YSU Gets Grant for Online Nursing Program

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Ohio Board of Nursing awarded $182,984 to Youngstown State University’s nursing department to expand and increase enrollment in its online registered nurse-bachelor of science in nursing completion program.

The award from the Nurse Education Grant Program will allow YSU to create a full-time position to work with the RN-BSN faculty coordinator for recruitment and student support, assisting with the admission process and program progression, said Nancy Wagner, nursing department chairwoman. Additional funds will be used for promotion of the program and educational supplies.

“These grant funds will help us maintain high quality education for our students as we increase class size,” Wagner said.

The YSU RN-BSN program recently transitioned from a combination on-campus/online program to a fully online version to better accommodate working registered nurses.

Mercy Health’s St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Youngstown will provide YSU completion program students with clinical experiences, Wagner said.

The grant program is part of the Ohio Board of Nursing’s effort to address the state’s nursing shortage by increasing the enrollment capacity of nurse education programs.

In 2010, in the Institute of Medicine called for increasing the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses to better meet the changing needs of patients. Locally and nationally, hospitals are requiring nurses prepared at the diploma or associate degree levels to complete the requirements for the BSN within five years. In Ohio, there are approximately 160,000 registered nurses; about half are currently prepared at the bachelor’s degree level.

For more information, contact Wagner at 330 941 1449 or [email protected], or Molly Roche, assistant professor and RN-BSN coordinator, at 330 941 7299 or [email protected].

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.