Lessons Learned: Answering the Call to Increase the BSN Workforce

Academic institutions across the United States are responding to the national call to action to raise the educational preparation of the nursing workforce. North Carolina has responded with the Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses program, which provides a seamless, economically sound pathway for attainment of a baccalaureate degree in nursing by using an academic partnership model between community colleges and a collaborating university. This article describes the accomplishments made and the lessons learned over the first 5 years of implementation of this educational pathway. Implications for research and educational practice are discussed.