GALVESTON, Texas - The School of Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will receive $615,448, the most of any college or university in Texas, from a program that rewards nurse education programs for increasing the number of students who become registered nurses.
The money comes from the Nursing Shortage Reduction Program, which was put in place by the state following the 2007 legislative session to address the shortage of qualified faculty in nursing education programs. Forty-nine institutions throughout the state will receive money from the program this year for results achieved during the 2008 fiscal year that ended in August.
"Under this program we were rewarded for increasing enrollment and graduation rates," said Pamela G. Watson, dean of the UTMB School of Nursing. Between the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years, the school increased by 83 the number of nursing students who successfully completed the nursing licensure examination.
Because of the effect of Hurricane Ike on the UTMB campus, Watson doesn't expect a similar result next year. "However, I have every intention of bringing us back up after this year."
Proceeds from this program can be used to enroll additional students, increase the number of nursing educators, encourage innovation in the recruitment and retention of students and implementing innovative methods to make the most effective use of limited professional nursing faculty and education resources.
The United States and many other countries are experiencing a growing shortage of nursing faculty and registered nurses. According to a report issued by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, more than 40,000 qualified applicants for baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs were turned away in 2007 because of insufficient faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors and budget constraints.