An accelerated program at Concordia University in St. Paul will help get nurses out of the classroom and into hospitals within just 16 months instead of two years.
The university's hybrid bachelor of science in nursing degree program will allow those enrolled to take in-person and online classes. The program will have its first two cohorts of students this summer and fall.
Those nursing students must have already taken at least 60 college credits before entering the program, which operates year-round to help prospective nurses get their degrees quicker.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor shows that the demand for registered nurses is expected to increase by 10% over the next decade. The nursing chair for Concordia University St. Paul, Kendra Saal, acknowledged that.
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"There's a huge need. There's always job openings that are out there," Saal said, the Star Tribune reported. "The purpose of the accelerated program was to get students … in and get out."
Students will listen to most of their lectures and do discussions online while having interactive labs in person. In addition, clinical rotations will be done in Twin Cities hospitals. This way, students will get the actual learning experience of a normal program.
"They're still getting that hands-on learning as they would in the traditional program," Saal said to the Tribune.
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The cost for the program is still the same as traditional ones, with the same number of credits still being required to obtain the degree.
Students will be admitted to the program every January, May, and August. There are currently 30 students enrolled since it started this past summer, Saal told the Tribune.
"To be a nurse is a calling," she said. "They just want to go out there and start making a difference."
