By Amy Curtis | January 2025
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In this issue: Explore our interactive dashboard, Key Finding: Retirements, and Is LPN/LVN a best career without a bachelor degree?
This newsletter is 1,702 words long, about a 5-minute read.
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Interactive Dashboard Published
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Screenshot of the Kansas Nursing Workforce Center dashboard.
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The Kansas Nursing Workforce Center has published user-friendly, interactive dashboards with key information from the State of Nursing in Kansas report.
"Our goal with this dashboard was to make the information in the report real and intuitive for people who don't have a background in nursing”, said Alexander Alsup, MS, Data Scientist, Kansas Nursing Workforce Center.
Who is this dashboard for?
The dashboard is for anyone interested in learning about the Kansas nursing workforce.
How do I use this dashboard?
Just click on a card to learn more about each specific topic. Each card will pop open a window with charted information and an explanation of the topic.
Where is the dashboard information from?
Dashboard information was derived from the State of Nursing in Kansas report 2024.
What topics are covered?
The dashboard includes a variety of topics about Kansas nurses including Demographics, Work Experience, Employment Status, Working Hours, Impact of COVID-19 on Employment, Nurses by Local Population, LPN/LVNs, RNs, and APRNs by County.
“We've put extra time into connecting our results to real-life situations and making new charts and graphs where we didn't have them in the report,” said Alsup. “We're excited to share the dashboard and, as always, we're open to feedback on how to improve it."
View the Dashboards Now
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Is LPN/LVN one of the best careers without a bachelor’s degree?
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Recently Becker’s Healthcare reported on the “Best Healthcare Jobs without a Bachelor’s Degree”. Their article noted that Licensed Practical Nurse/Licensed Vocational Nurse (LPN/LVN) is one of the top twenty healthcare jobs that does not require a Bachelor’s (BS), coming in at 17 on the list.
The article states that the national median salary for LPNs/LVNs is $59,730, which equates to a median hourly rate of $28.72/hour, based on a 40-hour work week.
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- The Kansas mean is $26.74/hour.
- The Kansas wage adjusted for cost of living is $30.49/hour.
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(Pro tip… median = the middle number in a set of numbers; mean = the average of a set of numbers)
“I agree that LPN/LVN is a great career path that does not require a degree,” said Kathleen Kottas, DNP, APRN-CNS, APRN-FNP-C, BC, Dean of Workforce Training and Community Education, Barton Community College, and Kansas Nursing Workforce Center Advisory Board member.
Kottas continued, “In Kansas, the LPN can be completed in as little as three semesters and offers the individual a wide variety of rewarding employment opportunities. In Kansas, the LPN is a Certificate program. Using the criteria established in the article, this would also include an Associate Degree in Nursing which allows individuals an even broader scope of practice once they successfully pass the NCLEX-RN. Again, both are very stable, high demand, employable, and rewarding careers in Nursing/Healthcare.”
“I started as an LPN for ten years before returning to school to get my BSN,” said Laura Mallett, MSN, RN, Director of Nursing, Neosho County Community College, and Kansas Nursing Workforce Center Advisory Board member. “LPNs add a positive layer to the healthcare workforce. It is a good starting path, and it encourages seeking higher degrees when the opportunity arises. And it is a good income for those who choose not to advance to a higher degree.”
We reached out to a practicing LPN to get her take on the article.
Meet Rachel Fulton, LPN, Greensburg Family Practice, Greensburg, KS. Rachel told us that, while she did obtain a bachelor's degree in general studies, she found the degree limiting.
"I applied for various employment opportunities throughout the years but was often told that I was overqualified for the position I was applying for because of my [BS] degree," said Fulton. "To find a meaningful career, I knew I would need to return to college to discover a new career path. In 2020 I started working as a CNA in a critical care access hospital, and it was during this time I realized that I wanted to further my education and become a nurse."
Fulton continued, "I enrolled in Barton Community College in the fall of 2023, and by June of 2024, I was already an LPN! I could not believe the income potential from just nine months of school, or the number of employment opportunities that had opened up for me now that I was an LPN. Although the possibilities seemed endless, I returned to the critical care access facility where I had previously worked as a CNA; only this time I'm an LPN in the clinic."
We wondered what could be done to encourage more people to consider an LPN career.
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Mallet shared: “I think educating the school counselors and involving HOSA [high school students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare] in education about the career paths out there for nursing is a starting place. I feel that LPNs need to be recognized as nurses and somehow incorporated into the nursing associations to strengthen their status as nurses.
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Kottas shared: “What can be done? Continue to promote the positive image and opportunities available in nursing. And continue all the work that the Kansas Nursing Workforce Center is doing to help grow the next generation of nurses!”
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Fulton shared, "I chose an LPN career path because I love the diversity of the healthcare field, and I have the opportunity to work as a team to help improve the lives of our patients and community members. Every day in the healthcare field is unique, and I'm always learning, which I love!
I would tell anyone to do it. Go back to school and pursue that career as an LPN. I don't regret it. I know that with my foundation as an LPN, I have the potential to advance my career in the healthcare field in the future."
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What do you think? Email nursingwill@kumc.edu to share your thoughts about LPN as a best healthcare career without a BS.
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State of Nursing in Kansas 2024 Report Key Finding: Nursing Retirements
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In the 2022 National Council of State Boards of Nursing survey, Kansas Registered Nurses (RNs) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) self-reported their plans to retire in the next five years. RNs reported 29% intend to retire; LPNs reported 23% intend to retire. The RN cohort is slightly more than the national sample (28.7%) and the LPN cohort is less than the national sample (25.6%).
Go deeper: Download your copy of the State of Nursing in Kansas report for full details about Kansas nurses. When reading the report, see pages 22 and 37 for detailed information on RN and LPN retirement plans within five years in Kansas.
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Catch Up Quick: Leveraging the Data to Guide Decisions for a Strong Nursing Workforce Webinars
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Watch a recording of webinar session 1, Leveraging the Data to Guide Decisions for a Strong Nursing Workforce, Employers and Leaders.
Session 1 shared scenarios and strategies to help employers and leaders choose the best information from the State of Nursing in Kansas report to support change or advocate for the nursing workforce. Presenters shared role-based scenarios and examples of what data to use, where it is found in the report, and why it is applicable.
Sign up for webinar session 2, Leveraging the Data to Guide Decisions for a Strong Nursing Workforce, Educators and Program Directors: The Kansas Nursing Workforce Center will host Session 2 of our webinar series on Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 10 a.m.
Session 2 will share scenarios and strategies to help educators, program directors, and policy advocates choose the best information from the State of Nursing in Kansas report to support change or advocate for the nursing workforce. More information here.
Register here and view a complete CE statement.
The Research Committee will resume regular programming in March.
You can sign up here to join the Research Committee or attend future meetings. Please forward to colleagues who may also wish to attend.
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National Forum Conference and Abstract Call
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The National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers invites you to attend the 2025 Annual Conference, “Showcasing, Innovating and Strengthening the Nursing Workforce” on June 2-4, 2025 at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Nurses and healthcare leaders will share models of practice, workforce data analysis and interpretation along with innovations in nursing education to change the nursing workforce game and address the critical workforce development issues facing our nation.
The Forum also invites you to submit an abstract by February 15, 2025 on the following topics:
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- K-12 pipeline and pre-nursing pathways
- Nursing education at the LPN, RN and APRN levels
- Health and well-being of the nursing workforce
- Upskilling the workforce
- Innovative care delivery models
- Workforce data and research
- Local, state and federal policy
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Be a Kansas Nursing Workforce Center Supporter
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Based at the University of Kansas School of Nursing, the Kansas Nursing Workforce Center is funded through a variety of sources.
During KU’s One Day One KU annual day of giving on February 20-21, 2025, we are raising funds to support the Kansas Nursing Workforce Center.
By becoming a Kansas Nursing Workforce Supporter, you fuel our mission to ensure Kansans have access to nurses when and where they need them and will support nurses both individually and as part of the health care team.
Why support the Kansas Nursing Workforce Center?
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Shine a Light on Issues: The Kansas Nursing Workforce Center works to support nurses by raising awareness of issues facing the profession as whole.
- Strengthen the Nursing Workforce: Play a pivotal role in attracting, retaining, and developing a future-ready nursing workforce—benefiting healthcare in Kansas.
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Empower Leaders: Help the Center place vital information in the hands of leaders to empower better decisions about the nursing workforce, including schools, employers, associations, and government officials.
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What a start to the New Year! We are energized after a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona on January 13 and 14 for the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers’ state representative subscriber meeting and retreat.
Scottsdale was certainly appealing since Kansas was in the throes of below zero temperatures. And even though there were freeze warnings in Arizona, the sun and company of the leaders of our National Forum were greatly beneficial. When the leaders of multiple state centers are together, the sharing of information, data, research, is invaluable and available from dawn to dusk.
This is the second state representative subscriber meeting we have attended since our formal launch in August of 2023. The Kansas group included Amy Garcia, Interim Associate Dean, Barbara MacArthur, Director, Alex Alsup, Data Scientist, Teresa Stenner, Operations Manager, and Alyn Miller-James, a KU School of Nursing doctoral student. We were honored to continue to receive and contribute to our peers and colleagues in the National Forum.
A major focus of the meeting was to strategically move to collaborative project building among the members. While each state has unique qualities, organizational models and challenges, all share the same goal to support nursing. Through collaborative project building, we can not only share among the members but also have broad impact across states, regions, or the country. For example, we are working to build a repository to connect workforce centers, based on shared research.
We encourage all of you to join the Kansas team at the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers invites you to attend the 2025 Annual Conference, “Showcasing, Innovating and Strengthening the Nursing Workforce” on June 2-4, 2025 at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA. We promise, it’s worth the trip!
Cheers!
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—Barbara MacArthur and Amy Garcia
Kansas Nursing Workforce Center
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Have Kansas Nursing Workforce news, solutions, or kudos you’d like us to share?
Email nursingwill@kumc.edu
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