UArizona to expand college of nursing program in Gilbert

PHOENIX — The Gilbert Town Council approved a lease agreement with the University of Arizona to relocate the school’s master of science in nursing–entry to the profession program (MEPN) to the East Valley.

The college of nursing will be moving the program from the downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus to the university building in Gilbert starting in fall 2022, according to a press release.

The university building is set up with an eight-bed skills lab, a nursing simulation suite and state-of-the-art equipment, according to the release.

The bachelor of science in nursing integrative health care program is already running in Gilbert and has been since November 2019.

Over 240 students study in the BSN-IH program in Gilbert.

Roughly 130 students are expected to enroll in the MEPN program each year across the Tucson and Gilbert campuses, according to the release.

“It is anticipated that by 2030, there will be a shortage of almost a million nurses across the country, and the University of Arizona College of Nursing is dedicated to reducing the effects of this shortage in our state,” College of Nursing Dean Dr. Ki Moore said in the release.

“We are excited to expand upon our partnership with the Town of Gilbert to bring our MEPN program to the area so it can join our already successful BSN-IH in the same building. Both programs will help educate and train new generations of Wildcat Nurses, who are desperately needed in communities across Arizona due to an ongoing nursing shortage.”

The MEPN program trains students with degrees in other fields to become nurses and provides master’s degrees, according to the release.