By 2011 Florida will need an estimated additional 41,584 RNs. While nursing schools are encouraged by the increased interest and number of applications, they can do little to remedy the looming nursing shortage. Compounding the issue are regional and national accreditation standards that have introduced higher standards for faculty educational preparation. To be responsive to the state’s nursing workforce needs, nursing schools need assistance in creating a pipeline for future nurse educators, and assuring that current faculty are not lost from the faculty pool because of their educational preparation level.

The SUCCEED Grant is a collaborative project between Nova Southeastern University (NSU), Broward Community College (BCC) and Barry University (BU). Using the online Master’s of Nursing program designed at NSU, the hope is to increase the number of qualified faculty this year by expanding the education of those qualified nursing faculty members who are currently employed, so they can continue teaching tomorrow’s nurses. Additionally, the project will create a conduit for new nursing faculty to meet the state’s future nursing workforce needs.

Dr. Diane Whitehead, Nursing Department Chair, NSU College of Allied Health and Nursing

NSU will continue to support each project partner’s unique educational program so that a seamless, accelerated path for current and new faculty is created. Broward Community College will continue to educate AND nurses who will be mentored to become faculty by faculty at BCC, Indian River, Palm Beach and Edison Community Colleges, as well as NSU and BU. These future faculty members will enter the RN to BSN program at NSU along with future faculty from throughout the state via the online RN to BSN program.

Graduates, especially those working full-time in hospitals and interested in part-time adjunct clinical faculty positions at community colleges, will complete the MSN online through NSU or on campus at BU. Promising MSN graduates will be mentored to continue their preparation for university-level nursing education through BU’s Ph.D. nursing program.

Mentoring is key to establishing a successful pipeline of nursing faculty for Florida. Nova Southeastern University and Barry University program directors mentor future faculty through meetings at BCC, mentoring of MSN students at NSU who are faculty members at community colleges, a faculty development conference at NSU, and the “shadow” program wherein future faculty spend a day with a current faculty member.

Qualified faculty from each project site will serve as adjunct or guest faculty for the other sites, serving as guest lecturers, preceptors, faculty or dissertation/thesis committee members. A project coordinator (PC) at each site is responsible for advertising and recruiting students into the project. PCs provide support by advising, securing faculty, and coordinating courses. All three schools fully participate in all aspects of the recruitment and retention activities related to the overall project.

Nursing schools must engage in creative, collaborative approaches to produce and retain nursing faculty. Joint ventures sharing faculty, resources, and teaching-learning strategies and offering programs across all areas of Florida will create more responsive and supportive programs to attract and prepare our state’s future nurse educators who are essential in relieving the nursing shortage.



Officials at Florida International University have announced that the School of Nursing has become a free-standing college.

The newly formed College of Nursing & Health Sciences results from the reorganization of the former College of Health & Urban Affairs (CHUA) – which had included the School of Nursing – into three independent colleges. The motion to restructure CHUA was unanimously approved by the Faculty Senate on a meeting held September 9, and approved by University Provost Dr. Ronald Berkman on September 19.

Divina Grossman, PhD, RN, ARNP, FAAN, currently Dean of the School of Nursing, will become Executive Dean of the College of Nursing & Health Sciences. The new College will be comprised of the following programs: Nursing, Communication Science & Disorders, Health Information Management, Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy, and Health Sciences (general).

The School of Nursing’s conversion to an autonomous academic College comes as FIU’s nursing program prepared to celebrate its 25th Anniversary in 2007. “This move represents a defining moment in the history of our nursing program, providing us with additional autonomy and resources, and putting us on par with other top nursing education institutions around the country,” said Grossman. She added, “But the change also presents the entire College with a collective and unique opportunity to achieve synergies of resources and knowledge across all of the health-related disciplines that are not part of the College. Interdisciplinary collaboration within the College will advance the level of teaching, research and educational opportunities we can provide to all students, which translates into a higher quality of health care service from all of our graduates.”



The Florida Board of Education has unanimously approved Miami Dade College’s (MDC) request to offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

“We are extremely pleased and excited about this new degree opportunity for our students and the residents of our region so they may achieve their career goals in nursing where such a critical shortage of trained professionals exists,” said Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, president of Miami Dade College. “Nursing and the health care industry as a whole offer tremendous career placement and growth opportunities. This milestone is yet another example of MDC responding to the workforce needs of the dynamic community it serves.”

The BSN program, which will commence in spring 2008, offers the community, MDC students, and its graduates new opportunities to contribute to the nation’s health care system. Its primary goal is to provide students and practicing nurses with a high quality, accessible, cost-effective, and seamless academic program designed to meet the critical workforce need for baccalaureate-prepared nurses in the State of Florida.



Bob Graham, a former U.S. senator and governor of Florida, told Nova Southeastern University graduates to make a difference in the lives of those without healthcare. He recently spoke to 651 graduating students in medicine, pharmacy, optometry, public health and dentistry during NSU’s Health Professions Division’s commencement.

Graham said one out of seven children in the Sunshine State does not have health insurance. That’s 50 percent higher than the national average of uninsured children, he said.

“More than 600,000 young men and women in this state do not have access to the care they may require and that many of us take for granted,” Graham said. “You can make a difference.”

Uninsured children represent only 20 percent of the more than 46 million Americans of all ages who don’t have health insurance, he said. The number of Americans who fall into the uninsured trap each year is more than the population of Broward County, Graham said. Uninsured patients contribute to the high cost of health care.

“By 2016, annual health care spending in the United States is expected to reach $4.1 trillion,” he said.

Graham was a U.S. senator for 18 years, Florida’s governor for two terms, and he’s also served in the state legislature. A centrist who received an 89 percent approval rating as governor, Graham retired from public service in 2005, following his presidential campaign the year before.

During his career, Graham had been actively involved in health care and elderly issues. As a state legislator and governor, he initiated Florida’s Community Care for the Elderly program. As a U.S. senator, he served for 10 years on the Senate Finance Committee, where he took a leadership role in federal healthcare policy.



Nova Southeastern University’s College of Pharmacy recently announced it will continue the study abroad program for NSU pharmacy students in China.

The students went on their first study abroad program to China in June. Because of the program’s success in teaching them traditional Chinese medicine, the College of Pharmacy has decided to continue it next year.

“In light of the today’s global conflict, we deeply believe in the importance of cross-cultural learning,” said Leanne Lai, Ph.D., Director of the College of Pharmacy’s International Program. “International education will be the solution to the world’s strife.”

Fifty-one pharmacy students, pharmacists and faculty traveled to Beijing and Shanghai for the 18-day program. The program included the 68-hour course “Introduction of Traditional Chinese Medicine” and cultural exploration in Beijing and Shanghai.

The traditional medicine course took place in one of the most prestigious universities in China: The Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.