Governor Schwarzenegger's Nurse Education Initiative: 5-Point Plan

1: * A five-year commitment with quarterly grant disbursements. * Targets Workforce Investment Funds to support nurse education in partnership with Community Colleges and other sources. * Encourages creative solutions to expand education capacity and retain students.

2: Public-Private Partnerships * Encourages private schools and health facilities to partner and develop more nursing educational programs. * Expands nursing education within the University of California and State University systems. * Expands availability of distance learning in nursing programs. * Eliminates any statutory impediments to the creation of public-private partnerships.

3: Recruiting Quality Instructors * Changes current laws that limit the size of nursing faculty within the higher educational system. * Recruits former nurses to teach on a part-time basis. * Develops a loan forgiveness program for students who teach in nursing programs. * Creates a program to encourage hospitals to loan nurses to teach in nursing programs, while paying their salaries.

4: New Avenues to Nursing Careers * Creates nursing Academies at high school and college levels. * Recruits nursing candidates with health care backgrounds. * Creates statewide Nursing Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. * Encourages veterans to enter nursing.

5: Seeking More Funds * Seeks changes in federal requirements for Workforce Investment Act funds that may limit nurse education expansion. * Seeks additional funds for nursing education from the federal government and foundations.