FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new degree program at the University of Arkansas Eleanor Mann School of Nursing will prepare advanced practice nurses in a medical specialty that has been shown to improve patient care while cutting hospital costs. Beginning in fall 2005, the school will offer a Master of Science in Nursing for clinical nurse specialists in medical-surgical nursing with a nurse educator option.

Reed Greenwood, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions, said: “We are proud that once again the faculty of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing has stepped forward to address the increasing need for highly qualified nurses. Through the new master’s degree program, the Mann School will prepare nurses for a sought-after nursing specialty while increasing the roster of nurse educators.”

Tom Kippenbrock, nursing school director, said: “This is an exciting time for nursing and the community. Clinical nurse specialists are an important component of the healthcare system and have made valuable contributions nationally.”

A clinical nurse specialist is a registered nurse who, upon completion of a graduate program in nursing, is licensed as an advanced practice nurse and may also be certified in a specialist area. Kippenbrock noted that studies show clinical nurse specialists reduce hospital cost, patients’ length of stay, complications for hospitalized patients and emergency room visits. Studies have also shown high patient satisfaction with the care they receive from clinical nurse specialists.

Typically clinical nurse specialists work in a wide range of settings, including acute care, clinics and community-based or nontraditional facilities. Employment opportunities include direct patient care, clinical leadership and consultation, case management, clinical research and teaching. The educator option offered by the Mann School will prepare graduates to teach, develop curriculum and evaluate programs.

According to Kippenbrock, government studies show 126,000 unfilled nursing positions nationwide, and more faculty members are needed to educate nursing students. The Mann School will be offering the only graduate nursing program on a northwest Arkansas campus.

Kippenbrock said, “To contribute to meeting the need for nurses, the Mann School has also expanded its undergraduate program in the last two years and has successfully sought scholarship aid to make the demanding nursing program possible for more students.”

 From 2000 to 2004, the Mann School increased undergraduate enrollment by more than 125 percent. Beginning in January 2005, the school accommodated the increased enrollment by accepting entering students twice a year, in both January and August.

In the current academic year, the school awarded more than $54,000 in scholarships. In the past month, the Mann School received two new endowed scholarships to be awarded in coming years.

The Mann School plays an active role in nursing education in the state and region. For the past four years the school has coordinated the School Nurse Summer Institute for nurses statewide, in collaboration with the Area Health Education Center of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

The Mann School is a founding partner of the Northwest Arkansas Nursing Education Consortium, an organization of five nursing schools that strives to enhance efficiency by sharing facilities and to provide financial assistance to nursing students through its yearly Stars for Nursing Gala. The consortium’s current president is Mann School professor Marianne Neighbors.