Many hospitals across the country have issued calls for extra help from people in the medical field as they care for an influx of COVID-19 patients, and the addition of accelerated nursing programs at Xavier University in Cincinnati is coinciding with these shortages, reports local ABC affiliate WEWS.
The university launched the 16-month program, where students with a non-nursing degree can earn an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, in Cleveland earlier this year. The program has other locations in Cincinnati and Columbus, where it first started.
The accelerated degree consists of 63 credit hours — a rapid combination of online coursework, simulation labs at its learning centers and supervised clinical rotations at Cleveland Clinic.
The first class at the Cleveland program had just nine students, growing to 41 with the second class in August, Sandra Harris, MSN, RN, associate director of Cleveland's ABSN program, told WEWS. Dr. Harris said she hopes each cohort will soon reach the 70-student capacity.
The program enrolls new students every January, May and August.