Nursing Education: Building a Vital Pipeline

Experience teaches us that nursing is at the heart of every aspect of patient care. The compassionate care we provide to thousands of patients each day underscores how important our nursing team is to our patients’ experience and the impact nurses have on the quality of Ochsner’s care.

Chamberlain College of Nursing students at the Ochsner Transition to Care Ceremony

Yet Louisiana, like many other states, faces a nursing shortage. That shortage is compounded by the fact that in recent years more than 1,000 qualified Louisiana nursing students have been denied admission into pre-RN licensure programs because of a lack of capacity. Simply put, it’s clear that we’ll never address the shortage of nurses unless we expand the available opportunities to train them.

That’s why in 2018 Ochsner was pleased to create a unique and proactive opportunity to fulfill the demand for more nurses. It’s the launch of a new educational alliance agreement that includes the opening of a new Chamberlain University College of Nursing campus on the West Campus of Ochsner Medical Center – Jefferson Highway. With Chamberlain, we’re excited to collaborate with an organization that cares as much as we do about redefining the future of nursing. The new partnership is a natural extension of our longstanding commitment to prepare the caregivers of the future.

The Chamberlain program is designed to support new graduates’ transition to practice as highly trained RNs and better prepare them to face the challenges that nurses encounter today. It encompasses interdisciplinary learning and simulation training that supports clinical experiences for nursing students.

The Chamberlain program
encompasses interdisciplinary
learning and simulation training
that supports clinical experiences
for nursing students.

The Chamberlain Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program is different than most in that it provides direct entry into a nursing program and can be completed in as few as three years of year-round study. Notes Jennifer Couvillon, PhD, campus president, Chamberlain College of Nursing at Ochsner Health System, “Together, we focus on improving patient care through strong academic-service collaboration in areas like evidence-based practice, nursing research, interprofessional education and care teams, all while testing new models for transitioning Chamberlain students into nursing practice.”