CSULA partners with community colleges to implement a Collaborative Model of Nursing Education

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep. 18, 2012 - Los Angeles, CA – The School of Nursing at California State University, Los Angeles was recently chosen to receive a two-year $300,000 grant to help create a “smooth and timely” progression from the associate to baccalaureate degree in nursing. The grant is awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Academic Progression in Nursing (APIN) program through the California Institute of Nursing and Health Care (CINHC).

The focus will be on the implementation of a California-based Collaborative Model of Nursing Education with a partnership between Cal State L.A. and seven local community colleges—Cerritos, Cypress, Glendale, Long Beach City, Los Angeles City, Pasadena and Rio Hondo Colleges.  The educational model will give nursing students the opportunity to achieve higher degrees in order to improve patient care.

On Wednesday, Sept. 19, RWJF leaders will visit the CSULA campus to discuss how the outcomes of this regional work on the collaborative model can impact academic progression of nurses in California and the nation. Guests will include Susan Hassmiller, RWJF; Mary Dickow, California Action Coalition; Deloras Jones, CINHC; and Pat McFarland, Association of California Nurse Leaders.

“We are excited to work with our community college partners to facilitate a seamless transition for the completion of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) here at CSULA,” said Associate Director of the School of Nursing at CSULA and Project Director Lorie Judson. “We have worked closely with these partners for the past two years to integrate our curriculum and expedite the attainment of the BSN within a year of their transfer.”

In Los Angeles, 74 percent of new graduates enter the nursing workforce through community colleges. Judson noted, “From this rich, diverse community, we will help to increase the number and diversity of BSN graduates.”

The Institute of Medicine’s groundbreaking report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, recommended that 80 percent of the nursing workforce be prepared at the baccalaureate level or higher by the year 2020. At present, about half of nurses in the United States have baccalaureate or higher degrees.

“The nation needs a well-educated nursing workforce to ensure an adequate supply of public health and primary care providers, improve care for patients living with chronic illness, and in other ways meet the needs of our aging and increasingly diverse population,” said Pamela Austin Thompson, national program director for APIN and senior vice president for nursing at the American Hospital Association.

The RWJF focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable, and timely change. For more about the Foundation: http://www.rwjf.org.

CSULA’s nursing program, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing and received continuing accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. U.S. News and World Report 2013 “America’s Best Graduate Schools” edition has ranked CSULA’s nursing master’s degree program among the top in the nation. CSULA is one of only two public universities in the Los Angeles area, and the only CSU campus, listed in the top 100.

For CSULA’s School of Nursing website: http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/hhs/nursing/.