UDM's College of Health Professions (CHP), with an enrollment of 1,340 students, has received two grants to enhance nursing education and address the critical shortage of nurses.

• A three-year $1,027,795 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will be used to establish Simulation Technology Electronic-Informatics Preparatory System (STEPS) program to integrate simulation learning into the McAuley School of Nursling's curriculum.
• A grant from the Michigan Nursing Corps was matched by Trinity Health for a total of $516,550.  The grant will enhance the nursing school's Second Degree Option Program by increasing its clinical faculty and enrollment capacity.

The STEPS program incorporates four high-tech learning components for baccalaureate nursing students who will:

• utilize computerized patient-simulation manikins to develop clinical skill application. Eight programmed, simulated case studies (infancy to adult) will increase in complexity as the students progress in their studies.
• work with the Cerner electronic medical records, which major health systems are adopting, to promote informatics literacy necessary for delivery care in the 21st Century;
• use hand-held personal data assistant (PDA) devices to provide reference resources at the point-of-care, and
• develop familiarity with tele-health (distance-care communications) technology, which is increasingly being used when direct patient access is limited.

STEPS is the first program in metropolitan Detroit to combine all four technology strategies into a nursing curriculum. It will be situated in the newly renovated space in the CHP.

Simulation Practice & Technology Integration Center Coordinator and Project Director for the HRSA grant Suzanne Guzelaydin explains, "Changes in nursing education are required to bridge the gap between client health care needs and complex health care systems.

The unique combination of the STEPS program components will give UDM students the opportunity to practice in a realistic simulated healthcare environment and prepare them for the rigors they will encounter in the workplace. Our goal is to provide a seamless transition from student nurse to employed practitioner."

STEPS also provides holistic student-centered learning experiences by integrating heath care situations in a learning environment that promotes patient safety, cultural diversity, interdisciplinary communication and informatics literacy. The program also involves web casting to classrooms. A debriefing process will help with faculty-student dialog in assessing patient-centered care and student skill development.

Grant to help "grow" nursing program

A one-year $258,280 grant from the Michigan Nursing Corps also will help UDM address the nursing shortage. In cooperation with Catholic-sponsored Trinity Health, UDM will use the grant to:

• bring additional students into the McAuley School of Nursing's second-degree accelerated (12-month) nursing program
• reduce the wait times, typically a year, that students currently experience to get into the school, which includes both a traditional tract and the second-degree program, and
• provide students access to additional facilities and faculty for an enhanced clinical experience.

Under terms of the grant, three Trinity Health hospitals will provide "dedicated education units" including nursing staff for clinical instruction and supervision. The sites are St. Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor, St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac and St. Mary Mercy in Livonia.

The second-degree accelerated nursing program caters to persons who already have the minimum of a bachelor's degree in another field. According to John Knisely, clinical assistant professor and chair, Second Degree Option BSN Program, the program's students are typically 10 years older and are seeking a career change. Some have master's degrees and some are foreign-trained physicians, he says, adding that the program also has a higher-than-usual number of male students.

The grant will enable the accelerated program to grow from 80 students per year to 120.

"The critical shortage of nurses and faculty to train nursing students directly affects patient care and is a public health concern," says Knisely. "It also presents an economic development opportunity for Michigan as the state strives to diversify its employment base."

The Michigan Nursing Corps was announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in her 2007 State of the State address as "an initiative to train new nurses." UDM's College of Health Professions Dean Suzanne Mellon received the Corps award from the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Department of Labor and Economic Growth this summer.

Projections are that by 2010, Michigan will have a shortage of more than 8,000 registered nurses and the nation will need a million more RNs. Approximately 85 percent of UDM's nursing graduates practice in Michigan.