Nashville will have a new public charter school in the fall with a mission to prepare high school students for careers in nursing and allied health. The school’s executive director was the keynote speaker at the recent spring Nursing Grand Rounds at VUMC.
Andrea Poynter, PhD, MSN, RN, executive director of Nurses Middle College Nashville (Nurses MC Nashville), gave the presentation, “From High School to Health Care: Bridging the Education to Workforce Gap” to a crowd at Light Hall and attending virtually.
“VUMC has been a key collaborator with Nurses MC Nashville, working to address the nursing shortage by recruiting future nurses earlier in Nashville schools,” said Mamie Williams, PhD, MPH, MSN, VUMC Sr. Director for Nurse Workforce and Community Engagement. “This initiative also provides staff nurses opportunities to fulfill professional responsibilities, enhancing engagement and retention.”
A 2022 study shows that after steady growth in the national nursing workforce since the 1970s, the number of nurses dropped by 100,000 from 2020 to 2021, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. VUMC has been working on multiple tracks to provide more pathways for nurses, including people who grew up with little exposure to nursing.
Nurses MC Nashville will provide more opportunities to mentor high school students specifically interested in nursing and offer job shadowing. As a public charter school, Nurses MC Nashville is expected to have a heterogenous student body.
Nurses MC Nashville expects students will complete high school courses focused on nursing and receive experiences in the workplace. Before graduating, they will complete a clinical internship, receive a minimum of three transferable college-level credits, and earn entry-level workforce credentials (such as Certified Nursing Assistant).
This is the next generation of nurses that may pursue employment at VUMC.
Poynter related her personal story of being a student who could’ve used a little extra help and encouragement, which she hopes Nurses MC Nashville will provide. She sought a nursing career but struggled early on, and an instructor told her nursing would be too advanced for her. She withdrew for a semester and decided to pursue a career as a successful vacuum cleaner salesperson.
But Poynter’s mother encouraged her to continue her work toward a nursing career, and she did, going on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, her Master of Science in nursing education from Austin Peay State University and her Doctor of Philosophy in nursing research from East Tennessee State University. She went on to teach at Tennessee State University, Columbia State Community College and Belmont University.
But she also wanted to give back, to help underserved populations — students who might be struggling in high school but could have a great career as a nurse. So, she organized a successful effort to open Nurses MC Nashville, which will begin with its inaugural 9th grade class in fall 2025. Its mission goes beyond educating students.
“I want us to analyze differences in patient outcomes to ensure all patients receive quality care,” she said. “We’ll work on identifying specific gaps in health outcomes across different population groups affected by the shortages of nursing. I want to strengthen the nursing talent stream in order to expand efforts to recruit, train and retain nurses from a wide variety of backgrounds to help meet the needs of various patient populations.”
Nurses MC Nashville’s mission is to prepare all students, despite barriers, to become the highly educated and professional nursing workforce of the future. Nurses MC Nashville will do so by building strategic partnerships, including with health care institutions, to strengthen nurse recruitment and retention, she said.
The school, which is soon moving into its facility at 3010 Tuggle Ave. in Nashville, expects to enroll 140 students for the upcoming 2025-26 school year, Poynter said, and will build enrollment in the next four years to an expected capacity of 500 students.
“I am so excited that we have this opportunity right here in Nashville, where our nurses drive change and mold the workforce of tomorrow,” said VUMC System Chief Nursing Officer Karen Keady, PhD, RN, “and that we’re going to be major partners with this wonderful initiative.”
For those interested in learning more about how to get involved with the partnership with Nurses MC please contact Mamie Williams at: mamie.g.williams@vumc.org.
