The nation's largest nursing school is building a campus in Nashville to address Tennessee's growing healthcare worker shortage. The state is projected to face a deficit of 8,500 nurses in nine years.
Chamberlain University, headquartered in Illinois, began interviewing prospective students in Music City Sept. 9 with plans to launch its accelerated three-year program in early January, President Amelia Manning said.
Manning said the state's nursing shortage helped draw Chamberlain University's 27th campus, and its first in Tennessee, to Nashville. The Tennessee Hospital Association said the nursing shortfall is expected to be more severe in rural communities.
"There's already 16 open healthcare jobs for every nurse graduate that's being produced in Nashville," Manning said. "There's a real and present need."
Current and projected physician and nurse shortages extend nationwide. At the same time, the share of Americans aged 65 and older continues to grow, largely due to medical advancements in preventing, diagnosing and treating illnesses.
The U.S. Census Bureau projected that by 2034 older adults will outnumber children younger than age 18 for the first time in U.S. history. In Tennessee, older adults are the fastest growing demographic and are projected to comprise one-fifth of the population with more than 1.9 million residents aged 65 and older by 2030, according to the most recent study from 2022 by the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability.
Davidson County is expected to be home to nearly 150,000 older residents by 2030, according to the state report.
"Because of our history in nursing education, Chamberlain can come into Nashville and not be the only solution but be there as part of an ecosystem of other educational institutions," Manning said.
Nashville colleges and universities with nursing programs include Vanderbilt, Lipscomb, Belmont, Herzing, Marian and Galen.
Chamberlain leaders plan to enroll between 100 and 120 students in 2027, and its Nashville campus will be able to accommodate up to 400 students.
Chamberlain graduates more nurses than any other nursing school in the country and has more than 150,000 alumni working in all 50 states, including 1,600 employed in Tennessee, its president said.
Chamberlain's new campus will be nearly 27,300 square feet and located at 2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard.
"A significant part of the space is focused on incredibly modern simulation environments where students can practice the skills," Manning said. Students move through rotations in various areas including hospitals, assisted living and home health settings. Students also will receive surgical technician training to prepare operating rooms, maintain sterilized equipment and hand instruments to surgeons during procedures.
"We recognize there are needs throughout Tennessee, not just Nashville," Manning said. "I suspect a number of our students that we are serving on the Nashville campus are from rural parts of Tennessee and who intend to go back and live and work in those communities."
Beth Warren covers health care and can be reached at bwarren@tennessean.com or on X at @BethWarrenCJ.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nation's largest nursing school expands to Nashville as shortage grows
