Cal State L.A. Receives Major Grant for School of Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner Program

The California State University, Los Angeles School of Nursing has been awarded a $759,669 Advanced Nursing Education three-year funded grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that supports a graduate Family Nurse Practitioner option. An in-kind donation from Cal State L.A. of nearly $270,000 brings the project-funding total to almost $973,000. The option will expand a Cal State L.A. graduate nursing program that has been ranked the top program in the CSU system and among the top four programs in California by U.S. News and World Report.

As defined by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, a nurse practitioner is “a Registered Nurse (RN) who has advanced education and clinical training in a health care specialty area.” This Cal State L.A. Family Nurse Practitioner option will bring together a unique union of culturally diverse faculty, students, and clients, contributing to the expansion of the graduate minority workforce in nursing and enhancing the number of primary health care providers ready to serve locally, nationally, and internationally.

The Cal State L.A. program currently includes the following options: Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Acute Pediatric Care Nurse Practitioner, Adult Nurse Practitioner, Acute Adult Care Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Education, Nursing Administration, and Psychiatric/Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist. All graduate work may be completed in full- or part-time study.
For information, call Susan Elliott, Ph.D., R.N.C., Family and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, Cal State L.A. Family Nurse Practitioner coordinator, grant director, (323) 343-4715 <susan.elliott@calstatela.edu> or Cynthia Hughes, Ed.D., P.N.P., Family Nurse Practitioner grant co-director, (323) 343-4716 <chughes@calstatela.edu>.

The Cal State L.A. nursing program has been a unit in the College of Health and Human Services since its inception, and a department since 1960. Recently granted the status of School, the expansion and development of the School of Nursing characterizes the rapid growth and increased professional status of Cal State L.A.’s College of Health and Human Services over the past five years. The School of Nursing comprises about 200 pre-nursing majors, slightly over 200 undergraduate nursing students, more than 100 graduate students and 24 full-time faculty. Cal State L.A.’s nursing programs are approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing and recently received continuing eight-year accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC).