Since July 1, 2020: | These accomplishments are provided by the Department of Health and Human Services and reflects its sole views. In 2023, the Nebraska Center for Nursing (NCN) kicked off a campaign to market nursing. The Learfield campaign has energized the marketplace by using the NCN website to connect prospective students to nursing schools and licensed nurses to the Nebraska job market representing every county in Nebraska. The NCN also entered a partnership with the Nebraska Hospital Association (NHA) to expand clinical training sites for nurses in Nebraska and other nursing promotional activities. The centerpiece of this partnership was creation of a shared clinical model to create new clinical education sites for nursing students in critical access hospitals in Nebraska, in collaboration with local schools of nursing, in a true practice-academic partnership. In the first year, nine rural Nebraska hospitals and six academic institutions began collaborating via this model for an increase of 108 additional nursing students admitted to programs in fall 2024. This innovative model also includes student travel and housing expenses for the rural clinical rotations, as well as clinical instructor education. Other projects launched in the NCNNHA partnership include an infusion of simulation equipment for Nebraska approved schools and hospital-based programs, a joint effort that provides simulation equipment access to both rural settings and schools. Statewide onboarding of nursing students is under review to develop a new system that streamlines student credentialing for clinical sites across the state. A new student nurse internship has also been launched to provide rural hospitals an opportunity to host nursing students and develop relationships that lead to potential local job placement upon graduation from a nursing program. In the first year of this program, 16 student nurses completed their internship, with 11 of 16 being hired fulltime while completing their nursing degree. |