About OCN
The Oregon Center for Nursing, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was established by nursing leaders in 2002 with a mission to provide the leadership to solve the nursing workforce shortage in Oregon. The Oregon Center for Nursing fulfills this critical leadership role through collaborative work and coordination or a variety of programs, projects and initiatives in the areas of:
- Nursing workforce analysis and research
- Nursing workforce diversity
- Nursing leadership development
- Long term care leadership development
- Support of nursing education initiatives and innovations
- StudentMAX® clinical placement program
We invite you to learn more about the Oregon Center for Nursing’s strategic goals, Board of Directors and history. For more information, please feel free to contact us.
Watch OCN's "Advocacy, Innovation, Solutions" video!
OCN Strategic Goals
The Oregon Center for Nursing's strategic plan for 2009-2011 includes the following strategic goals:
OCN Board of Directors
Joan Caley, MS, RN, CNS, CNL, NEA, BC
Board President
Nancy Connell, RN, MS
Susan King, RN, MS
Bonnie Kostelecky, RN, MS, MPA
Board Secretary/Treasurer
Lucille Krull, PhD, RN
Holly Mercer, JD, RN
Send a message to any above Board Members: ocnadmin@up.edu
OCN History and Achievement Highlights
In March 2001, the Northwest Health Foundation released Oregon's Nursing Shortage: A Public Health Crisis in the Making. This report detailed the current shortage of nurses and projected a future where in the year 2010, Oregon would have 20 percent fewer nurses than needed, given changing demographics and population growth. Aware of this pending crisis, leaders from the Oregon State Board of Nursing, Oregon Nurses Association, Oregon Council of Deans, Oregon Council of Associate Degree Programs, and Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives came together in 2000 to form the Oregon Nursing Leadership Council (ONLC). The group created a strategic plan to solve the growing nursing shortage in Oregon centered upon the following:
Double enrollment in Oregon nursing programs by 2004
Develop, implement, and evaluate staffing models that make the best use of the available nurse workforce
Redesign nursing education to more directly meet the changing health care needs of Oregonians
Recruit into and retain nurses in the profession
Create the Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) to coordinate implementation and ongoing evaluation of this plan
In January 2002, the Oregon Center for Nursing became a reality. In the eight years since its creation, OCN has worked tirelessly to fulfill its mission to provide the leadership to solve the nursing shortage in Oregon. Highlights of achievements include:
Legislation
- Senate Bill 4 (2007) – Declared a shortage of nurses and nursing faculty in Oregon, authorized "the Oregon Center for Nursing to … develop comprehensive solutions to Oregon’s healthcare workforce shortage" and created PERS exceptions for State nurses
- Senate Bill 701 (2009) - Created the Nurse Faculty Loan Repayment Program to incent nurses to become faculty
Nursing workforce analysis and research
Production and dissemination of multiple reports including:
Nursing workforce diversity
- Produced and released the successful posters, Are You Man Enough To Be A Nurse? (2002) and Caring Knows No Boundaries (2004).
- Co-hosted, with Linfield College and other partners, a Nursing Workforce Diversity Summit (2005), resulting in the creation of a Nursing Workforce Diversity Taskforce.
- Nurturing Cultural Competence in Nursing project (2009-2010)– In partnership with Oregon Community Foundation, offered mini-grants to organizations to develop demonstration projects aimed at building cultural competence in nursing.
- Nursing Student Admissions Database project (2008-2010)– Collected baseline admissions data at an applicant-level to produce accurate information on the true number of applicants to nursing schools in Oregon.
Nursing leadership development
- Created a Leadership Development Planning Team to organize leadership events including:
- Building the Foundation: Clinical Leadership at the Point of Care (2006)
- Leadership at the Point of Care: Moving to Action (2007)
- Leadership at the Point of Care: The Critical Role of the Nurse Manager (2009)
- Leadership at the Point of Care: The Critical Role of the Nurse Manager in 2010 (2010)
- Sponsors the Nurse Manager Leadership Network, offering quarterly leadership events
Long term care leadership development
- Created a Long Term Care Leadership Development/Retention Task Force
- Offered the Leadership and Management in Long Term Care certification course for Directors of Nursing Service in partnership with the University of Washington School of Nursing Continuing Education Department
- Offers quarterly educational events for long term care nursing professionals
Support of nursing education initiatives and innovations
StudentMAX® clinical placement program
- Developed and continue to maintain this innovative product which has increased clinical placements in Oregon by 30 percent
- Successfully marketed StudentMAX® to 14 organizations throughout the United States
