• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Health / Medicine / Nursing program in the works for Iowa State University

Nursing program in the works for Iowa State University

July 7, 2017 By Matt Kelley

Ginny Wangerin.

Iowa State University plans to launch a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program in the fall of 2018.

Professor Ginny Wangerin, director of nursing education at ISU, says the program should appeal to registered nurses who are already working in the field as well as recent graduates of approved nursing programs.

Wangerin says, “The Iowa State program is designed for nurses who’ve already received, typically, their associate’s degree and their nursing license, so they will be RNs already.” The campus-based program aims to meet a need as more hospitals and health care providers in the state are requiring — or are at least encouraging — nurses to get a BSN degree.

“Looking at the numbers in our community and the graduates from our local community colleges, we’re anticipating about 50 students with each admission,” Wangerin says. “Given they will be in the program about two years, three to four semesters, we expect to reach a capacity of about 200 students over time.”

Nationwide, about 65-percent of RNs have a bachelor’s degree or higher, but the rate in Iowa is only around 46-percent, dropping to nearly 30-percent in rural areas. The program at ISU won’t likely help to reverse the state’s nurse shortage, but Wangerin says there will still be valuable benefits.

“Programs such as this, the RN to BSN, do not necessarily put more nurses in the field, but what it does is advance the education of the nurses that we have,” Wangerin says. “All of the research tells us that leads to safer care and better care.”

Studies find when hospitals or health care providers have more BSN-prepared nurses on staff, there are fewer medical errors, deaths, infections or injuries for patients, and patients spend fewer days in the hospital. Wangerin says about 88 to 90-percent of all nurses in Iowa are female.

Photo courtesy of ISU.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Health / Medicine, News Tagged With: Iowa State University

Featured Stories

Iowa Supreme Court overturns ruling creating constitutional abortion right

Iowa’s governor launches $100 million school safety plan

Urbandale teacher crowned Miss Iowa

DOT taking input on proposed electric vehicle charging network

Glidden man cleared in poaching case, questions DNR tactics

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

AJ Green signs with Milwaukee

Iowa to host Georgia Tech in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Iowa State adds a defensive back

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 6/20/22

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 6/13/22

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2022 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC