Working, learning, and earning Grant funds study of paid clinicals for nursing students
Students must spend hundreds of hours gaining hands-on experience to meet course requirements for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and they receive no pay for time spent learning and practicing skills at clinical sites.
“Balancing the rigor and pace of an accelerated BSN program with financial needs can be daunting for many students,” said Erica Yu, PhD, RN, FNAP, associate dean for undergraduate studies at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston. “When a student must work in addition to going to school full time, their academic performance can suffer.”
Yu is leading a group of Cizik School of Nursing faculty and Houston-area clinical partners as principal investigator on a new project, “Developing a Work-Based Clinical Model to Streamline Success in Nursing.” The study is funded by a three-year grant totaling nearly $300,000 from the Trellis Foundation in collaboration with UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute.
Partnering with Cizik School of Nursing are The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, and Harris Health System.
“The purpose of the project is twofold,” Yu said. “We want to develop a sustainable framework so that students employed in health care settings can earn academic credit for relevant work experiences, and we will analyze results to identify barriers to academic success.”
The first year of the project will be devoted to formalizing partnership agreements, carefully matching job activities with academic requirements, and training faculty, clinical staff, and preceptors to support students as both employees and learners. The first cohort of 30 BSN students, including 20 from low-income households, will receive course credit for paid work beginning with the Fall 2026 semester.
Project goals include increasing enrollment and completion rates in Cizik School of Nursing’s Pacesetter Accelerated BSN program, particularly among low-income students.
“Ultimately, the successful implementation of this project will serve as a scalable model for other academic institutions seeking to integrate employment-based clinical learning into nursing education,” Yu said. “It will strengthen relationships between academic and health care institutions, creating a talent pipeline that addresses staffing shortages and supports long-term workforce planning.”
Team members at Cizik School of Nursing include Cathy Rozmus, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN, vice dean for academic affairs; Susan Ruppert, PhD, RN, FNP-C, ANP-BC, FCCM, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, associate dean for graduate studies; Jessica Hartos, PhD, assistant dean for education and assessment; Linda Brown, PhD, director of the Academic Success Center; Wykie Freeman, clinical placement coordinator; and Tess Syndergaard, senior statistician.
