C.W. Post and North Shore-LIJ Nursing Partnership a Success
Four-year joint venture increases the quality of nursing care on Long Island

Brookville, NY – In an effort to increase learning opportunities and try to alleviate nursing shortages by offering nurses higher education in the workplace, an innovative partnership was formed four years ago between the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University and the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System. The relationship continues to thrive and better the community.

“We are increasing the number of nurses with advanced education to deliver both primary and tertiary care to Long Island and metropolitan New York,” said Minna Kapp, Ed.D., M.B.A., R.N., the chairperson and associate professor in the C.W. Post Department of Nursing.

Through the program, registered nurses at North Shore-LIJ can earn their B.S. or M.S. degree in Nursing on a part-time basis at the hospital through C.W. Post, and have their tuition paid for by their employer. The R.N. to B.S. program is for nurses who have an Associate’s degree in Nursing or a diploma from a hospital-based program. Nurses enrolled in the M.S. degree program can choose between Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) or Nursing Education where they train to become faculty in an academic nursing program or to become a staff educator in a health care facility.

“Among North Shore-LIJ’s collegial partnerships, C.W. Post’s nursing program offers our staff members an opportunity to earn a four-year nursing degree while working full-time, with the added convenience of taking college courses on-.site at one of our hospitals,” said Maureen White, RN, chief nurse executive of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. “This flexible educational program not only fulfills the needs of our employees and our health system, but helps boost the supply of baccalaureate prepared nurses in the workforce as we address nursing shortages nationwide.”

“The B.S. and M.S. off-campus programs create a win-win-win situation for the students, the hospital and C.W. Post,” said Dr. Kapp. “The students further their education and career opportunities, the hospital gets a better-prepared nurse to provide quality care to the patients, and the Department of Nursing helps to carry out its mission to educate nurses who can help meet the complexity of health care needs of the community.”

For Barbara Rhodes, the alliance was almost too good to be true. As a registered nurse who works in the surgical division at North Shore-LIJ, she had hoped for years to get her nursing degree, but three children, eight grandchildren, a husband and professional commitments always took precedence. All these responsibilities, plus her full-time job, would not allow for the time commitment that earning a bachelor’s degree needed. She had taken college courses over the years, but never in a formalized degree program. When the first cohort was admitted in September, 2003, Rhodes knew she would enter.

“I couldn’t say no,” the Bayside resident said. “It couldn’t have been presented more positively. The school was coming to our hospital. Their faculty would lecture to us in our lecture halls. I get an education and a degree. My employer pays the tuition bills; it’s a fabulous program.”

There has been a steady increase in students at North Shore-LIJ since its inception with more than 80 students currently registered. A fifth cohort will begin in September. The success of the program is attributed to the purely collaborative effort put forth by all those involved -- the C.W. Post Department of Nursing, North Shore-LIJ, North Shore University Hospital, and the nursing students who often share their ideas about courses and scheduling.

Elizabeth Romano, who will earn her Bachelor’s degree in May and then start on her Master’s degree in September, said that the staff at C.W. Post and North Shore-LIJ couldn’t be more supportive. “My managers were encouraging me to go back to school,” she said. “And once I enrolled, everyone has been wonderful about working with my schedule and making it work.”

A registered nurse in the neonatal ICU at NSUH, Romano said she had preconceived notions that her classes, particularly the ones she took at C.W. Post would be filled with younger students and that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the work. She admits she was wrong. “This program is set up for adult learners,” she said. “It’s a process. The professors are so great at helping us cope with whatever anxiety we might have in terms of writing papers, taking tests and going to class.”

In 2002, the C.W. Post Department of Nursing received full preliminary accreditation for five years from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for the B.S. in Nursing program and the Master of Science in Nursing for Family Nurse Practitioner. The program at North Shore-LIJ adheres to the same accreditation standards.

The Department of Nursing at C.W. Post offers a Bachelor's degree program exclusively for R.N.s and a Master of Science in Nursing to R.N.s with a Bachelor’s degree either in Nursing or another discipline. The master’s programs include Family Nurse Practitioner and Nursing Education. The Department also offers two post-master's certificate programs, one for the FNP and the other for nursing education. The nursing program contracts with more than 60 major clinical affiliates in Queens, the Bronx, and Nassau and Suffolk Counties, including North Shore-LIJ and Long Island Jewish Hospital.

The nation's third largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System cares for people of all ages throughout Long Island, Queens and Staten Island – a service area encompassing more than five million people. The health system includes 15 hospitals, four long-term care facilities, a medical research institute, four trauma centers, five home health agencies and dozens of out-patient centers. North Shore-LIJ facilities house more than 6,000 beds, and are staffed by over 8,000 physicians, 10,500 nurses and a total workforce of about 37,500 -- the largest employer on Long Island and the ninth largest in New York City.

For more information contact Dr. Minna Kapp at 516-299-2320. For more information about the program, please visit www.liu.edu/nursing.

Posted: March 1, 2007