HJNO Jan/Feb 2025

50 JAN / FEB 2025 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS NURSING COLUMN NURSING DNP program in nurse midwifery to ad- dress the state’s ability to improve health outcomes for expectant mothers and ba- bies, especially in the Black population. LSUHSC School of Nursing will also begin a Doctor of Nursing Practice for the nurse educator pathway to attract RN clinicians into a career in academia. South Louisiana Community College’s Associate of Science in nursing program will be growing their student nurse popu- lation with the addition of a second cam- pus at New Iberia, and LSUAlexandria was approved to increase its nursing enroll- ment by 25%. Finally, the Healthcare Transitions Hy- brid BSN (RN) track at William Carey University, Baton Rouge campus, was ap- proved to allow applicants with licensure or certification in a healthcare-related field to complete the BSN degree. The Health- care Transitions Hybrid BSN track will offer online hybrid delivery methods for didactic courses with face-to-face skills lab, simulation, and clinical experiences in healthcare agencies in Mississippi and Louisiana. Rule changes LSBN is currently engaged in rules re- view for Louisiana Administrative Code Title 46, Part XLVII, Subpart 2: Registered Nurses. As part of that legislatively man- dated function, rules in Chapters 35 and 46 have been submitted to the legislature. The LSBN board approved rule changes for LAC 46.XLVII.3535.B Continuing Full AS 2024 comes to an end, it seems a uniquely appropriate time to review the regulatory successes at the Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN) and to thank my staff and the eleven experts who make up our board of directors, including President Tracey Moffatt, MHA, RN; Vice President Jennifer Manning, DNS, APRN; Jennifer Couvillon, PhD, RN; Teresita McNabb, MHA, RN; Wendi Palermo, PhD, RN; Mimi Primeaux, MS, CRNA; Deborah Spann, MSN, RN; Michelle Collins, PhD, CNM; Amie Bulliard, MSN, RN; Fredrick Pink- ney, EdD, consumer member; and Denise Bottcher, consumer member. Without their dedication, leadership, and strategic vision, LSBN could not have accomplished our goals for this year. Additionally, the members of my staff who operationalize the board’s vision have established a cul- ture that is team-oriented, creating safe spaces to share ideas and willingness to jump in during crises or heavy workloads to maintain team harmony. As CEO, I couldn’t be prouder of the culture that this diverse group of individuals has created. Following is a summary of all their hard work. Workforce and education issues A strong and expanding workforce re- quires that we keep approving and ex- panding our educational institutions that educate the futureRNworkforce. In that re- gard, we approved the LPN to RNAppren- ticeship Program between Bossier Parish Community College and Willis-Knighton. The RN apprenticeship program will uti- lize a “dyad” model during training days, with RN apprentices working alongside preceptors to provide patient care while developing the cognitive and clinical skills required to be a registered nurse. Additionally, LSBN approved Tulane University for the second step to establish a BSN nursing education degree program and grant initial approval allowing Tulane to market the program, hire a program ad- ministrator, and begin admitting students. Chamberlain University was ap- proved to begin master’s programs in the APRN roles of family nurse practitioner, adult-gerontology acute care nurse prac- titioner, adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner, psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, and a gradu- ate certificate in nursing education (non- APRN). LSBN approved a memorandum of understanding with LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSUHSC) School of Nursing’s use of a Department of Health and Human Services grant to provide a Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academy to develop academic-clinical-community partnerships that develop and implement formal nurse education training curricu- lum used to train clinical nursing faculty and preceptors. This will allow us to pro- vide formal education to practicing nurses who wish to assist with the clinical nursing education of students as adjunct clinical faculty. We also approved LSUHSC School of Nursing’s addition of a post-master’s LSBN BOARD INITIATIVES 2024: Successes in Nursing Workforce, Practice, Education, and Discipline