Educational Improvements in Maryland

The University of Maryland School of Nursing has decided to increase class size in response to a continuing shortage of nurses in the state of Maryland, and specifically in Montgomery County. According to reports, while the school would normally admit 63 students each fall, it will now accept 50 students in the fall and 50 additional students in the spring. Additionally, the school has also increased its number of nursing students in its graduate program. The expansion is in due to a $3.4 million allocation by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley.

More Funding for Nursing Education in Michigan

Thanks to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Saginaw Valley State University will be the recipient of $250,000 from the Michigan Nursing Corps and Covenant Medical Center, enabling the school to hire ten additional clinical instructors. The money is part of $5 million in nursing grants being shared by six universities and four hospitals in the state. The other college-hospital parternships receiving some portion of the grant funding include Beaumont Hospital and Oakland University; Detroit Medical Center and Oakland Community College; Trinity Health and the University of Detroit Mercy; and Northern Michigan University and Wayne State University.

A Run for Nursing

And in Indiana, an annual run raising money for nursing education has netted almost $200,000 in its six year history, an effort especially targeting nurses seeking to become professors.   

The Feds Get in on the Act

As reported on Nurse LinkUp yesterday, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have approved  The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the largest increase in student aid since the GI Bill. With improved funding for nursing schools, a simplified application process for financial aid, as well as a number of other incentives, it is our hope that the President will sign this bill into law and release the needed funds before the end of 2008. 

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), has co-sponsored The Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act, HR 5924 , a bill which would temporarily increase the number of available visas for nurses trained in foreign countries, provide funds for improving nursing eduation, and award grants to American nursing schools to increase the number of nurses trained domestically. 

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NurseKeith is a nurse, consultant, writer and blogger. Please feel free to visit his blog, Digital Doorway .  

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