Julie A. Coon, RN, Ed.D Testifies on
Senate Bill 793
Submitted to: The Senate Higher Education Appropriations
Committee on Senate Bill 793 to establish Nursing Scholarships
for Michigan Nursing Students.
Date: February 12, 2002
Submitted by: Julie A. Coon, RN, Ed.D
My name is Dr. Julie Coon. I have been a registered nurse for
26 years, and a nursing educator for the past 20 years. I am
currently the Academic Department Head for Nursing and Dental
Hygiene at Ferris State University. I have been a member of
the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) for over 20 years and
I am currently a member of the MNA Congress on Public Policy.
I am here today primarily as the administrator of the nursing
programs at Ferris State University to provide my support for
the concept of establishing nursing scholarships for students
in the State of Michigan. Let me first say that Senator Schwarz
and this committee have been recognized by Ferris State University
as friends of higher education, especially in these very turbulent
economic times. As the administrator of both an Associate Degree
and an RN to BSN completion program, I am very appreciative
of this effort to attract students into the profession of nursing,
as many of us in higher education are experiencing declining
enrollments in our nursing programs.
With that said, I would like to take this opportunity to express
some concerns I have with Senate Bill 793 as it is currently
written. First, the term “nursing program” is defined
in this bill as “an accredited program for the training
of individuals to become registered nurses operated in this
state by an eligible institution”. I would like to note
that the term “accredited” would eliminate a large
number of the currently existing Associate Degree Nursing (ADN)
programs in this state because many ADN programs have deliberately
elected to not commit the extensive resources required for the
accreditation process. This does not decrease the quality of
these programs, as I would submit that all nursing programs
which produce graduates eligible for nursing licensure must
be approved and continuously monitored by the State Board of
Nursing. Accreditation is much more imperative for Baccalaureate
or higher degree programs, where this credential is required
for graduates to enter the military or graduate nursing programs.
I would like to respectfully suggest that the term “accredited”
be replaced with “State Board of Nursing approved”
if it is indeed the intention of this bill to make these scholarships
available to students in all programs which prepare registered
nurses.
I would like to stress that the elimination of ADN students
from this scholarship opportunity would serve to undermine the
intention of the bill, which is obviously to increase the number
of bedside nurses in structured and acute care settings. Associate
degree nurses currently provide the majority of the direct nursing
care in the settings designated in this bill as required places
of employment upon graduation. While I agree with my nursing
colleagues that there is also an undersupply of Baccalaureate
and higher degree nurses, nurses prepared at these levels do
not typically remain in the direct, bedside nursing care roles
within the acute care setting as associate degree prepared nurses
do.
I would also share with you that I have personally been involved
during this academic year in a quest to secure similar types
of scholarships from hospitals within a 60-mile radius of Big
Rapids. I have sought scholarships which would fully fund tuition
and fees at an approximate cost of $5,000 per year. I have found
unanimous support from the hospitals I have approached to provide
these scholarships. I tell you this to demonstrate that many
opportunities for nurses to receive scholarships currently exist.
The “catch” is in the required service after graduation
most of these agencies wish to include. I am finding many students
are somewhat reluctant to make that kind of commitment. In addition,
the current work environment for registered nurses is so stressful
that many elect to work only part time as a way to cope with
the demands of today’s nursing role. This would make them
ineligible for loan “forgiveness” in this current
bill. These observations are only presented to you to demonstrate
how the intentions of this bill may, unfortunately, be negated
by today’s hospital work environment, which is, in my opinion,
the greatest impediment to attracting academically talented
people into the profession of nursing.
Finally, I must admit that I am concerned that the “tobacco
funds” would be used to fund this initiative. Although
this proposed utilization of the funds is a little more closely
related to the specified intention for their use than the current
initiative to underwrite MEAP scholarships, as a registered
nurse I feel that we can still make better use of these funds,
which would be more in alignment with the original purpose for
their allocation.
Thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts on S.B.
793 with you today. Again, I applaud your efforts in helping
us address this critical issue of the nursing shortage.
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