everyone here knows there’s a shortage of nurses.”
To accommodate the program, Saint Francis will renovate a 6,000-square-foot area within the hospital, at 6161 S. Yale Ave., to house a state-of-the-art simulation center and classrooms.
The hospital will hire two program coordinators and two full-time nursing instructors.
Saint Francis officials said that to account for retirements and future growth, the health system needs to hire more than 600 nurses a year. Having students in-house for two years will be a way to recruit and retain the future workforce, they hope.
“Our goal is for these students to become career nurses at Saint Francis,” said Cindy Leathers, Saint Francis chief nursing officer.
She said the move is part of a Saint Francis strategic initiative to recruit registered nurses through academic partnerships with area nursing programs.
The program is being underwritten for the first three years by a grant from the William K. Warren Foundation.
The simulation center will include four high-fidelity suites that simulate Saint Francis inpatient rooms, including medical/surgical, critical care, labor and delivery, trauma and pediatrics settings.
“Every admission cycle, we have had to turn away qualified applicants because of lack of clinical space, classroom space and faculty,” Lynch said. “This partnership will allow us to admit additional students every year, allowing students to complete their goal of being a nurse sooner.”
Rice said, “We are extremely grateful for this partnership and for the enthusiasm and excitement shown by the team at Saint Francis who helped make this possible.”
To be eligible for the program, students must apply for acceptance to RSU and complete the program prerequisites.
As juniors, students will be able to choose nursing classes either on the RSU campus in Claremore or at Saint Francis Hospital. Classroom instruction at Saint Francis will be presented via video simulcast with instructors in Claremore and live with facilitators in Tulsa.
Applications for the spring 2024 semester are currently being accepted.
For more information, go to rsu.edu/bsn.
Which music acts, past and present, would you want to see live? Fresh off the Tulsa World Magazine’s first issue dedicated to music, Jimmie Tramel and Grace Wood share theirs.
