2014-2015 Innovations Magazine

i nnovations • 25 pARTNERSHIpS In August 2007, a partnership between NSU and Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF) was established to serve a dual purpose: • provide BHSF with a pipeline for new nurses, thereby helping it to relieve its nursing shortage • provide significant financial support to NSU entry-level nursing students BHSF committed to pay tuition and fees for 40 students for each admitted cohort, or 80 students a year. As of fall 2014, BHSF pro- vided scholarship monies for 388 students through our entry-level program totaling al- most 10 million dollars. In addition, BHSF re- cently began to offer scholarships to students in our other programs. To date, 15 students already holding a license to practice as a reg- istered nurse have been awarded $135,000 to complete their Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Additionally, seven B.S.N. nurses have been awarded $111,500 to complete their Master of Science degree in Nursing, while six nurse practitioners have been awarded $98,500 to complete their Doctor of of Nursing Practice degree. In order for students to qualify for the entry- level Baptist Scholars program, they must first be accepted into NSU’s Entry-Level Nursing program at the Miami Regional Cam- pus in Kendall. When students receive their acceptance package, an application for the Baptist Scholars program is included. The perspective Baptist Scholar then submits the application as well as a resume, an essay de- scribing career goals, and letters of recom- mendation before being scheduled for a panel interview. The interviewing panel consists of nurse managers, Baptist Scholars faculty, a BHSF human resources representative, and the di- rector of the Baptist Scholars program. Schol- arships are awarded based on the direct patient care R.N. needs of BHSF. Upon re- ceipt of the scholarship, students are consid- ered BHSF employees and are expected to attend the BHSF employee orientation. In ad- dition, students must sign a contract commit- ting them to work at one of the BHSF facilities for a minimum of three years. The majority of their nursing student clinical experiences will take place at one of the BHSF facilities. Another partnership component is that BHSF assigns three full-time faculty members that are employed by Baptist Health to teach exclusively for NSU. These faculty members have assigned offices at the Miami Regional Campus and are shared by both institutions to serve on various committees in an effort to facilitate communication success for the BHSF Scholars. In addition, the Miami Re- gional Campus program director attends reg- ular meetings of the BHSP faculty and staff members at their facility, while the BHSF Scholars director sits on the NSU College of Nursing Advisory Board. Decisions affecting the NSU Baptist Scholars are made by ad- ministration and faculty members of both in- stitutions in order to best meet the needs of these scholarship students. There is no question that the NSU College of Nursing–BHSF partnership has greatly benefitted both institutions, and most impor- tantly, has produced nurses that practice evi- dence-based quality care. Baptist Health South Florida Partnership BENEFITS STUDENTS By Gale Woolley Ed.D., A.R.N.P., CNE, Associate Dean, Entry-Level Nursing Program