DURHAM, N.C. — Two collegiate forces are teaming up to hopefully make health care better in Durham.

There is now a partnership between Durham Technical Community College and the Duke University Health System to plug gaps in nursing care. 

This union is designed to address the nursing shortage for graduating students.

With one quick signing, the next generation of nurses from Durham Tech is now under the care of working nurses already in the field from the Duke Health System.

Theresa Adusei will graduate next spring.

“It feels so great because as an incoming nurse, I really wanna work with somebody who knows what he or she is doing,” Adusei said.

Big dreams are following Adusei’s journey in America after leaving Ghana nearly five years ago.

“Nursing is a calling. It takes someone who is empathetic and someone who is caring,” she said.

She is already doing rounds in the surgical oncology and urology floor at Duke University Hospital.

“I have learned so much, even during my clinical experience here at Duke. I get to meet a patient, and I get to make their lives feel better,” Adusei said.

The news couldn’t come at a better time. The industry is bracing for a mass exodus in the coming years.

A 2023 survey of registered nurses by AMN Healthcare, a staffing company, showed 30% of nurses are likely to leave the field because of the pandemic, and 85% will pursue nursing opportunities in non-hospital settings within the next year.

The three-year training to employment pipeline pilot focuses on three key areas:

• Expansion of the program by increasing enrollment and student retention
• Implementation of innovative career pathways 
• Engagement of Duke staff as instructors for better employee satisfaction and career advancement

“They are going to teach us everything that we need to know to be successful,” Adusei said.

The soon-to-be nurse said the classroom lectures go hand in hand with the clinical rotations. Upon graduation, the 27-year-old wants to work in a medical surge unit with the eventual goal of becoming a nurse practitioner. 

“I was so proud and glad when I got to Durham Tech, and they made the transition so easy. It was a big huge step for me as an immigrant, but after I got to Durham Tech, they help me transition and now I feel pretty much at home,” she said.

The program is supposed to start on July 1. Nearly 400 students are projected to annually participate. The Duke Health System will, directly and indirectly, fund the program.