title: Partnering with rural communities to meet the demand for a qualified nursing workforce.
abstract: The registered nurse (RN) shortage threatens rural health care quality and economic vitality. Educational institutions have the opportunity to collaborate with rural communities in building pipelines for a more highly educated, sustainable nursing workforce. Leaders from 19 Midwestern rural counties approached a university about their regional nurse workforce issues and a desire to locate a nursing campus in their community. This article describes the partnership between a university and a rural community and the process for addressing their concerns and determining program feasibility. A Task Force of faculty and community leaders used the Determining Program Feasibility model to frame data collection and analysis. The Task Force met regularly with a Community Advisory Board for problem-solving and formative feedback. The sound methodology and transparent process facilitated a successful collaboration and resulted in a final report outlining the significant opportunities and challenges to overcome. Plans are underway for a new rural nursing campus and the community has raised monies for the new facility. The state legislature will address needed start-up funds.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, Omaha, NE 68198-5330, USA. mecramer@unmc.edu
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cramer
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Megel
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pitkin
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D016294:Models, Nursing; D009329:Nebraska; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000600:supply & distribution; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D016730:Program Development; D012040:Regional Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D012424:Rural Population; D012579:Schools, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014495:Universities / Q000458:organization & administration*