16 hours Ago By Jessica Harrington
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A new partnership between Fresno State and Valley Children's Hospital is enhancing professional development for nurses. Andrea Carr has always known her calling.
"I always wanted to go into surgery. My mom and I used to stay up on Thursdays and watch 'ER' together after my sisters had gone to bed, so surgery and medicine have always been one of those things that I've always had an interest in," Carr said. She's held many job titles in her life, including pharmacy tech, CNA, surgical tech and now Perioperative Coordinator of General Surgery at Valley Children's Hospital.
Her latest title is one she's had before- as a student. She's one of 14 enrolled in Fresno State and Valley Children's new pathway program helping nurses earn a Bachelor's Degree. Fresno State Dean of Health and Human Sciences Kara Zografos says this relationship with VCH helps serve the community.
"As a university, we really wanted to respond to the needs in the Valley for nursing and the shortage related to nursing, and this is one of the ways in which we've been able to do that," Zografos said. While having students work locally increases retention rates, Zografos says research also shows that bachelor's prepared nurses produce better outcomes. "We see reduced hospital admissions, we see reduced stays in the hospital and overall, these candidates are better equipped to handle the emerging healthcare needs in our Valley," Zografos said.
The 18-month commitment is all online and allows licensed nurses to earn their bachelor's degree and complete their required clinical hours at their place of work. Valley Children's provides funding for all of the coursework, study time and internal professional guidance. That's something Carr says is extremely helpful.
"We get time to work on our homework. We get a day during the pay period that's allotted to education, so I'm not trying to stress about taking a day off when I've got a test coming up. I get that day built in," Carr said.
Zografos says they have cohorts in Visalia and Fresno, but this is the university's first hospital-based cohort and they're already making improvements and looking forward to the future. "Just ironing out all those things that you see when you first implement something, but we hope this goes on for many, many years to come," Zografos said. Potential RN-BSN applicants can email fsnursingadmissions@mail.
fresnostate.edu for more information. Future applicants will be able to apply for next year's cohort starting in July.
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