The Delayna O. Daniels family has been employed as nurses at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City for three generations.
O Daniels became a licensed nurse assistant and started working at the hospital approximately three years ago, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. She is currently enrolled at Oregon Coast Community College to pursue an associate’s degree in nursing.
Her desire to remain in Lincoln City is clear. However, she’s also attempting to determine the most effective path to earning a nursing bachelor’s degree and possibly a master’s as well.
According to her, education is one thing that no one can take away from you.
Because of her goals, she is a strong contender for a new program: a bachelor’s degree in nursing, which will soon be offered by a group of six community schools in Oregon, including Oregon Coast. Although the program, which is primarily online, isn’t expected to directly address the state’s severe nursing shortage, organizers believe it will encourage nurses to stay in the area and further their careers. It is intended for nurses who already hold an associate degree.
Although they are currently working through the drawn-out clearance and accreditation procedure, the six universities hope to launch the 15-month program by the fall of 2026. Klamath Community College, Central Oregon Community College, Chemeketa Community College, Linn-Benton Community College, and Treasure Valley Community College are other members of the consortium in addition to Oregon Coast.
According to Holly Nelson, chief workforce innovation and community success officer at Chemeketa, the bachelor’s program will be conducted collaboratively, with seven spots offered by each school annually for a total of 42 seats.
According to Julie Downing, an instructional dean at Central Oregon Community College, one of the consortium’s objectives is to keep nurses like O Daniels in the region. Students can work while attending two sessions per three-month term according to the program’s design.
According to Downing, they will be allowed to remain in their own neighborhood. They are still able to work in their hometown and attend community institutions in their area.
In the state, associate nursing degrees are now offered by seventeen community institutions. Their graduates frequently pursue more advanced degrees through programs like the bachelor’s degree in registered nursing offered by Oregon Health & Science University. A lot of people also use online courses that are hosted elsewhere.
At Oregon community colleges, the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in any field is still relatively new.
A statute permitting community schools to offer bachelor’s degrees in applied sciences was passed by the state in 2019. However, schools had to wait for the Legislature to enact a second bill last year that specifically permitted bachelor’s degrees in nursing because nursing does not qualify as an applied science.
The program will assist equip local nurses to deliver better care, according to Lesley Ogden, CEO of Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital and Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital: It sets you up for the future and leadership.
Any new project sparks discussion about tackling the nursing shortage, since the Oregon Center for Nursing estimates that state programs must graduate roughly 1,600 additional nurses year to meet demand. However, the community college program won’t directly increase the number of nurses in Oregon because it only accepts nurses with an associate degree.
The Oregon Community College Association’s deputy director, John Wykoff, stated that he has recognized from the outset that the program will not significantly address the nurse shortage.
According to Wykoff, this won’t address the nursing shortage. The children enrolled in the programs will be greatly impacted by this, but scaling out these programs on a large scale is not an easy task.
The Oregon Center for Nursing’s executive director, Jana Bitton, concurred with that conclusion. The initiative, she added, is well-positioned to retain nurses in rural areas where they already have connections. She added that the initiative might provide a clear boost to individual careers.
After earning an associate’s degree, students can become registered nurses, but many hospitals only hire people with bachelor’s degrees, Bitton said. Additionally, according to a 2023 Oregon Center for Nursing report, hospital employees typically earn between $58 and $54 per hour, while those in other industries, such as residential institutions, make between $48 and $54.
According to Bitton, you will have a higher chance of earning more money if you hold a bachelor’s degree and work in a hospital where that degree is required.
Jason Kincaid, a nursing student at Central Oregon Community College working on an associate’s degree, is aware of this. In addition to pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing, he wishes to remain in Bend, where his son is growing up.
According to him, staying in Central Oregon appears to be a viable alternative.
It’s regional. It’s cheap. The teachers are people I know. I am aware of their expectations. “I am familiar with the facility,” Kincaid stated. It eliminates the unknown element.
The amount of tuition is still up for debate, although administrators stated that they intend to make it marginally more costly than the associate degree but less expensive than many other options in the state.
Tuition and costs for a bachelor’s degree in applied science at Chemeketa Community College are $212 per credit hour for in-state students. According to Nelson, the cost of tuition for a bachelor’s degree in nursing will probably fall within that range. In addition to the 60 credits required for core coursework, students will receive an additional 30 or so credits from elective courses or prerequisites they have already completed.
Susan Oh and Aurora Gale, on the left, are nursing students at Central Oregon Community College honing their craft.Thanks to Timothy Park
Susan Oh, a second-year nursing student earning an associate’s degree at Central Oregon Community College, said she has valued the school’s affordability. She stated that she is interested in the new community college program, particularly because she enjoys the curriculum at Central Oregon, while she works toward her bachelor’s degree.
“Having a bachelor’s degree will open up a huge number of opportunities with the goal of working in acute care at a hospital,” Oh stated. This entails working in a more demanding setting, obtaining a graduate degree, and possibly eventually becoming a nursing instructor.
There is no doubt that many of the consortium administrators want their students will pursue careers in nursing education.
Oregon is currently caught in a Catch-22 situation: In addition to the nursing crisis, it is also experiencing a scarcity of nurse educators, which prevents it from producing the number of new nurses it requires. Another barrier to recruiting is that, according to a survey by the Oregon Longitudinal Data Collaborative, nurse educators earn almost $49,000 less annually than practicing nurses.
By beginning small and dividing the workload, the community college consortium is addressing the issue. Since each college only offers two or so classes, they are mainly reorganizing their workforce and employing a small number of faculty members to cope with the extra workload.
However, Downing indicated that the program might eventually aid in addressing the shortage of nurse educators. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree is the first step towards obtaining a higher degree, which is required for teaching rather than practicing nursing.
At least O Daniels wants to go down that route. At Oregon Coast, she observes the effects of the nursing educator shortage, stating that faculty members frequently appear overworked and worried. The dean of nursing and allied health at the college, Crystal Bowman, admitted that the institution lacks enough staff.
According to O Daniels, the encounter has motivated her to give back. For a few years, she intends to work as a practicing nurse, but her ultimate goal is to become a faculty member at her alma university.
“Having a good clinical instructor or instructor really helps you be a good nurse,” she said. I want to return the favor by ensuring that the community and kids alike may experience that kind of success in the future.
Aviva Bechky writes for The Oregonian/OregonLive on politics and education. You can contact them on X at@avivabechky or [email protected].
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