How This Hybrid Nurse Practitioner Program Is Bolstering the Workforce Pipeline
By G Hatfield
While there is always a need for nurses at the bedside, CNOs must provide them with opportunities to advance their careers to keep nurses engaged in their organizations.
Nurse practitioners (NP) play a critical role in filling workforce gaps and increasing patient access to healthcare. According to Dr. Megan O’Neil, program director of the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMU), NPs play an expanding role in today’s healthcare landscape.
“For patients, this means timelier access to care as well as continuity of care,” O’Neil said. “For nurses, NPs represent a powerful example of professional growth and leadership which demonstrates how bedside nursing experience can translate into advanced practice and improve patient outcomes.”
RMU NP program
To help boost the pipeline for career development, RMU developed the Rocky Mountain University Nurse Practitioner hybrid programs for working nurses who want to advance their careers without stepping away from their professional or personal responsibilities, according to O’Neil.
“Our programs combine high quality online coursework [with] structured in-person learning intensives that focus on hands-on skills acquisition,” O’Neil said. “During our on-site sessions, we emphasize the development of hands-on clinical skills that are difficult to fully master through textbooks and asynchronous learning alone.”
Students who participate will walk away with training in procedures such as suturing, splinting and casting, intrauterine device (IUD) insertion, and joint injections. There are interactive lectures on radiology, EKG, lab interpretation and more, and simulated clinical experiences in a mock clinic with trained standardized patients, which according to O’Neil, allows students to practice history taking, physical examination, and treatment planning. Students can also work in the cadaver lab to learn more about anatomy and physiology while practicing certain procedural skills.
“This hybrid model allows students to apply what they are learning in real time, but still benefit from meaningful face to face engagement with faculty and their peers,” O’Neil said. “The program is built for motivated, experienced nurses who are seeking a rigorous, supportive pathway to advanced practice.”
According to O’Neil, there are currently 21 students in the DNP programs, 134 students enrolled in the MSN programs, and 42 students enrolled in the certification programs.
“To date we have 122 DNP-FNP graduates, 75 post Master’s DNP graduates, 178 MSN graduates, and 282 Certification program graduates who have successfully completed the program and entered advanced practice roles,” O’Neil said. “Many of our alumni are practicing as primary care and specialty NPs across the country, serving diverse patient populations and healthcare systems.”
Career development is essential
In a time when many leaders want to retain nurses at the bedside, it’s important for nurses to still have the opportunity to pursue advanced practice roles. According to O’Neil, expanding educational opportunities for nurses benefits the entire healthcare system.
When organizations support nurses who wish to pursue advanced degrees, they are investing in providers who are uniquely equipped to improve healthcare delivery, mentor the next generation, and fill gaps in care access and quality, O’Neil explained.
“Advanced practice nursing should be viewed not as a loss to the bedside, but as an extension of nursing’s impact,” O’Neil said.
For CNOs who want to help balance opportunities for career advancement and for nurses at the bedside, O’Neil recommends creating intentional, transparent pathways that support both bedside excellence and educational advancement. This can include providing tuition reimbursement, fostering academic partnerships, and offering flexible scheduling. The goal is to allow nurses to remain connected to their current organization while pursuing advanced education, O’Neil explained.
“When nurses feel supported in their professional growth, retention improves, leadership pipelines strengthen, and organizations ultimately benefit from a more engaged and highly-skilled workforce,” O’Neil said. “It should not be an either-or decision, it is about building systems that allow nurses to grow while maintaining strong patient care at the bedside.”
G Hatfield is the CNO editor for HealthLeaders.