“Nursing school is challenging, the content, the intense schedule and the strict grading policies make nursing students feel overwhelmed” said Emma, a nursing student at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. “Having someone to support you is great and helpful during that time, especially if you have other responsibilities, such as a family.”
Emma has a clear picture of the promising career before her in health care and she can thank her hard work and a unique program that received grant funding from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Drive for 5 program.
The Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence (CNEE), which is a partnership between the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and the Minnesota State HealthForce Center of Excellence, was awarded a $740,000 Drive for 5 grant from DEED to launch a Pre-Licensure Nursing Apprenticeship pilot program. This pilot allows students to earn while they learn, allowing them to stay focused on their studies and clinical experience. This makes a big difference for Emma, a single mother of two, who had to rely on a food shelf while in her first year of nursing school, while she juggled work, school and caring for her children.
A total of 32 nursing students from the University of Minnesota, Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Minnesota North College selected for the pilot are serving as paid nurse apprentices at Allina Health and Essentia Health systems hospitals and clinics, with more expected to start in fall 2025. The students receive a full-time wage and employee benefits. The students work two shifts weekly as nurse apprentices and receive paid release time to attend school.
“I was interested in participating in the program because I was very interested in the wealth of experience and knowledge I would be able to gain from the process, as well as the fact that I would still be able to feed my children at the end of the day,” said Emma. “I had quit my job in the previous semester because I was afraid that I could not give my full attention to my studies while still having a job. This stressful choice made it so I had to rely on food shelves and the generosity of family members to keep my household afloat.”
Emma and fellow nursing students in the Pre-Licensure Nursing Apprenticeship program were assigned apprenticeships in different hospitals or healthcare settings. Emma started her apprenticeship at Cambridge Medical Center in January. She says she learned a lot through hands-on experience in a variety of settings in the hospital and by observing nurses in the surgical unit. Emma says the opportunity to participate in this apprenticeship program made a huge difference in her life.
“Not only did it financially help me stay afloat and be able to dedicate more time to class work, I am also more experienced in what life after school will look like. As a new nurse I will be much more prepared to handle the stresses that are thrown at me at any given time,” explained Emma. “A previous manager once told me that as a new grad I should expect to have a hard time. She told me that new grads come home almost every day for six months and cry because of the stress of the job. I also have worked with new grad nurses and I have seen the strain on the job on them. I have seen them work through breaks, stay late and feel the stress radiating off of them. I feel confident that although I may have a stressful day here or there I will not have the same experience as those new grads because I already have the experience of taking care of four patients and I was able to learn that way instead of just caring for one patient in a traditional learning experience.”
Emma is looking forward to graduating on May 15. Then she will prepare for the nursing board exam she needs to pass to become a Registered Nurse (RN). She already has a job offer at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids on one of the medical surgical units there. Emma is excited about the many career opportunities becoming an RN and then earning her BSN will offer.
“I have so many goals for the next five years, and by telling you where I will be in five years, I may miss all the other milestones I hope to complete before then, so I will give you each of those plans. I have accepted a position at Mercy to work on a med surge, I hope after working there for a year or so I will be training as a charge nurse there, at that point I will start to search for Intensive care unit (ICU) positions available and would eventually get an ICU position and then move towards being a charge at that position. Educationally, I will complete my BSN next year as I am enrolled at Mankato State University. I anticipate this will be the five-year mark, working in the ICU and I may be interested in moving to the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). At the same time, I will start the process of seeing what further schooling I will complete, whether that is for a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).”
Previously, Emma worked as a nursing assistant at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and before that as a nursing assistant, therapeutic recreation coordinator and activities director at a nursing home. She enrolled in nursing school to take the next steps on her caring career path.
“I adore caring for other people and learning about science,” said Emma. “I have worked in health care for many years and have always been interested in being a nurse and having a greater impact on a patient's well-being than I have in previous roles.”
The Drive for 5 funded Pre-Licensure Nursing Apprenticeship program also provides students with a career navigator to offer individualized support to each apprentice before, during and after the apprenticeship. After graduating and obtaining licensure, apprentices are employed at the health system they apprenticed with.
Cambridge Medical Center is part of the Allina Health system, which is partnering with the University of Minnesota and Anoka-Ramsey Community College to provide paid apprenticeships to Associate of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing students. In northern Minnesota, Essentia Health is partnering with Minnesota North College to provide Associate of Science in Nursing apprenticeships.
The Drive for 5 grant award funding this Pre-Licensure Nursing Apprenticeship program is part of the nearly $20 million in grants awarded in 2024 as part of DEED’s Drive for 5 Workforce initiative to prepare more Minnesotans for high-demand jobs in the caring professions, education, manufacturing, technology and the trades.
