The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, in partnership with Jackson Health System (Jackson) and UHealth – University of Miami Health System (UHealth), has received a $250,000 matching grant from the Florida Department of Education’s Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) Fund to help provide scholarships and year-long clinical placements for 24 nursing students who are Florida residents. According to the school’s grant submission, this award will help the school expand enrollment capacity, support clinical faculty salaries, implement the Jackson Health System Dedicated Educational Unit (DEU) for a fourth consecutive year, and launch a specialty ambulatory care semester at UHealth.
“We are grateful for this incredible support from the state, Jackson, and UHealth for making this important nursing education initiative bigger and better than ever,” said Dr. Nichole Crenshaw, associate dean for undergraduate nursing programs who directs the program for the school. “Our goals for the year include strengthening academic-practice partnerships, improving clinical readiness, and increasing the number of BSN-prepared nurses entering Florida’s workforce.”
It has been reported that Florida will face a nursing shortage as its senior population increases and more nurses retire or leave the profession. This year, in addition to 16 nursing students who will receive partial scholarships and be assigned to the DEU experience at Jackson, another 8 will receive full scholarships and complete a new ambulatory care program at UHealth.
“We expect a 100 percent graduation rate and first-time pass rate for graduates taking the NCLEX-RN, the national licensing exam for registered nurses,” explained Crenshaw, DNP, APRN, AGACNP-BC, ANP-BC, CHSE, FAANP. “We also expect that within one year of completing the DEU program, our graduates will have an 80 percent rate of employment in Florida hospitals, where they are desperately needed.”
The school has been awarded LINE Fund grants since the education department introduced the opportunity in 2023 in the wake of the pandemic. That first year, the school was one of just seven Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida recognized with the grant, a platform established to drive innovative educational collaborations that would address the state’s health care labor shortage.
Students in the school’s DEU program complete intensive, year-long clinical placements under the close supervision and guidance of nurse preceptors. DEU students remain in one hospital for the entire year, giving them an in-depth, immersive experience of nursing and patient care from a multitude of disciplines. In addition to a high level of continuity and mentorship, the program develops the student nurses through a series of guest speakers and other supplemental education. After two semesters of clinical rotation, students can request specialized placement for their third and final semester. Specialized placement options include trauma, surgical, medical, neurology, pediatric, or neonatal intensive care units; adult and pediatric emergency departments; and labor and delivery.
The DEU concept enhances the school’s longstanding clinical partnerships with the county’s prestigious nonprofit academic medical centers, Jackson and UHealth. “In an effort to streamline workforce entry for Florida nurses and promote career satisfaction, the DEU offers an innovative approach to clinicals and helps our students discover what suits them best,” explained Dr. Crenshaw, an associate professor of clinical. “During the yearlong immersion, students become socialized into the culture of the health system, which increases the likelihood that they will remain and pursue employment there. Participants will be ready to enter the workforce within a year and upon graduation will receive preferential consideration for nursing positions at UHealth or Jackson.”
Learn more at sonhs.miami.edu/academics.
