Now is the time to take action if you've been sitting on the fence wondering whether you should dive in to a health career, or get the education you need to advance the health care career you have.

On Oct. 14, Gov. Jay Nixon introduced Caring for Missourians, a stimulus effort to increase health care education at 12 Missouri universities including the University of Missouri - St. Louis and Harris-Stowe State University. According to Gov. Nixon, the Caring for Missourians program will help train "individuals to fill high-demand positions, while also giving them a leg up on building a career and helping to turn our economy around. This program will give hundreds of Missourians the training they need to meet critical needs in our health care industry."

Dr. Juliann Sebastian, dean and professor of the College of Nursing at UMSL, shared the governor's enthusiasm.

"The program has given us the opportunity to open more spaces in our nursing program, including 16 this fall," Dr. Sebastian said. She noted that UMSL has also increased opportunities in its Masters and Ph.D. programs, opening 10 additional spaces in the Masters program and five in the Ph.D. program for students who enroll over the next two years, 2009 and 2010.

Even before the Caring for Missourians program was announced, the university was aggressively pursuing grants that would open up new opportunities for nursing students, Dr. Sebastian said. In fact, a recent grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation allowed the university to expand the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program from 40 students to 48 and provide some additional scholarship opportunities.

A great choice for career changers, UMSL's Accelerated B.S.N. program is designed to be completed in just 15 months and requires students to have a bachelor's degree in a discipline other than Nursing or outstanding transfer students.

"Our Accelerated program and our FLEX R.N. to B.S.N. program are two of our most popular programs with adult learners," Dr. Sebastian said, noting that the "FLEX was designed with working students in mind."

Students enrolled in the FLEX program, who are balancing professional and family responsibilities, can choose from traditional face-to-face instruction on campus, online courses, or instruction via ITV in a satellite classroom at St. Charles Community College or face-to-face at a local hospital.

Last year, UMSL added a Doctor of Nursing Practice program to produce leaders, at the highest level, in clinical nursing who can improve quality of care for individuals and populations through advanced practice and improved health care systems. The program is offered cooperatively with the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Missouri-Columbia, both of whom were recipients of Caring for Missourians funds.

Other local health care education programs benefiting from the Caring for Missourians programs include UMSL's College of Optometry and community education programs at Harris-Stowe State University. UMSL's College of Optometry will train an additional 16 students in the field over its next four graduating classes. It is the only professional training program for optometrists in Missouri.

For more information about the Caring for Missourians program, visit www.governor.mo.gov. Learn more about UMSL's and Harris-Stowe's individual programs by visiting www.umsl.edu and www.hssu.edu.