SAULT STE MARIE — To address the urgent demand for nurses in rural America, Lake Superior State University has created a Post-Baccalaureate Rural Nurse Residency Certificate program, the first of its kind.

The 24-credit, one-year, three-semester program is open to all graduates, whether licensed or not, from any accredited BSN program in their first year of practice; taught mostly via asynchronous online learning of simulation and virtual reality; and folded within a 36-hour weekly paid residency at a rural health care agency or hospital.

“Six hundred, or 30 percent, of all rural hospitals in the U.S. are at risk of closing, according to the American Nurses Association, among other alarming shortfalls in rural nursing,” LSSU interim President Dr. Lynn G. Gillette said. “Lake State is located in a rural part of the country, the Great Lakes region, and we have a responsibility to assist our neighbors. This innovative, transformative offering is the latest example of our partnership with the surrounding community on current and emerging exigencies, per priorities in the LSSU strategic plan.”

The program follows numerous other firsts for the institution. In 2019, Lake State launched the first cannabis chemistry program in the nation. LSSU also was the first campus nationwide to offer an accredited four-year fire science program. Lake State further was the first campus nationwide to offer an accredited four-year robotics engineering technology program and is the only university nationwide to offer undergraduate education in industrial robotics.

“The mission of the Post-Baccalaureate Rural Nurse Residency Certificate Program is to provide graduates with the tools to tackle issues in retention, equity, access and diversity in rural health care settings,” said Program Director and Associate Professor Jaimee Gerrie.

“Part of LSSU’s mission is to equip graduates with the knowledge, skills, and fortitude to craft a life of meaningful employment, personal fulfillment, and generosity of self while enhancing the quality of life of the Great Lakes region and beyond,” said Dr. Kathy Berchem, dean of the College of Health and Behavior.

There are three annual entry points to the program. Applications for the first cohort, to begin in May 2023, are currently being accepted. For applications and details, go online to lssu.edu/college-health-behavior/school-of-nursing/post-baccalaureate-rural-nurse-residency-certificate-program.