Next Generation Nursing Initiative Extended Through February

(KNSI) — One year ago this month, the Next Generation Nursing Initiative was launched in Minnesota to combat statewide staffing shortages at veterans’ homes and long-term care facilities. It has proven so popular it has been extended until February.

Senator Tina Smith helped write the initiative into the American Rescue Plan Act, which is where the money comes from. She says the program hoped to train a thousand new nurses, but more than 1,300 took advantage of the program, much to the benefit of hospitals, clinics and patients. The students were at the beginning stages of their careers, and the initiative was a way for them to get their foot in the door. “That certification helps teach you how to do the job and how to keep the people that you’re caring for and yourself safe, because often these are really hard jobs where you’re lifting things, and you need to make sure that you stay safe.”

She says it can also be a launching pad for their careers. “I believe that what happens is people get in these jobs, and they love it, and then they start to think about what more they might want to do. It could easily lead to further training and a path to becoming a nurse or a physician’s assistant or some other role in healthcare.”

It covers the total cost of tuition, fees and materials that you need, your uniform, and the certification exam because “A lot of people were just not completing the certification. They weren’t getting through it. You know, you’re trying really hard to cover your bills, and this becomes one more thing. We’re finding, though, with this strategy that a lot more people are actually completing them. And there’s 1,300 folks that are in these really important jobs that weren’t a year ago.”

According to data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, nursing assistants are the sixth-highest in-demand job in the state.

The courses are offered through a partnership with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and it’s flexible for students who want to go in person, all virtual, or a hybrid.

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