Tulane University is launching a new nursing program through a collaboration between the Tulane School of Medicine (SoM) and the Tulane School of Professional Advancement (SoPA). The program, which will offer a Bachelor of Science in nursing, will help increase the states healthcare workforce at a time when the need for such healthcare heroes is critical.

Tulane was founded as a medical school devoted to eradicating yellow fever. We are still laser-focused on treatment and cures for the epidemics of our times, while ensuring we have the workforce available to provide comprehensive and accessible healthcare in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana, Tulane President Michael A. Fitts said. This program is part of Tulanes commitment to improve our city and regions health and economy by reimagining downtown New Orleans as a national hub for medical education and as a center of bioscience research and innovation.

In addition to caring for patients, registered nurses such as those who earn a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree also play key roles in health promotion, disease prevention, research, health policy planning, patient education, administration, leadership within healthcare facilities and more.

"Our program will prepare students to provide competent, team-based patient care and instill a deep commitment to community and community health outcomes,"

Fitts noted that nurses are more crucial than ever given the transformation American healthcare has undergone in recent years with patients more frequently receiving treatment across networks and systems and often through a distributed model that shifts care from a clinic or hospital setting to the patients home.

Tulane has been at the forefront of groundbreaking medical research and care for generations and recently partnered with the locally based health system LCMC Health to enhance the regions role as a destination for medical care, innovation and training. Through this partnership, Tulane Medical Center, Lakeview Hospital and Lakeside Hospital joined LCMC Health.

Tulanes nursing program will combine a rigorous curriculum with hands-on learning in state-of-the-art skills andsimulation labswhere students will practice technical skills and test their critical thinking and clinical judgment with real-time feedback. Students will complete hundreds of hours of education in clinical settings at Tulane's local hospital and healthcare partners.

This nursing program is an exciting addition to our academic offerings and reflects our deep commitment that each of our programs be of the highest quality, said Robin Forman, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Tulane. "This program offers a uniquely Tulane experience that provides an exceptional preparation for the professional pursuits of our graduates.

Set to begin in fall 2024, the program will initially be housed in the Tulane University School of Medicines Murphy Building, 131 S. Robertson St., before moving to its permanent location at the renovated Tulane Medical Center building on Tulane Avenue. The program plans to enroll more than 200 students each year.

The timing for such a program couldnt be better, according to Dr. Lee Hamm, Tulanes Senior Vice President and Dean of the School of Medicine. Tulanes SoM has a proven track record of producing top physicians and other healthcare workers and ranks among the best nationwide.

Louisiana and the nation are in dire need of nurses, especially with the toll the pandemic took on the profession, Hamm said. The field of academic medicine is powered by the collaborative efforts of physicians, scientists and nurses. Implementing a Bachelor of Science in nursing program that culminates in a high-quality Tulane degree is an important milestone as we partner with LCMC Health to educate our workforce and care for the Gulf South community.

Suri Duitch, Dean of the Tulane University School of Professional Advancement, believes the program will be popular with students currently enrolled in SoPA as well as new applicants.

The Bachelor of Science in nursing program is ideal for students who want to find their calling in a field they love while contributing to something bigger than themselves, Duitch said. The hands-on nature of this program carries instant appeal for the students we attract and for those who will be drawn to this exciting and innovative program.

Brenda Douglas, a nationally recognized, board-certified registered nurse and nurse educator, will lead the program as Dean of Nursing. Douglas is developing an innovative, hybrid curriculum that will enable nursing students to learn alongside medical students, provide flexibility with asynchronous online learning, support the development of technical and clinical competence in a state-of-the-art skills laboratory and simulation center, and deliver care to patients in clinical and other settings.

Our program will prepare students to provide competent, team-based patient care and instill a deep commitment to community and community health outcomes that will be fostered by experiences in caring for our neighbors as part of their studies, Douglas said.

Douglas said students will get extensive academic support as they progress through the program, prepare to complete the Next Generation National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and transition to practice.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that themarket demandfor nurses will grow 9% through 2030, with approximately 194,500 openings each year, on average, over the next decade. In Louisiana, the state Board of Regents estimates there will be a shortfall of approximately 6,000 registered nurses 40% of the current workforce by 2030.

The Louisiana Board of Regents has created an ambitious master plan to double the number of nurses in the state during the next seven years. To help meet this goal, Tulanes program will put more nurses on the front lines of care in as little as 16 months.

For more information on registering for the nursing program, visitnursing.tulane.edu. There will be three program start dates per year in the spring, summer and fall. Prospective students must have at least 60 transferable credits to enter the program.

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