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South University Launches Online MSN

South University is launching a master of science in nursing degree (MSN), the institution’s fourth graduate degree offered online. The new degree program is designed for the registered nurse (RN) who already has a BSN degree and is interested in Nursing education.

The new master’s degree program consists of 12 courses totaling 48 quarter hours enabling students to complete the program in less than two years. Students complete courses during five-and-one-half week sessions with the program featuring integrated practical experiences, a practicum in nursing education, and a final project to assess learning outcomes. The online degree program permits those individuals working full-time to continue their education while meeting their demanding schedules.

"The Master of Science in Nursing program is designed for current nurses who want to pursue more advanced positions in today’s challenging health care environment," said John T. South, III., chancellor of South University. "With the South University Master of Science in Nursing degree online, nurses can continue to work full time and attend classes on a convenient schedule that will enable them to pursue a graduate education."

The MSN degree program at South University will enhance the knowledge of current registered nurses, develop clinical teaching skills and will provide them with the opportunity to learn to utilize research in the nursing practice. The program blends nursing theory with advanced practice concepts necessary to successfully work within the structure, culture and mission of almost any size healthcare organization or educational setting.

The new program will develop an advanced level of clinical knowledge for practice that provides consumers with primary, secondary, and/or tertiary health care. In addition, it will prepare current nurses for roles in education, whether it be in academe, institutional education or patient education.

The new degree does not require campus residency. Students can take all of their classes online and attend class anytime - day or night. "Nurses work demanding schedules and providing them flexible options to pursue a master’s degree is absolutely critical," said South. While the primary focus of the new degree program is on education, students will benefit from advance practice core requirements including advanced nursing concepts, pathophysiology, research and theory.

South University is a private academic institution dedicated to providing educational opportunities for the intellectual, social and professional development of a diverse student population. For more information about South University’s online programs, visit their website: South University.

Baptist Health & AUM Collaboration

Montgomery, Alabama - According to the American Hospital Association, U.S. hospitals are right now in need of more than 118,000 registered nurses to fill vacant positions and help care for an increasingly aging population.

By 2014, more than 1.2 million new and replacement nurses will be needed. To further complicate matters, U.S. nursing schools nationwide turned away more than 32,000 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2004 due to an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors and budget constraints.

Baptist Health and Auburn University Montgomery recognize the need for better-trained nurses to care for patients in the central Alabama area. That is why they have joined forces to increase the number of nursing professors, and thereby nursing graduates, in our area. With a total contribution of more than $500,000 over a four-year period, Baptist Health will enable the AUM School of Nursing to create two additional nursing professor positions.

"Baptist Health's investment in AUM's School of Nursing was an easy decision to make because of the quality of its graduates, as reflected in their high pass rate on the state licensing examination," W. Russell Tyner, Baptist Health president and CEO, said."Plus, over 70 percent of AUM's nursing graduates stay in the area and provide Baptist Health with the unsurpassed opportunity to recruit and employ mature, professional nursing candidates to meet the growing needs of our community."

AUM's School of Nursing pass rate in 2005 was 97.7 percent. The yearly pass rate statewide is typically 85 percent. Beginning in the fall of 2006, two additional professors will be funded at $65,000 each for four years by Baptist Health. AUM has committed to pay the benefits at 23 percent for these positions.

This collaboration will have an immediate impact on the surrounding community. The money invested will increase the number of entering School of Nursing students from 60 to 80 students per year. That means the number of graduating nurses should increase from 48 to 64 per year.

"The Baptist Health contribution will allow us to hire two master's level professors who will be very well-qualified," said Dean Barbara Witt. "The enrollment at AUM remains strong, and the additional staff will help produce more graduates."

Alison Baker of Prattville is one such student who will benefit from the additional nursing professors. She is also the recipient of the Baptist Healthcare Foundation Howard S. Durden Scholarship. "The education I receive from AUM will enable me to be at the forefront of new graduating nurses," Baker said. "The Baptist Scholarship has allowed me to fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a nurse."

About AUM: Auburn University Montgomery, the metropolitan campus of Auburn University, was established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967. Located on a 500-acre campus seven miles east of downtown Montgomery, AUM offers highly respected, accredited academic programs in a challenging but caring, small college environment.

A broad-based academic institution, AUM is organized into six schools: Liberal Arts, Sciences, Education, Nursing, Business, and Continuing Education. AUM's web site address is Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM).

About Baptist Health: As the leading employer of registered nurses in central Alabama, this is the latest example of Baptist Health's commitment to the community and to quality healthcare. This summer, Baptist Health Care Foundation awarded more than a dozen healthcare-related scholarships enabling employees, family members of employees, and members of the general public to embark on higher education in the health-related arts.

Baptist Health is the premier healthcare leader in the central Alabama area. The mission of this three-hospital, non-profit system is to promote and improve the physical, emotional and spiritual well being of the people and communities it serves by delivering high quality service within a framework of fiscal responsibility. Baptist Health's web site address is Baptist Health.

More Males Entering UA Nursing Overall Enrollment Doubles Since 2000

Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Record numbers of students continue enrolling in The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing, and, increasingly, these students are male.

The University of Alabama nursing college's overall enrollment was 884 students in fall 2004, a 99 percent increase from the 445 students enrolled in fall 2000 and the highest enrollment in the College's 29-year history. In the same span, the number of men enrolled in the program has grown 154 percent, from 41 men to 104. While UA women nursing students still outnumber men more than 7 to 1, the gap is shrinking. In 2000, it was closer to 10 to 1.

Historically, the University of Alabama, and the state as a whole, has drawn a higher than average percentage of males to nursing, said Dr. Sara Barger, dean of the Capstone College of Nursing, but results of the severe national nursing shortage are attracting bundles of students, including an increasingly large number of men. "It's an economic thing," Barger said. "As the shortage gets worse, salaries go up. As salaries go up, more people, including men, want to take advantage of that."

Men are frequently drawn to the nurse anesthetist career track, Barger said. "More than 50 percent of the males who come here in nursing are absolutely certain they wish to be nurse anesthetists," she said. The specialty requires a master’s degree after the bachelor’s in nursing, and starting salaries are frequently in the $100,000 range.

The College does not specifically target men in student recruitment, but Barger said the College strives to present itself as a non-gender specific career option. Men are well represented among the College's student ambassadors, who assist in student recruitment, and prospective students increasingly see male nurse role models when they look at health care delivery.

"They've got to see somebody who looks like them, who is successful, who they want to emulate," Barger said. According to the Alabama Board of Nursing, the number of male nurses licensed in Alabama has grown from 3,697, during fiscal year 1999, to 5,072 in fiscal year 2005. These figures include both Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses. Read more about the UA College of Nursing.

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