GW Receives $2.9M to Strengthen Rural Nursing Workforce

Almost six years after the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States' nursing workforce is still struggling to rebound-and to bolster itself sufficiently to bear the expected increase in American healthcare needs during the next decade. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) estimates that nursing shortages are likely to persist through 2037, with rural areas projected to bear the weight of the shortfall.

To combat that problem in the Washington, D.C., region, the George Washington University's School of Nursing received a $2.9 million grant from HRSA this fall. Led by Professor of Nursing Ashley Darcy-Mahoneyand Associate Professor of Nursing Majeda El-Banna, the project, "RNs Beyond the Beltway: Driving Up ABSN Enrollment and Clinical Training in Long-term and Acute Care in Rural (non-metro) Areas of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia," aims to increase the supply of practice-ready registered nurses in rural communities by enhancing educational pathways, strengthening academic-practice partnerships, and expanding high-quality clinical training opportunities. Through collaboration with GW's clinical enterprise and long-term and acute care facilities in the region, the project will support recruitment, retention and preparation of ABSN students committed to serving rural populations, ultimately improving access to care and advancing health equity outside metropolitan areas.

"This initiative builds on GW Nursing's longstanding commitment to advancing health and developing the next generation of the nursing workforce," Dean Susan Kelly-Weeder said. "With HRSA's support, 'RNs Beyond the Beltway' not only increases enrollment and clinical training capacity but also creates durable solutions to workforce shortages that affect patients across the lifespan in rural America. This recognition from HRSA highlights GW Nursing's leadership in advancing solutions to the nursing shortage and improving access to high-quality care for populations that need it most."

The project is structured around GW Nursing's Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing(ABSN) and Veterans to Bachelor of Science in Nursing(VBSN) programs, which allow mature students and veterans to enter the nursing workforce more quickly than through traditional pathways. Over the four-year project period, GW Nursing will increase enrollment in these key programs by 20 percent, expand clinical training in rural long-term and acute care facilities and enhance graduate employment in those same settings.

Rural communities face "severe and persistent" nursing shortages, Darcy-Mahoney said, with workforce vacancy rates more than double those in urban areas, and these shortages affect patients across their lifespans from birth to old age. In her own time as a pediatric clinician, for instance, Darcy-Mahoney was particularly struck by how rural families struggled to access developmental and long-term care for children with ongoing medical needs.

"When we think about ensuring a continuum of care, from critical access hospitals to primary care clinics to long-term health, we know that millions of rural children and adults need consistent access to these services," Darcy-Mahoney said.

To that end, the award will support curriculum development, faculty engagement and student recruitment strategies, with the goal of building a sustainable workforce. Key to that sustainability will be recruiting and supporting students "who live and learn and work in these communities," Darcy-Mahoney said, with the goal of incentivizing nursing graduates to return and care for the people and places they know and love.

GW Nursing is uniquely well-positioned to lead this work, Darcy-Mahoney said, thanks to its location, its interdisciplinary approach to nursing education, its innovative technological resourcesand, particularly, its strong network of community partnerships in rural areas less than a two-hour drive from GW's Washington, D.C and Virginia Campuses.

"One of the biggest challenges in nursing education is clinical placement," Darcy-Mahoney said. "But at GW we already have strong academic practice partnerships with acute and long-term care facilities in rural areas of Virginia and Maryland, and we're expanding into West Virginia. That means we can support students to do their clinical practice in those areas, which creates a pathway for returning to work there."

The project also leverages GW Nursing's synergy with other GW schools, including the Milken Institute School of Public Health and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences integrating interprofessional education to enhance student readiness for rural practice.

"We have a strong nursing education framework and infrastructure that allow us to meet HRSA's priorities while truly serving the rural communities around our campuses," Darcy-Mahoney said.