Courtesy of Delaware State University
In acknowledgement of the current nursing and public health practitioner shortages, the Longwood Foundation has awarded the University a $1.75 million grant in support of an expansion of Delaware State Universityās NursingĀ Program.
The Nursing Programās growth targets include significantly expanding the number of nursing graduates over the next three years through 2026 and then further increasing that through 2030 ā Ā with 50% are expected to be Delawareans. The DSU Nursing Program produced 75 graduates in MayĀ 2023.
The Longwood investment will provide support for the establishment of a second Clinical Simulation Lab, as well as a Rehabilitation Center, and a Nursing Summer Pilot Program to help incoming freshman Pre-Nursing majors adjust to the rigors of the disciplineāsĀ curriculum.
As the retention, graduation and National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rate goals are met with a larger cohort of nursing students, there will be an increase in the number of nurses entering the workforce in Wilmington, Dover and throughout the State of Delaware. The DSU Nursing Program had an 83% NCLEX pass rate in 2023; the grant will help the program to increase that testingĀ success.
āTheĀ grant will increase the studentāsĀ successful ability to matriculateĀ through the programĀ andĀ be immediate contributors to the nursing profession,ā said Dr. Agnes Richardson, Chair of the DSU NursingĀ Program.
āTheĀ DSU Department of NursingĀ has assessed thatĀ the growthĀ of this programĀ necessitatesĀ a need toĀ supportĀ the programās sustainability through expanded lab spaceĀ to accommodate studentsā needs related to clinicalĀ preparation.ā
Dr. Gwen Scott-Jones, Dean of the Universityās Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, said she is especially excited that the funding will launch a pilot program that will help Pre-Nursing students (freshman and sophomoreĀ years).
āOur overall goal is to ensure that our Pre-Nursing students successfully make it into the Professional Nursing Program (during their junior and senior years) and that we graduate highly skilled nurses who can successfully pass the NCLEX,ā Dean Scott-JonesĀ said.
This Longwood grant is a continuation of longstanding support to the University, which included a $1 million grant in 2020 to assist DSU in supporting the acquisition of the former Wesley College. The Universityās renamed Wesley College of Health and Behavioral Sciences has moved to that 50-acre campus near Downtown Dover, now called DSU Downtown. With the acquisition, the University also inherited Wesley Collegeās nursing program andĀ students.
The DSU Nursing Program is based in the Hattie Dabney Mishoe Nursing Hall (formerly Johnston Hall, which was recently renamed after then-Delaware State Collegeās beloved longtime FirstĀ Lady).
First established in 1975, the DSU Nursing Program is affirmed by the Accreditation Commission for Education inĀ Nursing.
