UC Davis nursing school accepts applications for accelerated program

The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis in Sacramento has begun accepting applications for a master’s degree program that prepares new nurses.

The Master’s Entry Program in Nursing will be an 18-month accelerated program that offers a quick route to a registered nursing license for students who already have an undergraduate degree and have completed prerequisites.

Theresa Harvath, the school’s associate dean for academics and director for clinical education, said the new program prepares nurses for emerging roles in health care.

“We created a program where we build a better nurse: One competent to function in either an acute-care or community-based setting, who recognizes health disparities, care for older adults and rural health,” Harvath said in a news release.

The new program has been approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing and the University of California Office of the President. Applications are being accepted for the summer 2016 inaugural class. The general application deadline is Feb. 1.

The school plans to admit a first class of 24 students with enrollment increasing annually to 48 students. More information about the Master’s Entry Program in Nursing is on the school’s website.

Like other programs at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, the new Master’s Entry Program in Nursing is led by a team of nearly 60 faculty members. Currently, the school has about 150 nursing students in four graduate programs: physician assistants, nurse practitioners, a master’s degree in nursing leadership and a Ph.D. in health care leadership.

UC Davis officials broke ground in November on a new $50 million nursing school building with state-of-the-art learning spaces. The 70,000-square-foot building, which will open in fall 2017, will become the primary home of the nursing school on UC Davis’ Sacramento campus.

California faces possible nursing shortages in the next decade as baby boomers age. The new building will allow UC Davis to triple its nursing school enrollment to 450 by 2021, according to the university.

The building’s layout is designed to bring together medical students, professors and researchers from departments across campus as part of a team-teaching approach for programs such as its pain management clinic and its mobile technology program for cancer care.

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 8:13 AM with the headline "UC Davis nursing school accepts applications for accelerated program."