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UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing ready for inaugural class
Cris Collingwood//June 30, 2022
UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg is open and will welcome its inaugural class August 29.
The school, a partnership between UPMC and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, was unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday. The school was created to bring more nurses to the region through an affordable, accelerated program, UPMC said.
“This partnership between UPMC and Harrisburg University provides new opportunities for hundreds of our region’s residents to achieve their dreams of becoming nurses while fulfilling their calling to tend to the care and well-being of patients,” said Philip Guarneschelli, president of UPMC in Central Pa.
UPMC Shadyside School of Nursing at UPMC Harrisburg is a 16-month accelerated diploma program for registered nurses (RNs). First-year students will take non-nursing courses at Harrisburg University, take nursing courses from UPMC faculty and complete over 900 hours of clinical rotations at UPMC Harrisburg and other regional UPMC facilities.
Once students graduate and pass the RN licensing examination, they will be well-positioned to earn their bachelor’s degree in nursing from Harrisburg University while maintaining full-time employment.
“Our commitment to improve health care, access to health care and the types of skills and abilities that health care providers have in our region, I think, is unprecedented,” said Dr. Eric Darr, president, Harrisburg University. “And we couldn’t think of a better partner to pursue these activities than UPMC, an innovative leader.”
Penny Lenig-Zerby, director of nursing for the new program, said the school is “crucial to the growing health care needs in our region. With the need for nurses expected to grow exponentially, we are here to solve that problem.”
More than 115 students have already registered for the first class. Registration closes July 1.
