East Lansing, Mich. (WLNS) — In response to Gov. Whitmer’s executive order 2020-13, Michigan State University will make its graduating health care students who have completed their program requirements available to help state health care systems earlier than usual.
The university will contribute 87 baccalaureate-prepared nurses, 61 medical doctors and 213 osteopathic physicians to health care systems in Michigan.
“MSU has one of the largest training programs of health professionals in the nation,” said MSU Executive Vice President for Health Sciences Dr. Norman J. Beauchamp, Jr. “Adding more than 350 medical professionals to the health care workforce at this critical juncture will make a substantive difference in combating this virus.”
Students in the colleges of Human and Osteopathic Medicine normally start their residencies July 1. With this provisional licensing option, graduates can enter the workforce ahead of their scheduled residency — before the end of April. Graduating students have each completed eight years of college education and thousands of hours of clinical activity as part of their learning.
Early provisional licensing is also available for nursing students across Michigan. Before entering the workforce, nursing students are normally required to pass their NCLEX-RN exam to become licensed. However, under the governor’s executive order, MSU’s nursing students will become available as practicing registered nurses ahead of that licensure under appropriate supervision while they await the results of their examination. At the end of their program in May, these graduating nursing students will have 740 contact hours through the nursing program.
