| November 15, 2001 Vol. 23, No. 13 |
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 CURRENT ISSUEBACK ISSUES
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| Kathy Berg of Franklin County asks a question about financial aid during an admissions information session at the Decker School of Nursing Friday. Berg is flanked by daughter Anna and husband Al. | ||
BY GAIL GLOVER
Amy Bruno of the small Oneida County town of Lee Center was sitting on the third floor of the Decker School of Nursing Friday, eating chocolate chip cookies and preparing for her future.
Bruno was among the students and parents attending Decker’s admissions open house.
A nationwide nursing shortage that demands high skills, but earns nursing graduates relatively high entry level salaries, attracted many students.
The hot job market for nursing is helping Decker meet its enrollment goals. “We’re not struggling to fill the seats at all,” said Fran Srnka, coordinator of student services.
Nursing is facing two types of shortages. One is in just numbers of nurses needed as older nurses retire or leave the field because of burnout, pay and family issues. The other shortage area is in the number of highly trained and specially trained nurses.
Decker’s programs are designed to meet the spectrum of needs the profession faces. In addition to the traditional bachelor’s degree, Decker has an accelerated program for students with bachelor’s degrees in other fields, a program for registered nurses to obtain a bachelor’s degree, a range of master’s degree programs and a doctoral program. Additionally the school has several post-master’s programs.
Srnka said that the non-traditional routes to a nursing degree are attracting considerable attention. Many Decker students are either RN’s seeking a degree, or people adding a bachelor’s degree in nursing to their current degree. She said the program currently has 20 RN’s seeking bachelor’s degrees.
“Our enrollments are up considerably,” said Srnka. She noted that the school’s junior class had 147 students, a “very high” number that she attributed both to the increasing interest in nursing as a profession, and the school’s retention efforts.
Bruno had a leg up in deciding whether to choose BU or SUNY Oneonta for nursing or attend SUNY-Oswego or Geneseo for physical therapy. One factor that may induce Bruno to choose BU is the fact that her sister Sara is a junior in the School of Management.
Amy’s interest in nursing stemmed from working summers in a nursing home. “I like the atmosphere,” she said.
She also liked her prospects for finding work. “That interests me,” she said, with a grin. Her father Charlie, and mother, Barb, nodded.
The good post-degree job prospects was also on the mind of Anna Berg, of the Franklin County hamlet of Vermontville.
Berg and her parents Al and Kathy were visiting the campus before heading on to Elmira College, one of a number of schools Anna is considering.
“There’s a lot I don’t know,” Anna said. At the information session the Bergs asked questions about financial aid options.