The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the need for registered nurses in America is expected to grow by 15% between 2016 and 2026, compared to a 7% growth across all occupations. A 2017 National Center for Health Workforce Analysis report estimates that by 2030 the number of registered nurses needed in the United States will skyrocket by 28.4% from 2.8 million to 3.6 million. While most states are projected to keep up with demand, others, including Georgia, are expected to experience a significant shortage. In fact, Georgia is expected to have the sixth worst nursing shortfall in the country by 2030.
For Georgia, the BLS projects that the demand for registered nurses will reach an estimated 101,000 in little more than a decade while the supply is expected to be 98,800. In addition, Georgia will need 10,000 more licensed practical nurses than it can supply by 2030.
Wesleyan’s bachelor of science in nursing degree (BSN) offers qualified students a two-year rigorous liberal arts foundation followed by a unique two-year nursing curriculum. Specific coursework integrated throughout the curriculum prepares graduates for management and leadership roles in the field of nursing. Registered nurses with four-year BSN degrees are more likely than RNs to hold supervisor positions and earn higher salaries. Wesleyan is graduating high-caliber, patient-centered, critical-thinking nurses who will help transform healthcare throughout our community and state. The majority of Wesleyan’s BSN graduates have received job offers by the time they took their NCLEX exam. The overall NCLEX passage rate for Wesleyan students far exceeds the national average of 87%.
Hallmarks of the program include evidence-based practice as the foundation for nursing interventions and care delivery with a focus on issues that impact nursing, health, and the global community. Housed in the Munroe Science Center, the nursing simulation lab is equipped with six human patient simulators; a state-of-the-art control room containing audio and video equipment capable of recording all student simulator experiences; a pediatric intensive care unit; a medication dispensing system; and several other unique features.
About sixty percent of registered nurses in the state are over fifty years of age. Young nurses are needed to fill in the gap as these nurses retire. Join us for a nursing open house, Tuesday, October 22, 2019, from 4:00pm-6:00pm to see first-hand what Wesleyan offers BSN students.
The baccalaureate degree program in nursing at Wesleyan College is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.