UTC's School of Nursing has secured a major grant from the Health Resources
and Services Administration (HRSA) for nurse education, practice, and retention. The grant award will total more than $800,000 over the three-year project period, and the budget for year one totals $311,544.
Dr. Kay Lindgren and the nursing faculty developed the proposal in response to the critical regional need to increase the number of BSN-prepared nurses.
Research shows that there exists a clear link between higher levels of
nursing education and better patient outcomes. With these funds from HRSA,
the School of Nursing will implement a program which will enable the School
of Nursing to implement an accelerated RN-BSN degree program using a hybrid
model of teaching. The BSN Gateway program will recruit working RNs and
implement a revised RN-BSN curriculum designed to provide a career ladder to
the BSN while enabling RNs to remain at the bedside in regional health
facilities.
The curriculum of the program will be packaged to be offered over a one-year period and will incorporate distance education with traditional instructional strategies. The BSN Gateway program will yield immediate results and long-term benefits to meet the health care needs of the target population.