DETROIT — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than 1 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2012. And some of those replacements will be coming from a very surprising source.
In partnership with Oakland University, the Henry Ford Health System has developed a nursing recruitment program for displaced auto workers, to assist those seeking a career change and at the same time address the current nursing shortage.
Oakland University offered places for up to 100 displaced auto workers to qualify for a pre-nursing program. Those who completed the prerequisites and met the grade requirements started the first nursing class in September at Henry Ford. Fifty-one students are currently enrolled in the program.
The students participate in all classroom work and clinical training (outpatient and inpatient) at a Henry Ford medical site. Students move through the year-round program as a group and are scheduled to graduate in August 2010.
Upon graduation, students will have obtained a bachelor’s degree in nursing. After completing the registered nurse licensure exam, they could have a job waiting for them at Henry Ford.
Henry Ford is donating classroom, lab and clinical space, and is paying the cost of clinical instructors for two clinical courses.
