Wayne State College of Nursing awarded $4 million state grant to strengthen Michigan’s nursing workforce

The Wayne State University College of Nursing, in collaboration with the Division of Health Affairs, the Michigan Area Health Education Center (MI-AHEC) and a coalition of health systems and community health organizations, has received a $4 million grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Office of Nursing Programs to launch the Center for Nursing Workforce.

The effort, initiated by former provost Laurie M. Lauzon Clabo, PhD, RN, FAAN, will design, test and scale new approaches to clinical education that expand Michigan's nursing pipeline and prepare practice-ready nurses. The project spans the entire state with a strong emphasis on Southeast Michigan and is designed as a scalable, sustainable model for alternative clinical education that can be replicated across Michigan and adapted nationally.

Through the Center for Nursing Workforce, Wayne State and its partners will develop and evaluate alternative clinical education models that ease bottlenecks in clinical placements and support a stronger, more resilient nursing workforce. These models include registered nurse residency programs, longitudinal clinical placements, multiple student placements and other innovative structures that align academic preparation with the realities of clinical practice.

The work will focus on several core goals that span the full nursing continuum. The Center will enhance the registered nurse workforce pipeline through academic clinical partnerships with health systems in different regions of Michigan. It will expand the number of nurse clinician educators by offering a graduate certificate in nursing education for nurses with a bachelor's degree in the state. It will also strengthen the advanced practice registered nurse workforce by building clinical practice partnerships with federally qualified health centers, behavioral health organizations and other community health sites.

In collaboration with health system partners, the College will jointly design a transition to practice nurse residency program using an academic practice partnership model. Alongside MI-AHEC, the team will design, develop and evaluate the Center's structure and impact with leadership from Wayne State and guidance from the Office of Nursing Programs.

"This grant allows Wayne State University, the College of Nursing, and health system partners to lead a comprehensive team to develop, evaluate, research and disseminate the best evidence on alternative models of clinical education in the health professions," said Ramona Benkert, PhD, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, dean of the College of Nursing and principal investigator for the grant. "I am also grateful to Provost Clabo for initiating this forward-thinking initiative."

"MI-AHEC is honored to contribute our evaluation expertise to this statewide collaboration," said Jinping Xu, MD, MS, FAAFP, director of MI-AHEC and co-principal investigator. "By rigorously assessing the impact of these innovative clinical education models, we can help guide the development of training approaches that enhance workforce readiness and improve the delivery of care throughout Michigan."

"The Center for Nursing Workforce reflects the larger purpose of Health Affairs at Wayne State - to strengthen healthcare in Michigan and beyond by building relationships, creating innovative programs, and working across disciplines to meet the needs of our communities," said Bernard J. Costello, M.D., D.M.D., is the senior vice president for Health Affairs at Wayne State University. "Through this grant, the College of Nursing and our statewide collaborators are not only addressing immediate challenges in the nursing pipeline but also developing sustainable, evidence-based models of clinical education that prepare practice-ready nurses to serve across the state."