The Benedictine University (BenU) Department of Nursing and Health has been awarded a $137,918 Nursing School Grant through the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE).
This grant will expand and enhance the RN to BSN Nursing Program at Benedictine University to address the critical shortage of registered professional nurses with high-quality post-secondary credentials in Illinois. By leveraging evidence-based strategies, the Department of Nursing and Health aims to increase the enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of historically marginalized groups. The project will focus on closing equity gaps in nursing education through targeted interventions including enhanced academic support services, mentoring, and course delivery models that accommodate working adults and students with diverse learning needs. Additionally, BenU will provide financial support to help students overcome barriers to degree completion.
A diverse workforce provides opportunities for a broader understanding of demographic-specific nuances for care and treatment, and staff members can learn from one another’s diverse perspectives. A more diverse nursing workforce leads to a healthier environment for both patients and staff, and provides a range of perspectives, experiences, and skills, that ultimately leads to enhanced patient understanding and empathy.
Students who will benefit from this grant will be selected based upon closing the equity gap in the RN BSN student population. The intent is to create a diverse student group by targeting those nurses who are disadvantaged by low-income status and those who are working adults, first-generation college students, or self-identify as Hispanic or African American, or self-identify as males.
The Department’s goals align with institutional strategic performance measures, including improved student success rates and increased diversity in the nursing workforce, which are vital to meeting the healthcare needs of Illinois. The initiative builds on current best practices and research, ensuring measurable impacts on closing equity gaps in nursing education while addressing workforce shortages in a high-demand healthcare field.
We are grateful for this IBHE Nursing School Grant that will allow us to provide mentoring and academic support to RN BSN nursing students. This will help us create an engaged learning process to meet program outcomes, increase student completion rates, and address health equity in our community by fostering a more diverse nursing workforce.
– Chair of BenU’s Department of Nursing and Health, Deborah Jezuit, PhD, RN
