ULM, Delta partner on nursing program to address state shortage

The University of Louisiana at Monroe and Louisiana Delta Community College have signed a new partnership agreement in an effort to address the state’s nursing shortage. ULM President Nick Bruno and Delta Chancellor Luke Robins signed an articulation agreement Monday that is to create a smooth transition for students who have earned their associate of science degree in nursing at Delta in two years and want to earn their bachelor of science degree in nursing at ULM after two more years. “The shortage of health science professionals in the region is being addressed by agreements such as this and allows Delta students, as well as ULM students, to advance in these professions and thereby help the region,” Bruno says. Emily Doughty, interim director of the School of Nursing at ULM, says the registered nurse to bachelor of science nursing program is completely online and will assist the graduates from Delta as they enter the next phase of their nursing education. She says the geriatric population is growing as the baby boomers age, causing a higher demand for qualified health care professionals. “It is predicted by 2020, there will be a severe nursing shortage and we won’t have enough graduates to meet the demand for nurses,” she says. “As the demand becomes more and more for nurses, we will certainly assist graduates from Delta as they move forward and upward in the nursing profession.”