MHEC Applauds Maryland’s Student Nurses during National Nurses Week

Baltimore, MD - (May 11,2018) - Maryland Higher Education Secretary Dr. James D. Fielder today recognized the student nurses who currently attend Maryland’s community colleges, four-year institutions, and private career schools. Each year National Student Nurses Day is observed on May 8th and National Nurses Week is celebrated from May 6th to May 12th, ending on Florence Nightingale's birthday.

“Nursing is an occupation that the Maryland Higher Education Commission proudly endorses at all of our postsecondary institutions,” Secretary Fielder said. “Nurses are able to work in numerous medical professions that serve our community, providing care and comfort to Maryland families.”

Maryland colleges and universities offer more than 70 nursing academic programs at all degree levels, including 28 Registered Nurse (RN) or Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) programs. There are also approximately 36 private career schools offering nursing programs in Maryland.

Research shows a critical need for highly-educated nurses and an improved education system to address the nursing shortage that is expected to impact the state by 2025. MHEC is addressing this need through implementation of the following goals:

Increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent by 2020
Double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020
Support through MHEC nursing scholarships
Ensure that nurses engage in lifelong learning
Build an infrastructure for the collection and analysis of inter-professional data

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) is responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland public and private two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and for-profit career schools. MHEC is also responsible for administering numerous scholarships annually, positively impacting students on a statewide basis.

To learn more about the colleges and universities that offer nursing programs, go to http://mhec.maryland.gov/institutions_training/Pages/searchmajor.aspx and type in nursing in the keyword box.

To learn more about Maryland’s private career schools offering nursing programs, go to http://mhec.maryland.gov/institutions_training/pages/career/pcs/index.aspx

To learn more about the Nurse Support Program (NSP), go to http://mhec.maryland.gov/institutions_training/Pages/grants/nspii.aspx