Nurse education, practice, quality and retention - workforce expansion program - central georgia technical college (cgtc) is requesting a funding priority status as an applicant in a state with the…

Nurse education, practice, quality and retention - workforce expansion program - central georgia technical college (cgtc) is requesting a funding priority status as an applicant in a state with the greatest nursing shortages (priority 1). As an accredited, two-year public technical college, cgtc is submitting proof of status as a public entity (priority 2) and seeking funding preference for a project that substantially benefits underserved populations (preference qualification 2). Central georgia technical college has designed an approach to nurse education that will increase the number of registered nurses providing acute and long-term care in rural communities and to medically underserved populations in central georgia. All counties within the college's primarily rural service delivery area have been designated as medically underserved. Students recruited for cgtc's associate degree-level (ASN) program are representative of the communities to benefit from the project. The specialized training in acute and chronic care settings (GA-staccs) project will expand program capacity by hiring additional nursing faculty and broadening recruitment efforts for clinical sites and preceptors supervising credit-bearing clinical rotations. Clinical coordinators will increase efforts to develop contracts with long-term care facilities as they are currently underrepresented in cgtc's network of clinical placement options. Grant funds will allow the college to offer professional development opportunities to incentivize participation among clinical faculty and preceptors. To ensure there is no overlap between project activities and acen-accredited instruction or required clinical rotations, the GA-staccs project will offer ASN students 80 optional hours of specialized, non-credit training in acute and long-term care that will include 10 hours in a simulation lab and 40 hours of 'service learning' at targeted facilities. Service learning will be supervised and evaluated by mentors (experienced practitioners). Service learning will occur in healthcare facilities and extend to community screening events, health fairs, and mobile health clinics serving rural and/or underserved areas. Successful completers will receive a digital badge recognizing the acquisition of specialized skills valued by employers. A stipend will be paid to GA-staccs participants at the onset of training and at its completion to maximize trainee retention and success. The training will be offered at each of cgtc's three campuses. Social determinants of health (sdoh) and culturally and linguistically appropriate services (clas) will be integrated into training for students along with professional development for nursing faculty and mentors to promote tenets of health equity. Goal 1: increase the number of nursing students enrolled in, retained, and graduated from cgtc's associate of science in nursing (ASN) program. Outcome 1: over a four-year period, ASN student enrollment and graduates will increase by at least 10% over AY24 baseline. Goal 2: increase the number of undergraduate nursing students receiving specialized training in acute and long-term care settings. Outcome 2: at least 75 ASN students will complete 80 additional hours of specialized training in acute and long-term care each academic year during the performance period. Goal 3: increase the number of undergraduate nurses employed in acute and long-term care settings post-graduation. Outcome 3: over a four-year period, the number of undergraduate nursing students employed in targeted areas will increase by at least 25% over AY24 baseline. Goal 4: increase the number of preceptors and clinical faculty to train nursing students in associate nursing degree programs. Outcome 4: over a four-year period, the number of preceptors and clinical faculty training nursing students will increase by at least 10% over AY24 baseline.