National University students will fill a critical nursing shortage in California
New pre-licensure programs, launched by the department of nursing in October 2004 to address a critical shortage of registered nurses in California, have since enrolled more than 300 students.
The new nursing programs provide opportunities for Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs) to advance to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, and also offer an accelerated post-bachelor's BSN program for non-nurses.
Many of the program's students already possess a bachelor's and/or master's degree in another field. These students have initiated a chapter of the National Student Nurses' Association and have already participated in national events tied to the association.
Before they are completing the courses required for licensure, many National University students are receiving job offers from prestigious clinical facilities in the San Diego area, according to nursing department chair Nancy Saks, D.N.Sc.
The nursing department, which is now organized with in National University's new School of Health and Human Services, is currently working with the Board of Registered Nursing in Hawaii to begin to offer the same pre-licensure programs there.
For more information regarding the department of nursing and its new pre-licensure programs, contact Dr. Saks at nsaks@nu.edu.
