Cincinnati-area nursing schools are expanding simulation training, clinical experience and competency-based instruction to help graduates enter the workforce better prepared for patient care.
The push reflects a staffing crisis that hits close to home. Ohio was short more than 2,400 registered nurses in 2025, according to the National Center for Health Workforce. A 2014 study found that roughly one-third of newly licensed registered nurses left their first nursing job within two years.
That turnover has nursing educators rethinking what "practice-ready" means.
Jennifer Evans, director of Northern Kentucky University’s School of Nursing, told Realm Cincinnati that preparing new nurses to enter the workforce with strong skills and confidence is a top priority. Her program recently shifted to what she called "competency-based education," adding faculty across its bachelor's, master's and doctoral tracks to support the change.
At Galen College of Nursing's Cincinnati campus, the school moved to 12-hour clinical days after consulting hospital partners including Mercy, TriHealth and Kettering. Candice D. Elmore, Galen's dean and program administrator, told Realm Cincinnati the shift was deliberate.
"So when they graduate, they understand the expectations, and they've been building with stamina in mind that this is what the normal healthcare environment looks like," Elmore said.
Chamberlain University, which opened its 25th campus in Kenwood on Aug. 20, built its three-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program around the same idea. Students train first in a simulation facility called the SIMCARE CENTER, which replicates hospital settings with patient monitoring equipment, birthing simulators and exam tables, according to the university's website. They then move into clinical rotations with regional health system partners before graduating.
The university chose Cincinnati after analyzing where the gap between nurse demand and supply was largest, according to Priya Shastri, Chamberlain Cincinnati's executive campus director. The region showed a "very large gap," she said. Once built out, the Kenwood campus expects capacity of about 460 students, with evening and weekend class options.
The shortage numbers underscore the urgency. University leaders said the Cincinnati metro area posts roughly 50,000 healthcare job openings a year, with about six open positions for every healthcare graduate in the region, according to the 2026 Covista Care Capacity Monitor. Covista is Chamberlain's parent company; the survey was fielded by Gallup.
Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus, speaking at Chamberlain's ribbon-cutting, said the region has struggled with nurse shortages since the pandemic, the Hyde Park-Oakley Record reported.
Chamberlain also announced a $150,000, three-year partnership with The Health Collaborative to fund healthcare career exploration programs at Cincinnati youth centers, according to a university press release. The initiative targets middle and high school students.
Chamberlain's first Cincinnati cohort started classes Aug. 31 at 5905 E. Galbraith Road in Sycamore Township.
