From hospital diploma and community colleges to major medical universities, Ohio’s schools of nursing run the gamut. In the last few years the nursing shortage has worsened across the country due to a handful of complex healthcare problems, not the least of which is attracting nursing recruits PLUS the necessary nursing faculty to train those new corps of nurses.
Technical and community colleges and some hospital-based nursing programs all tend to deliver the practical nursing and Associates degrees; 4-year colleges and some smaller universities, the Bachelors and possibly Associates; and universities large and small, the Bachelors, Masters and doctoral.
Ohio has Level 1 Trauma hospitals in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Youngstown. And trauma centers from level II to level III are located in towns from Canton to Xenia—a couple dozen of them dotting the state. What does this mean? It’s quite common for the majority of RNs to work in the state’s hospitals. Busy metro areas like Cleveland and Cincinnati support many busy hospitals and medical centers, so it makes sense that nurses naturally gravitate to jobs like these. However, busy community hospitals, urgent care centers, outpatient surgical clinics and even nursing homes and community health clinics throughout various non-metro areas of Ohio also are in dire need of well-educated nurses at every level of their game, including some new grads. Most states have rural areas in which healthcare is a challenge.
Tip: Here, in Ohio rural community nursing are great opportunities for RNs and Advanced Practice Nurses to build flourishing and satisfying practices.
The Nurse Loan Repayment Program is administered by the Ohio Board of Regents. The programs mission is to recruit new generations of nurse educators and working nurses that wish to stay practicing in the state. Eligible candidates must be enrolled at least half-time in an accredited nursing school in Ohio. You may earn back full nurse loan repayment if you commit to working for 5 years in Nurse Education or as a working RN in Ohio.
The Ohio Board of Nursing is the number one resource you’ll need over and over again as a working RN or LPN in Ohio. The BON directs the following: