Northwest Arkansas Nursing Education Consortium (NEC) is the collaboration of area nurse educators to enhance nursing education practices. It is an Arkansas charitable corporation managed by an eight-member board of nurse educators representing the four Northwest Arkansas nursing schools (University of Arkansas Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, NorthWest Arkansas Community College, AHEC Northwest/UAMS and Northwest Technical Institute).

Nursing Education Consortium (NEC), a public charity operating under an IRS 509 (a) (1) approval granted in March 2005, coordinates nursing school clinical schedules and student orientations, seeks program grants, coordinates nursing education and curriculum programs and sponsors fund raising projects to underwrite scholarships for general nursing students. The schools have awarded 420 scholarships totaling $400,000 to students who now nurse in area hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and industrial settings.

The Bilingual Nursing Scholars Initiative (BNSI) is an NEC pilot project funded by grants from Care, Walton Family and Winthrop Rockefeller Foundations. It operates three cohorts (locations at Springdale and Har-Ber High in Springdale and Siloam Springs High) to identify, recruit and support bilingual students with an interest in healthcare careers.

BNSI provides academic assistance to bilingual high school students to qualify for nursing school admission and scholarship support to bilingual nursing students. In four years of operation a total of twenty-eight bilingual nursing students have graduated and entered into the nursing workforce in Northwest Arkansas. Forty students completed their CNA training and are working in healthcare.

The Nursing Education Consortium began its planning process to enhance the quality of nursing education in May 2004. The process was initially funded with an $110,750 matching grant campaign based on a challenge grant from the Willard and Pat Walker Family Charitable Foundation. The programs of the NEC have continued to grow and attract a wide range of support from area foundations. The NEC is currently coordinating five initiatives outlined below on the website under the title of NEC INITIATIVES. Currently, nine foundations fund these programs...

Foundation	Initiative	Funding
Care Foundation	Bilingual Nursing Scholars Initiative (BNSI)	$645,000 five-year grant
Care Foundation	Enrichment Program	$70,000 annual grants to help Springdale, Har-Ber and Siloam Springs high schools students enhance their academic preparation for nursing school.
Walton Family	BNSI Project Coordinator	$250,000 three year grant
Tyson	NEC Administration	$69,800 five year grant
Windgate	Scholarship Administration	$53,000 five year grant
Willard and Pat Walker	Development of NEC website and clinical database	$50,000
Northwest Auxiliary	Development of NEC website and clinical database	$20,000
Bernice and Harvey Jones	Supported challenge grant	$10,000
Washington Regional	Diversity Training model and Nurse Educator recruitment pilot	$9,900
Schmieding	Supported challenge grant	$250
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation	Siloam Springs BNSI cohort	$77,000 three year grant

The mission of the Northwest Arkansas Nursing Education Consortium (NEC) is to provide nursing education to meet the evolving healthcare needs of Northwest Arkansas and beyond.

To support its Mission Statement, NEC has identified seven Vision Statements:

• Implement a seamless nursing education articulation pathway.
• Optimize resources for nursing education.
• Increase the number and diversity of nursing graduates at all levels.
• Prepare high quality nurses to meet the ever-changing Northwest Arkansas workforce needs.
• Provide opportunities for lifelong learning.
• Identify, recruit and prepare the “best and brightest” as future nurse educators.
• Contribute to the research and application of nursing knowledge.

To support these Vision Statements, the NEC Board developed a 2008-2010 budget to support the programs, scholarships and outfitting a pilot Center for Nursing Education shared laboratory facility.

NEC 2008 TO 2010 INITIATIVES

The NEC Board revised and continues to implement its 2008-10 Strategic Plan through six initiatives. Those initiatives include:

I. Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of nursing education:

By expanding cultural learning approaches awareness among current nurse educators and

By identifying, training and recruiting the “best and brightest nurses” as nurse educators to meet the expanding student population demands and replace current educators who retire.

II. Complete the pilot project initiated by Care Foundation and supported by the Walton Family Foundation to develop a project that recruits, educates and retains bilingual nursing students from the public schools in Springdale and Siloam Springs.

III. Coordinate and automate the clinical nursing experience of nursing students in area hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities through the NEC website (www.nwansged.org).

IV. Collaborate as the partner schools in a shared nursing simulation and practice laboratory pilot in 2008.

V. Coordinate appeals for scholarships and stipends for general nursing students.

VI. Research, publish and disseminate scholarly articles on NEC initiative outcomes.