Home > Programs > N2K Nurse Education Program

The N2K Statewide Nursing Education Capacity Building Program is a public/private partnership to address the nursing shortage in Oregon . The Oregon Health Career Center (OHCC), and the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE) have formed a partnership that will guide the development of curriculum, technical delivery and service delivery for the program. It's key elements include:

• Increasing the educational capacity of participating nursing schools via "contract education" agreements that provide reimbursement for the additional costs (faculty, etc.) associated with the program;
  
• Selecting qualified high performing employees of participating hospitals for nurse education;
  
• Emphasizing strong partnerships between participating hospitals and participating colleges;
  
• Modifying course schedule and educational modality to improve efficiencies and minimize the stress on existing programs;
  
• Utilizing distance technology and simulation to maximize the efficiencies of educational delivery among participating colleges while minimizing the impact on faculty;
  
• Providing strong student support services that assist participating employees (students) in the transition from employee to student and help with other non-academic issues that they may encounter.

Over the past five years, OHCC has introduced the N2K Program that has successfully produced numerous quality nurses for ten hospitals and health systems through partnerships with Chemeketa, Central Oregon and Clackamas Community Colleges . An additional program including a number of hospitals and health systems will begin in April, 2007 in partnership with Portland Community College .

This ambitious effort to expand the model throughout Oregon combines distance learning with local resources, It is being funded by the Oregon Office of Rural Health, the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, and the Oregon Health Career Center . Scheduled to launch its' first cohort in Fall, 2008, the effort is being designed to ultimately include all interested colleges and hospitals in the state.

Formal introduction of the program to Oregon 's hospitals began in late February, 2007 to allow potential students as much lead time as possible to complete required nursing prerequisites.

We look forward to meeting with interested representative groups or individual colleges to discuss the program in greater detail.