One of the country’s most respected universities in the training of medical professionals is significantly expanding its footprint in Phoenix, with the goal of helping to meet a significant shortfall in nursing professionals in the region.
Creighton University is expanding its Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to Arizona, with classes beginning in midtown Phoenix January 2018. The Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is nationally accredited and has approval from the Arizona State Board of Nursing to begin enrollments.
The Creighton Accelerated Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing program has been in existence for more than 40 years. The program lasts 12 calendar months — providing a dramatically expedited pathway to a degree and a career for the student — beginning with a January 2018 start date for the first cohort and a second start date in August 2018.
Class and clinicals for the program will take place at Dignity’s Phoenix-based hospitals including Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center as well as at Maricopa Integrated Hospital and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Local faculty will be hired to teach the program in conjunction with some online and virtual instruction based out of Creighton’s main campus in Omaha, Nebraska.
“Like many regions across the country, Arizona is experiencing a significant shortage in nursing and other medical professions,” said Catherine Todero, Dean of the College of Nursing at Creighton University. “We are excited about the opportunity to expand our proven programs into the Valley and help address this important need, while providing opportunity for a bright future for the students who will receive their degrees from Creighton University.”
Creighton University has had a presence in Phoenix for more than a decade, sending medical students to St. Joseph’s for rotations. That relationship expanded significantly in 2009 when the Jesuit, Catholic University and St. Joseph’s established a Creighton campus for third- and fourth-year medical students at the Phoenix hospital.
Between Creighton’s Phoenix medical and nursing programs, more than 100 students are currently part of Creighton medical education programs in the state, and the university’s goal is to expand that number significantly in the coming years.
“The Accelerated Nursing program is designed for those who already have a college degree and the necessary prerequisites and who want to shift career paths into the growing field of healthcare,” Todero said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for people to enter a field where their expertise, maturity and life experience is highly valued, and where they can make a dramatic difference in people’s lives.”
Additionally, Creighton University School of Medicine, Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS), and District Medical Group, Inc. (DMG), have announced a new alliance aimed at increasing the number of doctors and other health professionals in Arizona in an effort to meet the growing demand for physicians and other healthcare professionals. The Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance, which was officially launched on Sept. 1, is designed to improve and expand current health education programs offered by each of the entities. The alliance will also develop new academic and clinical education programs in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and allied health.
Creighton has a long and significant presence in Arizona — more than 2,000 Creighton University alumni live here, and 260 Creighton School of Medicine-trained physicians currently practice in the state. The university’s presence in the region is about to expand in several ways, with the goal of helping to meet the area’s need for medical professionals in the coming years.
Creighton University, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. It enrolls 4,255 undergraduates and 4,399 graduate and professional students among nine schools and colleges. No other university its size offers students such a comprehensive academic environment with personal attention from faculty-mentors. Creighton has been top-ranked by U.S. News & World Report for more than 20 years. Visit: www.creighton.edu
