FAMU nursing applications likely to increase

With Florida’s current nursing shortage, admissions slots at FAMU’s School of Nursing are in heavy demand.

According to the Florida Center for Nursing, 12,563 (or 44 percent) of qualified applicants were turned away from Florida’s public and private nursing schools last year. The center projects that the state’s nursing shortage could swell to 18,419 by 2010 and 52,209 by 2020 if this trend continues.

Nursing schools reported that their lack of money to hire new faculty and small number of clinical training sites forced them to reject many potential students.

State University System budget cuts are making the situation worse. The University of Florida recently announced that it may eliminate its undergraduate nursing program altogether.

If UF enacts that proposal, even more applicants could seek bachelor of nursing degrees from FAMU. Such an increase would be welcome as FAMU sets its sights on an enrollment of 15,000 by 2010.

FAMU’s nursing school has a strong national reputation. For the past two years, its students scored a 100 percent passing rate on the national licensure examination.

Within the SUS, Florida Gulf Coast University is already expanding its baccalaureate nursing program. Nova Southeastern University is also teaching nursing at its new center in Fort Myers. Edison State College has committed to build a new nursing school.

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