Fifteen West Virginia University (WVU) School of Nursing graduates have earned one of the highest degrees a nurse can achieve. Among them, eight have accepted positions within West Virginia.
According to the West Virginia Hospital Association’s 2023 workforce report, nursing professions have a vacancy rate of 19.3 percent and a turnover rate of 26.3 percent in the state.
The WVU School of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Anesthetist’s second graduating cohort will take their National Certification Examination (NCE) to officially become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) in the coming weeks.
According to a press release, the graduates include Kayleigh Brink, Katherine Brown, Kristen Calebaugh, Jared Copeland, Scott Fankhauser, Brittany Hall, Chris Justice, Sandrela Magnuson, Ashlyn McClelland, Jessica Mitchell, Layla Newbrough, Hannah Pino, Ben Tillis, Ashley White and Chris Woods.
“The WVU Nurse Anesthetist program Class of 2024 was the first group to take on the challenge of a nine-semester program. So they had as much to do as our first graduating class but with one less semester to do it,” said Dr. Aaron Ostrowski, DNP nurse anesthetist program director. “I am excited to see their board results come in over the next few weeks so I can enjoy working with them as colleagues.”
The Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) workforce, which includes nurse anesthetists, is expected to grow by 38 percent by 2032, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook.
The report says more than 29,000 new APRNs will be needed every year through 2032 to meet the demand for primary and specialty care.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.