MO University Supports LPNs in “Earn While You Learn” Program

• The Washington School of Practical Nursing shares the success of its “Earn While You Learn Program” in partnership with Mercy Hospital Washington. 
• For Students at WSPN, this program allows them to have a greater understanding of nursing careers and ease the financial hardship of paying for higher education.
• For Mercy Hospital Washington, this program introduces prospective LPNs to their healthcare teams and teaches them the experience they need to succeed on the job. 

The Washington School of Practical Nursing (WSPN) discusses the success of its Earn While You Learn Program, which offers paid clinical rotations to nursing students. This program partners with Mercy Hospital Washington and allows students to pay off their tuition and secure a job before even graduating with their nursing degree. 

This article will lay out the benefits of this partnership for WSPN and Mercy Hospital, as well as the specifics of their Earn While You Learn Program. It is important to recognize the importance of programs like this one as ventures to promote and protect our nursing population. 

Washing School of Practical Nursing

WSPN is moving into its 55th year and constantly pushing innovations to bring in new nursing students. From the 2010s to this year, the class sizes at WSPN have dropped by one-third. 

This drop in attendance may cause issues for local healthcare facilities that rely on WSPN as part of the staffing ecosystem. The school’s Practical Nursing Administrator, Chris Redd, has noted a “negativity about the role” of nursing after COVID-19 as the public became more aware of the “stress and workload” of nurses. 

To better prepare their nursing students for the realities of the job, as well as help support students who may face financial barriers to their education, WSPN has partnered with Mercy Hospital Washington in an Earn While You Learn Program. This program will help support Mercy’s staffing needs as well as the academic and financial needs of WSPN’s students. 

Mercy Hospital Washington

Mercy Hospital in Washington, Missouri, has served its community for over 95 years. The hospital offers centers for cancer, trauma, and childbirth as well as clinical trial research. 

The hospital is part of the Mercy Health system and is one of the 25 largest in the U.S., with over 10,000 nurses employed across four states.

Previously, Mercy Hospital did not have LPNs working at their facility; instead, they required nurses to become RNs. However, this requirement has changed in order to bring more nursing staff to the facility. The chief nursing officer, Elizabeth Gillam, says that LPNs have become a “fantastic supplement” to their nursing team. 

After the COVID-19 pandemic, many full-time nurses left Mercy and other hospitals searching for more flexible employment. In April of 2022, Mery launched a new program called Mercy Works on Demand (MWOD) in an attempt to bring nurses back to bedside care.

MWOD allows nurses to work at Mercy Hospital without the expectation of 12-hour shifts. Instead, they can select shifts ranging from two to eight hours. This system gives nurses control over their work-life balance and is one of the many incentives Mercy Hospital has implemented to raise its nursing staff. 

Alongside MWOD and the Earn While You Learn Partnership, the hospital also offers up to $5,000 in sign-up bonuses for graduate nurses in select departments seeking full-time employment. 

Earn While You Learn Model

WSPN’s LPN program costs a total of $18,000 for 11 months. This price puts it at the upper-end cost for LPN programs in the U.S. However, one thing that sets this program apart is offering students paid clinical rotations while studying. 

This program is especially beneficial for local students who can take advantage of job security at WSPN. Students may also work their clinical rotations at a Mercy Hospital location convenient to their living situation. 

Similar programs exist between other colleges and healthcare facilities, such as Mary Washington Healthcare in Virginia. Here, students at Germanna Community College are allowed to work as paid nursing assistants throughout their academic program. 

During their first two semesters, students work 12 to 20 hours a week at the hospital to prioritize their academics. After this first year, they were paired with an RN mentor to work 36 hours across three 12-hour shifts. 

Working alongside an RN helps students to be prepared to experience a variety of clinical environments and connect with established nurses. 

For WSPN, the Earn While You Learn Program has shown success in its initial cohorts, and the university hopes that nurses who graduate from this program may bring in new students through word of mouth. 

The Bottom Line

Washington School of Practical Nursing and Mercy Hospital Washington are doing their part to promote healthy and sustainable practices for educating new nurses and granting them agency over their careers. They recognize that nursing is a vital part of the healthcare team that must not be taken for granted or overworked. 

These programs are one of the many solutions that nursing schools and hospitals are experimenting with to give all nursing students the best chance at a successful career.

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