College of Nursing

CAMPAIGN GOAL: $11 Million

Nursing is the largest health profession, but a substantial shortage of nurses adds yet another challenge to our nations troubled health care system. According to the Bureau of Health Professions, we will face an estimated 700,000 nurse vacancies by 2015, including 17,000 in Washington state. These numbers will continue to climb unless we make significant changes in nursing education and research. Many factors contribute to the nursing shortage, including:

• Shortage of nursing faculty with doctoral degrees to educate future nurses
• Rising costs of nursing education that discourage potential students from
• pursuing a nursing degree
• Limited access to clinical locations in communities where students could apply hands-on knowledge
• Fewer nursing faculty due to retirements, attrition, and lower salaries compared to non-academic nursing positions

The College of Nursing at WSU has a broad impact in communities statewide. Our alumni number more than 7,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse lawyers, nurse educators, and nurse administrators. About 75 percent of these health care professionals continue to live and work in Washington, caring for the states citizens.

Through the Campaign for Washington State University, the college has the exciting opportunity to make major contributions that will improve the vitality of nursing education and minimize shortages. New private funding will allow us to educate more highly qualified nurses by creating a supportive environment—professionally and financially—for outstanding students; by sustaining our complex, multi-site programs which were created to meet the needs of a dynamic, focused, and geographically dispersed student population; by conducting research to address health care and public health issues; and by creating an e-network lifeline to connect new graduates.

AN INVITATION TO GIVE

As a partner in WSU's Health Sciences Academic Center, the College of Nursing is developing new models for delivering quality health care and teaching nurses and other practitioners. Your partnership with us will advance the ideas and practices that will improve the health and well-being of our communities, from Washington State to the rest of the world.

We invite your support as we address critical issues as workforce recruitment and retention, disease prevention and intervention, and quality care for vulnerable populations in rural, underserved, and uninsured areas. Your impact will be felt as we add more nationally and internationally renowned nurse educators and scientists to our faculty and attract the innovative and impassioned students who want to benefit from their wisdom and experience.

By achieving our goal of $11 million in generous private gifts to the Campaign for WSU, we will continue our rich tradition of unparalleled commitment to nursing education in Washington and beyond.