How to Open Your Own Nursing School

With the demand for qualified nurses growing in the healthcare field now is the perfect time to consider opening a nursing program. While it may take a large investment to get started as well as a lot of time, it can payoff in the end if you know how to start a nursing school.

Establish funding. The initial cost to open a nursing school is quite large due to expenses related to facilities, accreditation, equipment and personnel. You will need to outline your plans for your program in order to get a rough estimate of how much you will need to spend to get the program up and running. Once you have this determined, you can decide how much funding you need to have and where you can get it.

Find a facility. You can either lease or purchase a facility to house your nursing school. To start out it doesn't have to be big as long as it can handle the initial classes or program you will have there. Then once you get more and more students you can begin expanding into large facilities.

Develop the curriculum for the program. There are many things that must be covered in a nursing program in order for students graduating to be successful in their chosen career field. You will need to decide what classes will be taught, and what will be taught in these classes and get it approved by the postsecondary educational authority in your state.

Buy equipment and supplies. Beds, mannequins, IVs, catheters, and syringes are just a few of the things you will need to purchase for your nursing school. You will need beds and nursing mannequins to serve as fake patients for students to work on. In addition you will need all the supplies that a nurse may use in a hospital since you will be teaching the future nurses how to use these supplies. Also it is important that you purchase office equipment such as computers, desks, and phones in order for the support staff and faculty to do their jobs.

Hire staff. A nursing school should have highly-qualified faculty to teach students and the appropriate support staff to back them up to ensure that everything runs smoothly. You will need to hire these people and ensure that for the faculty they have the appropriate credentials in order to be teaching your state-approved curriculum.

Seek accreditation. Once you have completed the previous steps you can apply for accreditation for your nursing school. You will need accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission in order to be approved as a nursing school whose education is accepted state licensing boards. In addition you will also need to seek accreditation from your regional accrediting agency in order to be recognized as a school where students can receive financial aid grants and student loans. You can find out which regional accrediting organization you need by visiting the Department of Education's website.

Recruit and admit students. After receiving accreditation you can open your nursing school to prospective students. By using a variety of marketing and advertising opportunities you can quickly get your program full of students seeking a job in a popular career field.