It is widely known that hospitals and medical centers across the nation have been facing a nursing shortage for years. According to University of Mount Olive Chair of Nursing, Dr. Joy Kieffer, the reasons are many, but access to nursing education is at the heart of the matter.

“The interest is there among students, but nursing programs don’t have the requisite nursing faculty or clinical opportunities to educate the number of individuals seeking degrees in nursing. Qualified applicants are being turned away from nursing programs all over the country,” Kieffer said.

That is where UMO is stepping up to the plate. “Our Associate of Science in General Studies (ASGS) pre-nursing degree can help prepare future nursing students by focusing their general education towards earning their BSN degree,” Kieffer said.

The 60-semester hour program positions graduates to become future BSN students by enabling them to complete their general education prerequisite courses. “Normally, a future nursing student would take these courses in preparation for a BSN degree program, but our ASGS pre-nursing degree allows our UMO students to earn an associate degree for their efforts,” Kieffer said.

According to Kieffer, the ASGS degree would be a great feeder for another initiative that the University has in the works. “UMO is planning to start a pre-licensure BSN degree program,” Kieffer said. “We are developing the curricula, designing a state-of-the-art nursing simulation laboratory, and writing the North Carolina Board of Nursing (NCBON) application for a pre-licensure BSN degree program. We hope to have our application reviewed by the NCBON in January 2022 with the aspirations of starting our inaugural pre-licensure BSN cohorts in August 2022.”

To meet the needs of students and working adults, classes are offered for the ASGS pre-nursing degree in both online and in seated format. Classes start in August. Individuals interested in learning more can contact 844-UMO-GOAL or [email protected].