Nursing Education

Anthony Fortenberry, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, is the Deputy Executive Director of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, which provides comprehensive health services to the LGBTQIA+ community. In honor of Pride Month, learn how nurse-led models are poised to strengthen community care, advance health equity, and improve outcomes.

The U.S. needs more nurses, which means it needs more nursing students. Many students, especially non-traditional, or those who may be first in their families to pursue higher education, may need additional types of support throughout their academic journey to prepare them to enter the workforce. Galen College of Nursing recognizes that every student has individual needs, which is why they employ a holistic approach to expanding access to nursing education.

Timiya S. Nolan, PhD, APRN-CNP, ANP-BC, is a nurse scientist at The Ohio State University focused on working in and with her community to reduce healthcare disparities. In honor of Minority Health Month, learn how she’s helping Black patients improve quality of life after breast cancer, boosting heart health in Black men, and bringing more nurses of color into community-based research.

When the nursing workforce is more representative of the communities they care for, access to quality care and patient outcomes improve for all. But building a diverse workforce requires intentional inclusivity across the professional pipeline – including the nursing school environment. Two unique programs funded by Johnson & Johnson’s Our Race to Health Equity initiative (ORTHE) are proactively working to improve the experience of nurses and nursing students of color.

Building well-being and leadership skills in nursing isn’t a new concept, but surprisingly, it hasn’t traditionally been a formal component of nursing education. As a result, many nurses enter the profession unprepared for what’s ahead. Beginning this winter, a new educational curriculum from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing will pilot a competency-based approach to developing the next generation of nurses at 10 nursing colleges nationwide, focused on empowering students with the skills needed to prioritize self-care, healthy behaviors and well-being in the healthcare work environment.

Meet the PA nursing student whose immigration experience inspired her to become a nurse to give back and help her community.

Meet the nontraditional nursing student inspired to join her daughter and son-in-law in the nursing profession.

Meet the first-generation nursing student balancing motherhood, work and school to achieve her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse.

Meet the nursing student who wants to become a last-line advocate for patients and a helping hand for new nurses on their paths to the profession.

Meet the nursing student who brings her most authentic self to the table—and hopes to make an impact from Jamaica to the U.S. and beyond.

Meet the nursing student led by faith and family, ready to face her fears head on and advocate for patients—and herself.

Meet the Mississippi nursing student who hopes to provide compassionate care and patient advocacy to those who need it most.

The future of nursing starts in the classroom. At Johnson & Johnson, we’re proud to amplify nurse-led programs and practices that find innovative ways to prepare, strengthen and empower the next generation of nurses. Below, read more about four best-in-class pilot programs investing in nursing education, funded by the American Nurses Foundation, so new nursing graduates are ready to practice.

Two Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellows hope to address the problem of attrition by mentoring nursing students and bedside nurses alike with the power of innovation.

Gina Brown, PhD, MSA, RN, FAAN, and Eileen Sullivan-Marx, PhD, RN, FAAN, are deans of two prestigious nursing schools in the U.S. Brown leads Howard University’s College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences and Sullivan-Marx leads New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Together, they aim to tackle health disparities through an innovative collaboration in the classroom.

Lack of access to primary and mental healthcare is an issue faced by many across the country, and a situation that is even more challenging for rural communities.

For nearly 30 years, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and dentistry students and more have taken healthcare to their surrounding community, perhaps where it’s needed most. The Farmworker Family Health Program, launched by a nurse leader at Georgia State in 1993, and carried on by Emory University in 2001, provides various students an opportunity to offer basic care for the underserved migrant farmworkers of Colquitt, Cook, Brooks, and Tift counties in southwest, GA. Learn about its inception and how it grew to a nurse-led, community-focused effort.

COVID-19 is taking a significant toll on the mental health of both adults and children. A student-led webinar series from The Ohio State University College of Nursing is providing children and teens with evidence-based tips to help improve their health and wellbeing amid this pandemic and beyond.

Bringing together students of multiple backgrounds, majors, and experience levels, the Master of Healthcare Innovation program at The Ohio State University College of Nursing is empowering today’s healthcare leaders to embrace human-centered design and develop their pioneering solutions.

Johnson & Johnson proudly supported nurse innovators and entrepreneurs this April who are profoundly changing human health and moving healthcare forward. Learn more about our presence at several of this month’s largest nursing conferences, including NSNA Convention, AORN Expo, and ONS Congress.

Sheri Sawchuk, DNP, APRN, NP-C, CNE, fell into nursing by providence – she attended an informational session for a local nursing program after driving a friend there and ultimately enrolled in classes herself for the following semester. In 2013, Sheri first learned of the Global Health Education Program (GHEP) at Chamberlain University from the program’s founder, Susan Fletcher, EdD, MSN, BSN. Today, after finding her passion at the intersection of nursing, education, and global health, and with 15 years of international relief work under her belt, Sheri leads nursing students on international GHEP trips to help up-and-coming nurses identify their nursing passions.

At Johnson & Johnson, we believe that nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system, and our critical partners on the front lines of care. Nurse-led innovation has resulted in important healthcare advancements throughout history – and Johnson & Johnson is committed to helping nurses continue addressing patient needs through resources and opportunities like the J&J Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge.

Boasting a wide-ranging scope of practice and significant presence in patient care, nurses make up the largest percentage of the nation’s healthcare workforce. The demand for nurses continues to grow; however, an estimated 17.5 percent of nurses leave their first nursing job within the first year, often due to a lack of development programs in place to help recent nursing graduates navigate the transition between academic and clinical settings.

As the traditional role of a nurse continues to expand to help foster innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship, nurses with excellent clinical and administrative skills are in higher demand than ever before. One program that is helping future nurses build this valuable dual skillset is the Nursing and Health Care Management (NHCM) program at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), which aims to prepare student nurses to become transformative practitioners and leaders.

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program has worked to support the reconstruction of affected areas by providing educational programs for Japanese nursing students interested in further developing their skills in disaster medicine. Launched in 2015, the program has successfully provided learning opportunities for a total of 28 nursing students and is scheduled to continue through the year 2020.

After a nearly 20-year nursing career, Patricia (Tricia) Cady, RN, ADN, BSN, decided to return to school to pursue her BSN at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing, where she observed a long-standing problem with extubations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). To help address this issue, Tricia developed the idea for the Cady Hug, a flexible vest that helps protect neonates from accidental extubations while keeping them comfortable and their tubes accessible for their care providers.

Nancy P. Hanrahan, PhD, RN, FAAN, executive director and associate dean of healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship at the Bouve College of Health Sciences and professor and former dean of the School of Nursing at Northeastern University, is firmly committed to evolving the reputation of nursing.

Student nurses left the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) 66th Annual Convention plenary session feeling inspired about their future role as healthcare professionals in a world where nurses are empowered, recognized, and valued as change makers.

Earlier this month at the 66th Annual National Student Nurses’ Association Convention in Nashville, Tenn., Rebecca Love, MSN, RN, ANP, addressed thousands of student nurses at the plenary session hosted by Johnson & Johnson, and inspired them to redefine the nursing profession through innovation and entrepreneurship.

Since 1992, the Johnson & Johnson Bridge to Employment (BTE) program has been helping high school students in the United States prepare for careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing & Design (STEM2D) sectors, including nursing. Twenty-six years later, BTE is an international program that operates in 18 countries through meaningful education experiences and authentic career preparation.

For student nurses in their final year of nursing school, December is a milestone month. Many are graduating this month, while others are preparing for their final semester as students, but all are one step closer to the reality of a career in nursing. 

Within the armed forces, thousands of medics and corpsmen are trained to care for service members, Veterans, and their families in Department of Defense hospitals and clinics around the world. These individuals have experience and robust knowledge about medical care and patient safety both in the hospital and deployed setting.

The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing, now celebrating its 15th year, has been an unwavering national effort widely recognized by many as tremendously successful in its drive to recruit, retain and support the nursing profession. Although the success of this initiative is encouraging, it is important to acknowledge that there is still more work to be done. Learn more about how nursing scholarships are helping support the next generation of nurses.

Now, more than ever, nurses are critical to the health of our world. The future of our healthcare system is dependent upon recruiting and retaining passionate student nurses. The future of our healthcare system is dependent upon recruiting and retaining passionate student nurses like those we recently met at the 65th National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) convention in Dallas, Texas.

The words “nursing school” can invoke mental images of textbooks, lecture halls, heavily highlighted class notes, late night study sessions and shiny new stethoscopes. An integral part of the modern nursing classroom, however, is the use of simulation technology to teach nursing skills.

Finding your way from college into your first job as a nurse can be confusing. We asked recent nursing school graduate, Ryan Bannan, RN, to share his tips for ensuring a smooth transition. Bannan is the immediate past president of the National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA) and a New Grad Residency Program for the Intensive Care Unit at DeKalb Medical Center in Atlanta, Ga.

You just graduated from nursing school. You passed the NCLEX, and you’re well on your way to becoming a new nurse in your chosen specialty. How do you feel? It’s a big step toward your future career, but making the transition from nursing school to your first nursing job can definitely be nerve-racking.