NJ university has become the largest nursing program in the state

👩‍⚕️ William Paterson University launched its nursing school in September 2023

👨‍⚕️ It now has the largest nursing program in the state

👩‍⚕️ There are many reasons why the program is considered unique

WAYNE — Since launching its new dedicated nursing school in September 2023, William Paterson University in Wayne has now become the largest nursing program in the state.

Over 1,800 students are enrolled in the university’s various nursing programs, said Joshua Powers, Provost Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs. Since spring 2023, there were just under 1,700 nursing students in the program and more than 200 have been added, he said.

Enrollment in William Paterson University’s undergraduate nursing program has doubled since 2019, he said.

What makes the nursing program so unique?

“We’re very intentional of recognizing the importance of deploying current nurses to help teach in the programs,” Powers said. There’s a challenge around getting nursing faculty but having good, strong partnerships with their clinical sites, allows students to have direct access to nurses who work in these hospitals and they’re actually leading the clinical, he added.

William Paterson also has an unusual, diverse student body where there is a particularly large number of African-American and Hispanic students. That plays out in the students who are enrolled in the nursing programs, and who are graduating from those programs, Powers said.

Also unique is that William Paterson has a comprehensive nursing program that starts with the bachelor’s degree programs, the RN to BSN programs, and a whole array of master’s degree programs up to the doctoral degree programs, and makes those seamless connections among those, he said.

Skill Labs

Another aspect of the William Paterson nursing program is the dedicated skill labs that help prepare nursing students for real-life situations.

The three labs accommodate all the settings that nurses may find themselves in on a day-to-day basis, Powers said.

One lab simulates a surgical situation. A subset of that is obstetrics, so there is a room where there is a mother giving birth. So, all the things that go along with ensuring the safety of both mother and child in those particular moments is another angle of what could happen in a hospital setting, Powers explained.

Another lab simulates a recovery room, where a patient might be staying for multiple days for recovery from a procedure. So, there’s a set of simulations that go along with that circumstance.

The third lab simulates a home care situation. Imagine what a person’s home looks like. There’s a barking dog, a lounge chair, a television, and messy newspapers around. “Somehow, they have to navigate the things that go along in that kind of environment that are distractions, but that’s a situation often nurses find themselves in,” Powers said.

Hands-on experience is very important while pursuing a nursing career. Sometimes, the practices come before the students enter a clinical setting and some of those practices come as a way to reinforce things that they’ve already learned in a clinical setting. The hands-on-skills-labs offers a leg up to students as they enter the workforce, he said.

The Nursing Shortage

William Paterson has been trying to do its part to address the ongoing nursing shortage in New Jersey and around the country.

Powers said there is no lack of demand. Many students want to become nurses. But there isn’t enough capacity because of the clinical reality. “For us, expansion can come through with those direct partnerships with hospital systems. So, for example, St. Joe’s Hospital, which is a great partner of ours locally here in Wayne as well as Atlantic Health Systems that we’ve been working with where we can employ some of their nurses to deliver some of our courses,” Powers said.

The challenge is the ability to meet the demands of those who want to become nurses. The way to do that is to have close partnerships with hospitals and health systems as a source of faculty, he said.

Plans to Expand

Powers said there are plans to expand the nursing bachelor’s program at William Paterson University, which is the most intense of all the programs to prepare to become a nurse.

They’re also looking into building the pipeline earlier. The school wants to work with local schools in Wayne and with St. Joseph's Hospital for courses that high school students can get a certification in like phlebotomy and medical assistant. Get the certification before they even graduate high school, then go to work for the hospital, and build a pathway into what would be a longer-term employment opportunity once they achieve the bachelor’s degree.

Getting the pipeline even sooner than when they come to campus to pursue a nursing degree is the key to getting more nurses out there, Powers said.

New Jersey has an increasingly larger population of folks who need health care so Powers said it’s been a joy to have William Paterson do its part in meeting those needs in the state.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom