In a decisive response to the state's nursing crisis, the University of California Board of Regents voted Nov. 16 to approve a 2006-07 budget proposal that adds $5.2 million for new bachelor's and entry-level master's degree programs at the UCLA School of Nursing. UCLA will offer the only undergraduate nursing program in the UC system.

With new admissions expected to begin in fall 2006, the program changes will swell the total number of nursing students enrolled at UCLA from the current 300 to 624 by 2010. The School of Nursing also plans to hire 22 new faculty and five new staff over the next three years.
"These important new programs will help address the severe shortage of hospital nurses in the state," said UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale. "These changes exemplify UCLA's efforts to improve the quality of life for the people of California."
California ranks No. 49 out of 50 for its nurse-to-population ratio. While the national average is 782 registered nurses to 100,000 people, California's ratio is 544 to 100,000. Due to California's rapidly growing and aging population, studies predict that the state must produce an additional 43,000 nurses by 2010, and an additional 74,000 by 2020 simply to maintain its current low ratio.

"California's nursing shortage stems from a crisis of both staffing quantity and educational quality," said Marie Cowan, dean of the UCLA School of Nursing. "While people remain interested in pursuing nursing careers, not enough educational slots exist at California universities to train these individuals. As a result, most of the state's nurses are entering our hospitals with two-year associate degrees from community colleges."

For the past 11 years, four-year undergraduate nursing programs have been confined to 13 schools in the California State University system, which often has a three-year waiting list for admission. Only nine private schools offer baccalaureate nursing degrees in the state. As a result, 80 percent of California's registered nurses are graduates from two-year community colleges - compared to only 30 percent nationwide.

UCLA's new bachelor's of science degree is a four-year program designed to prepare 50 graduates per year for working at a patient's bedside. Students will have the option to pursue three additional quarters of coursework to earn their master's degree in clinical nursing (MECN).

Students already possessing a bachelor's degree in another discipline may apply for the new MECN degree, which prepares graduates to improve patient care and patient bedside health care delivery. The two-year program will also graduate 50 students annually.

"The complexity of hospital nursing requires a well-educated nurse to help manage the care of very sick patients," Cowan said. "Knowledgeable professional nurses can lower the length of hospital stays, reduce costs, prevent medical errors, and enhance patient satisfaction, quality of care and health-related quality of life."

When the UCLA School of Nursing opened its doors in 1949, it offered an undergraduate degree program, which ended in the mid-1990s due to state budget cuts. The new program will provide an introduction to nursing administration, featuring training in staffing, cost analysis, use of resources, case management and leadership. Students will be able to minor in another subject, such as biology or humanities, to expand their knowledge base.

UCLA also reorganized the undergraduate program's clinical curriculum, which pairs students with nursing professionals as they care for patients at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and St. John's Health Center. Students will immerse themselves in a 40-hour clinical rotation each week.

UCLA's Academic Senate is still reviewing the new curriculum for the bachelor's and master's degrees. However, UCLA's expansion of its nursing programs appears part of a larger trend. The University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing plans to increase enrollment in its graduate program, which is geared toward nurse-practitioners. The University of California, Irvine, also hopes to open a nursing school and offer an undergraduate degree.

To obtain an application packet for the fall UCLA 2006 quarter, please visit http://www.nursing.ucla.edu.

The UCLA School of Nursing has earned an international reputation for excellence in teaching, research and clinical practice. Considered one of the nation's top 10 nursing schools, UCLA ranks in the country's top 10 for grant funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research.

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