Replicating Project LINC in two midwestern states. Implications for policy development

Project LINC--Ladders in Nursing Careers--was developed in New York City in 1988 to address a nursing shortage crisis by providing educational and career advancement opportunities for nursing attendants and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) employed in hospitals and nursing homes (1). The project was designed to assist persons from low-income, disadvantaged backgrounds to over-come the typical educational, financial, and social barriers they experienced in returning to school to become nurses. In the first five years, nearly 500 participants from 60 employers were enrolled, 70 percent of whom were members of minority groups (2). [symbol: see text] Project LINC has been replicated in eight states. A qualitative evaluation of Iowa Project LINC (IPL) and North Dakota Project LINC (NDPL) was conducted over a 20-month period beginning one year following implementation. The state programs were compared with one another and with the national model. The findings shed light on how initial and changing conditions influence program structures, processes, and outcomes. Interventions like the Project LINC replication programs are useful to those concerned with providing career advancement opportunities in health care for nontraditional, minority, or low-income students in rural areas.