The following is an excerpt from the Feb. 29 issue of The Wichita Eagle. Wichita State University College of Health Professions Dean Sandra Bibb discusses the shortage of registed nurses with baccalaureate degrees. (Subscription may be required to view full story.)
Registered nurses with baccalaureate degrees are one of the top occupations projected to have the most job growth in the U.S. between 2014 and 2024, according to a Dec. 8, 2015, United States Bureau of Labor Statistics news release. The labor department projected an estimated increase of 16 percent in those jobs.
However, with the increasing numbers of aging baby boomers, onslaught of demands created by 21st century health care reform, and disparity between baccalaureate degree program capacity and number of applicants for schools of nursing across the U.S., there is a shortage of registered nurses with baccalaureate degrees.
The College of Health Professions at Wichita State University offers nursing programs at the baccalaureate, master and doctoral degree levels.
The School of Nursing offers high quality accredited, traditional and accelerated baccalaureate degree programs; a registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing fully online program; a master of science degree with concentrations in nursing education or nursing administration; and an advance practice nurse doctor of nursing practice program with a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist option.