How the Aspiring Nurse Program allows hospitals to invest in student nurses
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (WBOY) — Medical personnel shortages were already present before the pandemic, but COVID-19 accelerated the need for physicians and nurses. To combat this, the Aspiring Nurse Program was piloted in early 2023 and has put through around 200 nursing students.
According to West Virginia University, West Virginia currently has a 19% shortage of registered nurses. The Aspiring Nurse Program encompasses 33 partnerships of hospitals and schools working with the WVU Health System to give nursing students a boost.
During the program, students can get up to $25,000 dollars over two years. WVU Medicine officials said hospitals that are able to participate in this are investing in their future and future care they can provide patients.
After students graduate from their respective schools, they'll go to work at the hospital they signed with. Students will also be paired with a WVU Medicine mentor while they're in school, as well as during their transition period to become registered nurses. Overall this is a three-year commitment for students to work at the hospital they're paired with.
"But if those life events happen and they end up at another WVU Medicine facility we honor that. we're still working out the finer details of exactly what that looks like on our end but we're not going to leave a student high and dry," Nursing Program Development Manager Eric Small said.
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On Monday, WVU Medicine St. Joseph's Hospital held an event where three students, Hailey Pugh and Emily Tackett from West Virginia Wesleyan College, and Madisyn McDaniel from Davis and Elkins College, were honored.
Tackett, a junior at WV Wesleyan is a first-generation college student and said it had always been a dream of hers to attend WV Wesleyan and have the opportunity to work at St. Joseph's. "It is a blessing, I'm honored every day, and happy that I got this. It will help me pay for my tuition...I get a job at a hospital that I've always wanted to work at because of my grandmother and they have it set up so that when I graduate, I have a member of the hospital's team to show me the ropes after I pass my boards," she said.
Twenty-three WVU Medicine systems hospitals are currently participating in the Aspiring Nurse Program in different capacities. Despite getting financial benefits as part of the program, Small said that financial needs are not at the forefront of decision-making.
"One of the amazing things about this program is that there aren't specific requirements that students have to meet. We don't take into account their financial situation. We want to hear their stories, they have to be actively enrolled, they have to be a part of the school. They have to be accepted and ready to being their career at least, if not already in their academic program," Small said. "It's really exciting to be a part of a program that's investing that's investing that much in the future of West Virginia."
Each student is eligible to received $5,000 per term, around three times a year, depending on the exact pace of the school. Most students receive this help for around two years, with a maximum of two years, plus a final payment of $5,000 when they begin their employment. Students can apply leading up to whatever their last two years of study will be
"The beauty of this program is that it's not dedicated just to academic expenses, it can be that unexpected expense, it can be their rent, it could just be something that they sit on and it's just a nest egg for whatever goals they might have for the future," said Small.
To learn more about the Aspiring Nurse Program, you can visit its website here.
