Oregon's Consortium for Nursing Education— A Revolutionary Partnership

By Lee Lewis Husk

There's absolutely nothing ho-hum about what's happening in nursing education in Oregon. In fact, it's, well, revolutionary – although no one uses that word. The people leading the charge have overcome so many barriers it seems as if by speaking of them, they might jinx their progress. From an outsider's perspective, however, their plan is so innovative it's likely to become a national model.

It started with the nursing shortage and recognition that not only does the state need more nurses, it needs them to be better prepared for practice in the 21 st century. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing reported in 2001 that new graduates enter practice feeling unprepared, and employers agreed that the preparation of new RNs is inadequate for today's health care environment.

The urgency of the problem led to the formation of the Oregon Nursing Leadership Council, a think-tank of sorts for nursing issues. With representatives of all the major nursing groups in Oregon, the council began paving the way for collaborative and innovative proposals.

One of the council's first sets of goals was to rapidly increase enrollment and also transform education to accommodate the state's shifting demographics and many changes in health care. Some of these include Oregon's aging population, the movement from hospitals to home- and community-based care, the shortage of nursing faculty and the lack of clinical sites for students.

The council delegated education reform to a subcommittee headed by Christine Tanner, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., associate dean of undergraduate programs, OHSU School of Nursing, and Paula Gubrud-Howe, R.N., M.S.N., dean, Allied Health Division, Mount Hood Community College. This group gave birth to the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education, a coalition of community colleges, and private and public university schools of nursing.

First Impressions and Innovative Perspectives

“From a student's perspective, the whole education piece is going to look at lot different,” says Sandra Hendy, R.N., M.S.N., director of health occupations at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. “From the beginning, we asked ourselves, ‘Why not have a bachelor's degree for all nurses because that's where we need to be for the level of care in the future. For the purpose of granting degrees, we'll be like a satellite facility to other schools of higher learning, such as OHSU.”

“The biggest piece of simulation learning is safety,” says Michael Seropian, M.D., co-director of OHSU Simulation and Clinical Learning Center. “We're now training people to be better team players, better resource managers, better at communication, more skilled. The consortium will produce not only more students, but also better ones. Nursing is particularly ready for simulation, and Oregon is playing a huge national role in a booming area.”

Last updated January 19, 2005 by OHSU School of Nursing Web Managers.
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