The California State University hosted the summit, “Building California's Nursing Workforce: The CSU's Investment in the Future," at CSUN on May 10 to bring together health care employers, colleges and universities, and community-based organizations to seek creative and proactive solutions to the challenges affecting nursing education and professional development.
CSUN President Erika Beck opened the summit, touching on the need to grow the nursing workforce to ensure equitable access to health care for all people and the central role California universities and colleges play in achieving that goal.
“Nursing and nursing education is noble work, it is consequential work, and I just want to thank all of you who have made it your life's work," Beck said. “It is one of those rare professions that touches every member of our civic society, and our role in facilitating a vibrant future health care ecosystem with nursing as a critical component to that [system] is so important."
Attendees also heard from industry leaders on the current state of nursing, from CSU leaders on systemwide programs and community college partnerships growing the nursing workforce, from students and alumni on their experiences in the field, and from faculty experts on the future of nursing.
California faces a shortage of approximately
36,000 licensed nurses. As the leading contributor of the state's bachelor-trained nurses, the CSU is integral to preparing the next generation of licensed nurses.
The CSU's accelerated nursing programs, second baccalaureate programs, ADN-to-BSN transfer pathways and
concurrent enrollment programs with the California Community Colleges are helping increase the number of bachelor degree-holding nurses in California.
However, other hurdles like a lack of clinical placements and qualified nursing faculty limit the number of nursing students who can be properly educated and graduated into the field. Efforts like this summit allow the CSU to work with partners across the industry to address such challenges to growing the nursing workforce and meeting the state's nursing needs.
Currently, the CSU is coordinating with partners to connect students with clinical placements and is supporting legislation that would evaluate existing hospital placements in hopes to expand placement opportunities. In addition, the university is training expert nursing faculty to teach nursing students through its master's and doctoral nursing degree programs.
Watch the
full recording, and learn more about how the CSU is
addressing the nursing shortage.