The UNMC College of Nursing continues looking westward.
In April, Dean Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, DNP, and Cathrin Carrithers, DNP, assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division, traveled to McCook to meet with Grant Norgaard, superintendent of McCook Public Schools, and Craig Dickes, principal of McCook Senior High School.
Their purpose: To sign a new memorandum of understanding that will allow the UNMC College of Nursing to provide information and advisement regarding admission to the college’s BSN program to students enrolled at McCook Senior High School.
As a part of the agreement, McCook high school students can receive a reserved seat in the BSN program, so long as they meet all nursing prerequisite requirements and complete the UNMC College of Nursing’s admission process.
The MOU is the fourth in a series that the college has signed with Nebraska high schools as an attempt to create a robust pipeline to the UNMC College of Nursing’s Western Nebraska, Norfolk and Kearney divisions for Nebraska students in the rural part of the state who want to become nurses.
Other MOUs have been signed with:
- Gering Public High School.
- Scottsbluff Public High School.
- Pathways 2 Tomorrow, a consortium of 25 high schools (16 public and nine private).
The growing partnerships are the latest effort by UNMC to address the state’s nursing shortage, a priority of Dr. Sharp-McHenry’s since she arrived at UNMC in 2023.
“As a first-generation college student raised in rural Arkansas, I understand the value of educational opportunities,” Dr. Sharp-McHenry said. “Building strong partnerships with our rural school systems is more than outreach, it’s an investment in the future of Nebraskans.
“By creating early pathways into our UNMC College of Nursing, we are opening doors for local students to see themselves as future nurses and leaders within their own communities. These collaborations ensure that talent is nurtured close to home, access to opportunity is expanded and the next generation of nurses reflects the strength and diversity of the communities they will serve.”
UNMC Interim Chancellor H. Dele Davies, MD, said he was excited to see Dr. Sharp-McHenry’s efforts to build the state’s nursing workforce, particularly in rural areas.
“Dean Sharp-McHenry identified this as a challenge for our state even before arriving on campus, and she and the college have been tireless in exploring ways to enhance the pathways to a nursing career for our Nebraska high school students,” he said. “These MOUs are just one aspect of her innovative approach to addressing this need.”
Other college efforts have included scholarships, expansion to twice-yearly admissions and a pathway collaboration with the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
“We will continue to build these partnerships across rural Nebraska,” Dr. Sharp-McHenry said.