Front Range Community College has selected Shelly Fischer, PhD, as the new director of its nationally accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) completion program—which is one of the first four-year degrees the college offers.
“Colorado desperately needs more nurses with bachelor’s degrees,” said FRCC President Andy Dorsey. The state is currently experiencing an annual shortage of at least 500 nurses with four-year BSN degrees—and this figure is expected to grow to a cumulative shortage of 4,500 nurses with BSNs by 2024. “Our new BSN completion program is designed to help alleviate that shortage.”
“FRCC has been providing outstanding nursing education for more than 50 years,” Dorsey added. “Dr. Fischer’s leadership will ensure that our BSN program continues to help meet the growing demand for highly-skilled health care providers in Colorado.”
“Health care employers in Colorado know that FRCC’s nursing graduates can hit the ground running in a professional environment,” said Fischer. “Our newly accredited RN-to-BSN completion program will allow more of these highly-skilled nurses to become leaders in their field.”
“FRCC’s BSN option offers registered nurses—and nursing students—a seamless transition to this more advanced nursing degree,” Fischer added. “This gives students an affordable route to better paying jobs right here in their home state while simultaneously improving patient outcomes.”
The baccalaureate degree program in nursing at FRCC recently received national accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.