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Change your life. Change careers.

The only program of its kind in Illinois, the College of Nursing Graduate Entry Program (“GEP”) enables a student with a baccalaureate degree in another field to pursue nursing qualifications through to a master’s degree in nursing.

The inaugural class arrived in January 2005 with backgrounds in finance, public health, research, biology, fine arts, public service through the Peace Corps, and other health care professions. They all shared a strong desire to serve patients directly.

“These students are incredibly motivated,” marvels Dr. Barbara Simmons, lead faculty for the program. “They had a job they thought they wanted, and maybe it didn’t work out. Or else they have this passion and this is what they’ve always wanted to do. Then they go for it. They are such a neat, tight group – they provide excellent support for each other. They are independent, motivated, mature, and they excel!”

Mary Bauer, a member of the inaugural class, was a practicing dental hygienist for 24 years who worked part time while raising five children. For 10 of those years she also worked as a doula (a lay person trained to provide support for women during labor and delivery). “I found myself getting frustrated with only being able to give physical and emotional support. I wanted to do everything at a birth from start to finish, including the final catch of the baby. This program is an incredible opportunity for people to have second careers and make life changes. If I could teach my children anything from this experience, it’s that learning is a lifelong process. It’s never too late to go back to school.”

Given that the curriculum is somewhat accelerated (compared to starting traditionally as an upper division undergraduate student), it has taken creative thinking to choose the essentials and the most expedient way to approach the necessary learning. “For that reason we use more technology than in other programs,” says Simmons. “This is the first class to use PDAs (personal digital assistants) in clinical practica courses.”

The GEP students are bringing the benefits of that technology beyond the classroom to the bedside and into the clinics. Simmons explains, “We’re educating the practicing nurses about technology that is available to support nursing practice. When they see the students with PDAs, they want to know what they’re about.”

GEP offers several advantages to solving the nursing shortage. People who did not plan to become RNs now have the opportunity to pursue the career. This subset of nurses is encouraged to be among the most expert in the field and to practice at an advanced level. According to Charles Yingling, GEP clinical instructor, they will be trained to keep people healthy and to work with them to promote health, as opposed to merely treating illness. Additionally, these individuals are much closer to being faculty members; a big factor hindering the education of more nurses for bedside nursing is the nursing faculty shortage. This group strengthens the potential for excellence in the next generation of nursing faculty.