It’s something we might not like thinking about. But for most people, there will come a time when a nurse plays a significant role in our lives. For that reason alone, we might want to give thanks for Alamosa’s Adams State University (ASU) and the cadre of new, but well-trained nurses it turns out each year.
Nursing, a discipline that grows in importance and stature by the year, is facing the same reality as a number of other high demand occupations. It needs to fill the pipeline in order to meet the high and growing demand for qualified nurses.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing predicts that nearly 20 percent of nurses say they plan to retire within five years. But a closer look paints an even more serious industry trend.
Nearly 30 percent of nurses will be retiring over the next year and seven in ten Baby Boomer nurses—those born between 1946-1964—will be signing out next year. These realities make nursing especially critical in places like the sprawling San Luis Valley.
“The need (for nurses) in the Valley is so high,” said ASU President Dr. David Tandberg and not simply a product of the boom in nursing retirements. It’s also because the region is so vast.
The Valley, at 8,000 square miles, is larger than the combined square mileage of Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island. Meeting the healthcare needs of a region so vast and diverse is a daunting, but doable, task.
“We are planning for future growth in the program” to meet the Valley’s needs, said program director and instructor, Dr. (DNP) Kim Chacon. To achieve it, to fill the pool, she points to a program with a sterling track record, the promise of a high-quality learning environment and, in a future where stability is a major draw, a near guarantee of placement at graduation.
The Adams State program’s class sizes are structured so that a student can easily get individual help. Student-to-faculty ratio “Is really good,” Chacon said, averaging no more than one-to-fifteen. Additionally, students are also exposed to a variety of health care, from oncology to public health. “Our goal is to have students succeed.”
One of the barriers for students—all and not just healthcare candidates—is economics or ‘affordability.’ The Adams program will not leave a graduate with a mountain of student debt. Full-time student tuition is ‘affordable,’ said Tandberg. “Our tuition is just shy of $5,000 (per semester),” a figure dramatically lower than the near $80,000 a year charged in many high-profile institutions.
But Tandberg also adds that “very few (students) ever pay that amount.” Grants and scholarships are available for many students. That, in itself, is especially inviting in an area where family incomes average less than $70,000 a year.
And while tuition is a serious consideration at any institution, the Adams nursing program also has a program that reduces tuition if a student commits to a two-year stay in the Valley. Because many students are already from the Valley and have a desire to remain after graduation, the program has worked out well.
While nursing students at any program are given the tools to enter the discipline, the Adams program offers something that other programs might not. Chacon calls it “native understanding.” A number of communities in the Valley are also among Colorado’s poorest. And historically, the region also has the state’s highest Hispanic population.
Both traditional and non-traditional approaches are included in the Adams program.
“We do discuss curanderas,” said Chacon. A curandera is a traditional female healer in many Latin American cultures. While not the main focus of teaching, the program addresses the historic importance incorporated in curanderismo, a holistic approach treating the physical, emotional and spiritual components of healing.
The program has also turned out excellent nursing graduates who, for any number of reasons, may not have realized their potential in high school. While GPAs are important, said Chacon, they do not always determine success. Any student with GPA of 2.3 will also gain acceptance. “We look at the whole student…we focus on making the world and the Valley a better place. I think it’s what separates us from other programs.”
Success is measured in many ways. One earmark, said Tandberg, is placement after graduation. “Out of the last four years,” he said, “we’ve had 100 percent graduation—we’re killing it!” Tandberg, who is also an Adams alum, has a personal history with the nursing program.
Tandberg and his wife’s two children “were delivered in the Valley.” He said the time, care and attention afforded by the nurses “were amazing.” Each delivery came with “respect, love and tenderness…they really helped us with our young infants.”
In the Adams program, students are trained for careers in everything from ‘A to Z’ in public health. No detail, said Chacon, is left behind. “We practice making beds and brushing people’s teeth.” Classrooms are also equipped with the best and latest equipment including “high tech mannequins,” to familiarize students with situations they will encounter once they enter the field. “We can create a lot of scenarios,” Chacon said, that could and will happen on the job.
The Adams program continues to grow and attract high-quality students and, said Dr. Tandberg, it’s going to get even better. “We’re looking forward to adding a Masters (degree) in nursing,” he said. “When you have a Masters option, it opens up additional opportunities” for graduates.
One area of the program both Dr. Tandberg and Chacon would like to strengthen is evening out the female-to-male enrollment into the program. “I would like to see a lot more males come into our program,” Tandberg said. While the number of men entering the field continues to grow, they are vastly outnumbered by women. One target area for the program is athletes who might, for example, consider kinesiology, the study of human body movement. Because of their time in sports, particularly contact sports, and the treatment they may have received for injuries, they may be more aware of their bodies, Dr. Tandberg said.
For more information on Adams State University (ASU) and its nursing program can be found at www.adams.edu. It’s where, as the school promises, students can “Begin Your Great Story.”
