University, health system partnership targets Idaho nursing shortage

Idaho State University and Kootenai Health are expanding delivery of the accelerated bachelor of nursing undergraduate program to the Coeur d’Alene area.

The program is currently offered at ISU-Meridian, with up to 50 seats available each year for the 12-month program there and at ISU’s main campus in Pocatello, with up to 40 seats available beginning in 2024, according to a news release.

The new cohort in Coeur d’Alene will offer 10 seats for the 12-month program for its first year, and can grow from there. Following completion of prerequisite courses, students with a bachelor’s degree in another discipline are eligible to enter the program, receiving accelerated education and training to become a nurse, the release stated.

This ABSN program expansion to northern Idaho addresses a growing demand across the state, and the nation, for nurses graduating with a baccalaureate degree, who are prepared to take the required exam, called the National Council Licensure Exam, and move directly into practice as a registered nurse.

More registered nurses are needed to support staffing and safe patient outcomes across clinical settings, and baccalaureate-prepared nurses are in high demand in Idaho, the release stated. Employers across Idaho’s rural areas have experienced difficulty filling vacant positions because of a nursing shortage in the state, and in the nation. Temporary, traveling nurses have been increasingly hired to fill nursing shortages in Idaho.

A report compiled by the Idaho Nursing Workforce Center at the Idaho Center for Nursing projects Idaho’s shortage of RN’s ranges between 106-523 annually through 2024, the release stated. Compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the strain it has placed on all health care sectors, Idaho’s nursing profession also faces retirements of a large number of the incumbent workforce, adding to the shortage. Currently, 29% of Idaho’s nurses are 55 years or older, 3% of those are 65 years or older.

Increasing enrollment is one key strategy to address this growing issue in the state. The ABSN program at ISU offers the opportunity for individuals who hold a bachelor’s degree in another discipline to make a career change and enter the nursing profession, the release stated. Courses in Coeur d’Alene will be delivered at the Kootenai Health campus and clinical learning opportunities will be provided to students across the panhandle region, including urban and rural placements.

“We are pleased to welcome ISU’s nursing students to beautiful northern Idaho, and to our health system,” said Kelly Espinoza, chief nursing officer for Kootenai Health, in the release. “We are committed to providing a learning environment that leads to the utmost success for these students, which ultimately translates into improved patient care for those we serve.”

The accelerated baccalaureate nursing program started on the Meridian campus in 2002, consistently expanding to meet growing demand. Over 550 students have graduated from the program since its inception, many of whom remained in the area, helping to fill part of the shortage for nurses, the release stated.