As the nursing industry continues to deal with the mass exodus of roughly 200,000 nurses from 2020-2022, UA Little Rock has made steps toward filling the growing need while maintaining excellence in its training and education standards.
The school recently received a $969,200 federal grant from the Arkansas Department of Commerce and the Arkansas Linking Industry to Growing Nurses (ALIGN) program to go toward training nurses to fill the post-COVID void. They have also announced over 50 corporate partnerships around the state, which include Arkansas hospitals such as Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and CHI St. Vincent, which allows nurses in these institutions to earn graduate degrees at a discounted rate.
Staff headshot of Sloan Davidson 2024
Photo by Benjamin Krain
“Among other things, the ALIGN grant provides our students with student retention specialists who will help our students successfully graduate on time,” said Dr. Elizabeth Sloan Davidson, director of UA Little Rock’s School of Nursing. “Twenty of our students will also be able to receive scholarships because of the grant. Given that this type of degree path typically leaves students with sizable student debt, this is so important for their success.”
Students in the program have been performing exceptionally well with the December 2023 cohort in the associate of applied science in nursing (AAS) accelerated program, a more rigorous track than the standard program, achieving a 100% pass rate of the National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX, on the first take.
“We are grateful for these initiatives, which directly highlight the value and quality of our nationally recognized programs,” Davidson said. “In helping teach our students to be skilled and prepared for the workforce, our students leave the program with great hands-on experience and training.”
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