Portland accelerated program dedicated to filling Oregon's dire need for nurses

PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland university aims to fill Oregon's demand for nurses with its accelerated nursing program. Students in the program like Portlander Morgan Beaty, sees the value in the program. 

Beaty spent most of her adult life caring for animals as a veterinary technician. When the pandemic hit and her son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, she was encouraged to break into healthcare.

She wouldn’t have been able to make that big career jump without Concordia University St. Paul.

"So, I actually used all of my economic stimulus money to go back to school to become a nurse,” said Beaty.

Concordia University St. Paul has an accelerated 16-month nursing program. Beaty said despite being rigorous, the Bachelor of Science nursing program is an even balance of online coursework and in-person lab simulations. This setup allows non-traditional students like herself a second chance.

"The door to an RN degree is wide, and there is so much on the other side,“ said Beaty. She doesn’t take this opportunity lightly. 

According to a study by the Oregon Longitudinal Data Collaborative, Oregon produces the third-fewest nursing graduates per capita across the entire country.

Despite the demand, traditional colleges and universities lack the faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, or clinical preceptors to serve the number of students interested. 

In 2023, U.S. nursing schools turned away over 65,000 qualified applicants. Concordia University St. Paul is dedicated to fixing this issue, accepting 80-100 students three times a year.

“We want to give students access to education," said Dr. Kate Whalen, the ABSN director at Concordia University St. Paul. "Let them come in and become the nurses that they really want to be.”