News - Lakeland College, Sheboygan WI

Lakeland College and Columbia College of Nursing Sign Partnership Agreement To Address Nursing Shortage

General - posted on 10/24/2012

Columbia College of Nursing (CCON) and Lakeland College have formed a partnership to increase the number of registered nurses in anticipation of the pending nursing shortage. The CCON/Lakeland partnership comes at a time when other nursing schools are turning away students due to insufficient numbers of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors and budget constraints.

As part of the agreement, up to 50 Lakeland College students each year, who meet CCON's academic criteria, will be admitted into the Columbia College of Nursing program, 4425 N. Port Washington Road, Glendale, Wis. Students will complete their first two years at Lakeland's main campus in Sheboygan County, and then complete their final two years at CCON, graduating with a bachelor of science degree in nursing from CCON.

"Having a strong partnership with Lakeland College, a renowned academic institution, will enable us to work collaboratively to address the nursing shortage that is expected to intensify in the next decade," said Jill Winters, Ph.D., R.N., President and Dean of the Columbia College of Nursing.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the aging Baby Boomer population is creating more demand for RNs*. In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Projections released a report** this past February stating the top occupation for job growth through 2020 will be registered nurses.

CCON is affiliated with Columbia St. Mary's Health System, making it the only nursing college in Milwaukee with formal ties to a healthcare system. Students will begin clinical work in their first semester at CCON, and have priority status for pre- and post-graduation nursing positions within Columbia St. Mary's including hospitals in Milwaukee, Mequon, and Glendale.

"There are currently a number of openings for nurses within our hospitals," said Winters. "Our agreement with Lakeland gives CCON access to students with a strong two-year liberal arts curriculum. Combined with hands-on nursing science education and experiences at CCON, we will graduate classes of highly-skilled, highly trained nurses."

According to Winters, CCON currently enrolls 180 students and would like to add approximately 60-80 new students per semester.

* www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/shortageresource.htm

** http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.t06.htm

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About Lakeland College

Founded in 1862, Lakeland College is a private, applied liberal arts college serving approximately 3,600 students. Lakeland's main campus is located in a scenic rural location near Lake Michigan in Sheboygan County, Wis. Students are also served online and in Chippewa Falls, Central Wisconsin, the Fox Cities, Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee and at an international campus in Tokyo, Japan.

For more information, call (800) 242-3347 or email admissions@lakeland.edu.

About Columbia College of Nursing

Founded in 1901, Columbia College of Nursing is a specialty College offering a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Building upon a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, students integrate the latest in nursing instruction with challenging clinical experiences, enabling them to meet the challenges of health care today and providing them with a skill set that will support them well into the future.

For more information call (414) 326-2330 or e-mail at admissions@ccon.edu.

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