150th Graduate from Phoenix Nursing
Creighton University’s Accelerated Nursing Program marked a milestone this fall as it reached 150 students who have graduated from the program since it began two years ago in Phoenix.
Beginning with enrollment of 46 in the January 2020 cohort and another 50 in August, Creighton now has 96 students enrolled in its well-known Accelerated Nursing Program. In the spring of 2021, the program will move to its permanent home when construction is completed on the Creighton University Health Sciences Campus in midtown Phoenix.
One of those students is Phoenix native Alexis Carbine, who is currently in the second block of the one-year Accelerated Nursing Program. Carbine, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in 2019, aspires to be a caregiver and advocate for individuals in underserved communities.
Carbine said the Accelerated Nursing program provides her an opportunity to pick up a critical set of skills for her long-term goal.
“When I looked into it, I really liked Creighton and their holistic approach to medicine,” she said. “I chose nursing as the career to go into because nurses have the most patient interactions in the hospital setting. There is a lot of room for patient education on things like access to care and adequate resources. Creighton has this holistic approach to medicine where they don’t just lead with the illness a patient presents, they take into account every single factor in treating a patient. That’s why I value the education so much so far.”
Creighton University expanded its Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to Arizona, with classes that began in January 2018. Students earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) after an intense, 12-month accelerated program taught by Creighton University faculty. The students gain clinical experience at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Valleywise Health, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and other clinical partner sites around metro Phoenix.
Catherine Todero, PhD, RN, FAAN, Creighton University College of Nursing dean and vice provost of Health Sciences Campuses, addressed a total of 45 graduates in an August “pinning” ceremony to honor their completion of the program.
“We are especially proud of this group of graduates who completed their requirements despite the challenges that COVID-19 presented,” she said. “The graduates partnered with faculty in showing great flexibility in meeting professional competencies through virtual learning and clinical intensives.”
Creighton’s innovative Accelerated Nursing Program was launched in 1975, the second program in the country. Students who are accepted into the program must already have a bachelor’s degree in another field and meet certain requirements.
Creighton is building a new $100 million, 180,000-square-foot Health Sciences – Phoenix Campus at Park Central. Expected to be completed by 2021, Creighton’s new Health Sciences Campus will serve nearly 900 students, invigorating Arizona’s health infrastructure with physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists and more — each educated in Creighton’s distinctive Jesuit, Catholic mission of service.
The Greater Phoenix Economic Council estimates Creighton’s expansion will create more than 250 jobs; $124.5 million in personal income; $12 million in tax revenues and more than $300 million in total economic output.
Creighton’s infusion of health care professionals comes at a crucial time for Arizona, which faces both a boom in population and a shortfall in health care professionals. Creighton will help face this shortage not just by bringing more health care professionals to the state but keeping them there. Over the past decade, more than 70% of the medical students Creighton has placed in Arizona have remained in-state — with hundreds more on the way over the next decade.
Creighton University, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. It enrolls 4,330 undergraduates and 4,312 graduate and professional students among nine schools and colleges. No other university its size offers students such a comprehensive academic environment with personal attention from faculty-mentors. Jesuit and Catholic, it affords incomparable interprofessional education, bridging eight health professions programs with law, business and the arts and sciences – all on one walkable campus. Creighton University ranks in the top third of U.S. News & World Report’s rankings for National Universities.
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