Creating a nursing student center for academic and professional success

Background: The purpose of this article is to describe the development of an innovative broad-based initiative supportive of academic and professional success, the Center for Academic and Professional Success (CAPS) at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. While CAPS was founded to support all nursing students, it was also carefully developed to meet the special needs of students in the accelerated program for non-nurses (APNN) due to their diversity and the intensity and rapidity of the APNN program. Method: Faculty discussion, literature review, and student needs assessment findings informed program development. Outcome data obtained during the past 4 years are presented. Results: Data revealed a correspondence between identified student needs and use of program services, as well as high satisfaction ratings. Conclusion: Findings supported the provision of both traditional academic support, as well as other critical supports to address the academic and social stressors associated with the transitions experienced by nontraditional, working, and graduate nursing students.