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St. Olaf to expand nursing program, enhance role in addressing nursing shortage

By David Gonnerman '90
December 21, 2004

St. Olaf College President Christopher M. Thomforde announced last week that the college plans to streamline and expand its nursing program in an effort to help meet the nation's increased demand for nurses. The improved program will include a 20 percent increase in the number of graduates with nursing degrees -- from 20 to 24.

Federal agencies predict that the United States will need as many as 1 million additional nurses by 2010. Enrollment of nursing students is increasing across the nation but, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, thousands of qualified applicants are still turned away.

Even though the 20% increase in St. Olaf nursing graduates won't put a big dent in the nationwide nursing shortage, innovations in the college's nursing program could have important implications for similar programs around the country. "We're coming up with creative solutions for increasing enrollment and teaching differently," says Nursing Department Chair Rita Glazebrook.

Efforts include offering a greater variety of nursing- and health-related courses in classrooms that include non-nursing students, giving the program increased visibility across campus. Courses will address such topics as healthcare issues; violence, addictions and images of wellness in American society; and the biology of women. The current nutrition course also will be expanded.

"We've never been able to teach these courses because our faculty have only been able to teach nursing students," explains Glazebrook. "The redesign will allow us to teach more students and be more integrated within the entire academic enterprise of St. Olaf."

"Nursing makes a significant contribution to the mission of the college," adds Associate Dean for Social Sciences Steve Soderlind, referring to the college's goal of educating its students for "lives of worth and service." "And it's astounding how many nursing career opportunities are out there," he says.

St. Olaf is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Nursing Consortium, a combined nursing program with nearby Gustavus Adolphus College. The Gustavus nursing program is implementing improvements similar to the St. Olaf program, including a 20 percent increase in enrollment.

The St. Olaf College nursing program began in 1952 and graduated its first class in 1956, when Gustavus began its program. The two nursing programs have a combined 2,700 alumni throughout the United States and abroad. The colleges' nursing graduates can be found in leadership positions in nursing administration, education, nursing associations and boards, as well as in business and law.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.