A Multi-Regional Model to Increase the Number of Baccalaureate Nurses in the United States (RIBN)

Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence (through the Jewish Communal Fund)

New York: 

Queensborough Community College (CUNY), Bayside, NY

Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter College (CUNY), New York, NY

North Carolina: 

Foundation for Nursing Excellence, North Carolina

Asheville –Buncombe Technical Community College

Western Carolina University

Director:

Marilyn A. DeLuca PhD, RN, CNA, Executive Director, Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence, 212.609.1583, Marilyn.DeLuca@JonasCenter.org

Co-Directors:

Brenda Cleary, PhD, RN, FAAN

Margaret McClure, EdD, RN, FAAN, Margaret.McClure@med.nyu.edu

Brief Project Synopsis: 

The RIBN project aims to increase the number of baccalaureate nurses and thereby, the number of nurses poised to pursue graduate education at masters and doctoral levels, creating a long-term solution to the nursing and nursing faculty shortage.  Implemented simultaneously in academic sites in New York and North Carolina, this grant will dually enroll associate degree students in baccalaureate programs, building a pathway for immediate, continued baccalaureate study. Drawing on the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE) model, partners in urban New York City and rural western North Carolina will develop common, competency-based curricula and standardized admission criteria. The RIBN project will increase didactic and clinical critical thinking experiences, strengthen content in gerontological and public health nursing, and incorporate innovative long-distance learning strategies.

Project Goals and Objectives:

1. Increase the number of professional nurses educated at the baccalaureate level and ready to pursue  

    graduate education      

2. Increase the number of baccalaureate nurses from ethnically and racially diverse groups

3. Increase the number of new graduates educated in gerontological and public health nursing