Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention- Veterans' Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program

The goal of this proposed project is to develop, implement and evaluate a medically trained veteran to BSN transition initiative in the University of Kentucky’s baccalaureate nursing program beginning January 2015. The objectives of this project are to 1) recruit and enroll a cohort of 5-10 veterans with medic training each fall and spring semester; 2) develop academic credit competencies for previous military medical training; 3) retain and graduate 100% of student veterans with military medical training; and 4) facilitate transition of student veterans to civilian nursing via existing and new support systems. Our initiative will include 1) career development strategies; 2) academic course credit for prior training and experience; 3) academic and non-academic support and resources for issues unique to student veterans; 4) faculty development and 5) collaboration with on-campus and community veterans’ organizations to provide optimal support to student veterans. The southeastern states account for more than 40% of new recruits and Kentucky has an overrepresented percentage of its residents serving as enlisted personnel, ROTC cadets and new enrollees. Kentucky ranks 9th in the nation for percentage (3.7%) of total active duty military personnel (44,421) and is home to two military bases Fort Knox and Fort Campbell. Both bases are within a 224 mile radius of UK and we will actively recruit student veterans from these bases and in all 120 Kentucky counties. We have the largest student veterans population in Kentucky and are ranked 7th on the Military Times Best for Vets Colleges 2011 for 4-year institutions. Our nursing college has an established collaboration with the ROTC and Veterans Resource Center and is a part of the Joining Forces initiative. The first cohort of student veterans with medical training will be enrolled January, 2015. The project team will include a RN project director, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program developer, two faculty advisors, clinical faculty, program evaluator and organizational behavior expert. The project director will coordinate program activities and communicate with HRSA partners. The program developer will review the sophomore-level clinical nursing course, using objectives of the Military Medical Training courses, to identify common skills and knowledge (e.g., physical assessment, vital signs, medication administration) for competencies. Course content and skills not taught in the Medic Training (e.g., childhood health promotion, tobacco cessation patient education) will be included in an on-line module during the first semester of enrollment. This competency-based credit will be similar to our second degree BSN option. Each cohort of student veterans will be in a single clinical group during the first semester of enrollment and a clinical faculty member will work with this group to ensure consistency of program delivery. The two faculty advisors will ensure that competencies and programs meet the goals and objectives of the current curriculum and accrediting agencies. The program developer and program evaluator will develop evaluation criteria to assess student satisfaction and program quality (i.e., meets objectives of traditional BSN academic courses and accreditation standards; prepares student veterans for subsequent academic requirements; provides academic and psychosocial support systems to ensure student progression; successfully transitions students into nursing career). The program evaluator will develop student surveys and manage and analyze all data. The organizational behavior expert will develop, implement and evaluate learning strategies specific to individual students. Course competencies and the on-line module, including outcome evaluations, will be developed during the fall of 2014