About the Student Navigator
In 2002, the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and the Mississippi Office of Nursing Workforce (ONW) entered into a partnership for the enhancement of the nursing workforce and the career opportunities within the state of Mississippi. Initially, the partnership included a study of the barriers to nursing education.
In response to the increasing nursing shortage in Mississippi and the high attrition rates in nursing schools across the state, ONW developed and administered the Nursing Education Barriers Identification Survey in the Fall of 2002 (Phase I). The survey included a nursing faculty survey and another for nursing students. Each survey focused on several key areas, including basic demographic information and faculty and student perceptions on a range of relevant topics. Key areas of interest included level of educational preparedness and skills, preparedness upon entry into nursing school, recommendation of courses and skills needed prior to entry into nursing school, current job related activities, barriers to successful completion of nursing school, and plans to remain in the local area.
Based on the findings of this study, the Office of Nursing Workforce identified several key areas that called for future exploration. Phase II of the Barriers to Nursing Education began in the Fall of 2003. A task force was established to develop strategies to ameliorate the barriers identified in Phase I. Task force members were solicited from various stakeholders such as Deans and Directors, hospital CEO's, and leaders from the MS Department of Education, the Rural Health Association, MS Hospital Association, MS Board of Nursing, and MS Nurses' Association.
The key categories identified by the Taskforce have been divided into categories that have been developed for this website to assist educators, students, and healthcare providers with information related to a specific need. Each category provides links to other websites and many helpful resources, and will be continually updated as new ones become available. These key categories include: