WVU Medicine is investing in its diploma program, says this CNE.
Nursing education has been provided within educational institutions for many years in West Virginia.
Registered nurses typically complete a two- to four-year program, earn a degree, and take the appropriate exams before entering the workforce.
But WVU School of Medicine West Virginia University is investing in a different route.
The health system has a hospital-based school of nursing and a registered nursing degree program through its nursing education center, according to WVU Medicine and HealthLeaders Exchange member Chief Nurse Melanie Houston.
“We’re doing something a little bit unconventional in academia,” Huston said. “We developed and sponsor a unique two-year diploma program that serves as a pipeline for new nurses for our 24 hospitals.”
Houston explained that although diploma programs exist across the country, this program is one of the first of its kind.
“We wanted to be a bridge to people pursuing further education, so we are developing the Nursing Education Center to provide West Virginians with an alternative to the traditional path to becoming a nurse. .”
Program details
Houston described the program as traditional education with a modern approach. The program is free, and students are provided with all necessary supplies, including computers, books, and uniforms.
“We’ve been developing it for over a year, but on a very short timeline,” Houston said. “We are making a significant investment in our new school to ensure our students are immersed in state-of-the-art facilities.”
Huston said the program’s faculty recruitment has been successful and enrollment is increasing as well.
“We opened registration on Aug. 15 this summer,” Houston said. “Within a week we had over 100 applicants and today we have 620 applicants. [who] We have completed all applications for our first class of 24 students. ”
Students are expected to begin the program in August 2025 after a rigorous selection process that includes interviews. Huston explained that enrollment is broad-based and is also referred to as comprehensive enrollment.
“We’re not just looking at test scores,” Huston said. “We’re actually going to interview them for their compassionate qualities to see if they’re the type of nurses that really want to work in a clinical healthcare setting.”
Program goals
The goal, Houston said, is to promote impatient bedside nursing as a long-term career.
“We intend to interview all candidates and hope to expand very quickly,” Houston said. “The state board of nursing is only allowing us to admit 24 students until we have proven results.”
Houston said WVU Medicine partnered with Beebe Healthcare’s Margaret Rollins School of Nursing to learn lessons learned.
“They’ve been collaborative partners,” Houston said. “They want to see us succeed and have shared everything they have done well to integrate into our environment.”
Ultimately, this program is intended to be a pathway to continuing education. Houston said he has signed memorandums of understanding with local schools and West Virginia University to provide students with a bridge to a bachelor’s degree.
“We really want to push this idea up the clinical ladder, and we also want to make tuition free for a bachelor’s degree,” Houston said.
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G Hatfield is CNO Editor at HealthLeaders.
