University of Pittsburgh officials believe a new, hybrid nursing program will help meet the growing demand for advanced nurse practitioners.
Pitt’s nursing school has launched a hybrid Master of Science in Nursing Nurse Practitioner program through its online platform.
Pitt recognized a need to increase the number of health care providers, said Brayden Kameg, associate dean of graduate clinical education at Pitt’s School of Nursing.
“It was designed with the working nurse in mind: ‘How can we meet nurses where they’re at so they are able to be successful in the program and equipped with the skills to work as a nurse practitioner?’ ” Kameg said.
The program starts in the fall semester. It is a two-year, six-semester program.
“It’s hybrid, in that most of the lecture content is delivered in a flexible flipped-classroom style,” Kameg said. “Students view the content in their own time and come together once a week to dive into the material.”
The program includes hands-on simulation and skills labs at Pitt. University officials will work to coordinate required clinical hours at preceptors near a student’s home community.
Kameg said the program offers concentrations of family, psychiatric-mental health and adult gerontology and acute care.
“Across those specialties, there are real gaps in rural and medically underserved areas,” Kameg said. “It’s very challenging for students living in rural, more remote areas. It’s challenging to leave the job and come to a program and return.”
Nurse practitioners are among the fastest-growing occupations in the country, reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Median annual salaries for nurse practitioners reached $137,000. U.S. News and World Report projects the unemployment rate for nurse practitioners is 0.6%.
Meanwhile, a Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania survey found the state projects a shortage of 20,000 nurses. State hospitals report 14% of nursing positions were unfilled, leaving existing nurses stretched thin and working longer hours.
Pitt’s efforts are the latest way area colleges are retooling health care programs to make them more accessible to students among a workforce shortage.
State Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-Northumberland, is preparing legislation that would allow colleges and universities to offer three-year bachelor’s degree programs. A roundtable held last week with private college and state officials discussed the proposed credit cut as a way to alleviate nursing shortages.
Also this fall, Slippery Rock University will start offering a four-year, pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.