Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention - Transition to Practice Program - Strengthening Healthcare through Opportunity, Retention, and Education for Rural Nurses (SHORE-RN) is a partnership between University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM Shore) and Chesapeake College Macqueen Gibbs Willis School of Nursing (CCMGW) designed to strengthen the nursing workforce and improve healthcare access across Maryland’s five-county Mid-Shore region. Serving Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties, the project addresses nursing shortages, provider scarcity, and the growing healthcare needs of aging and medically underserved populations by recruiting, educating, and retaining local residents and incumbent healthcare workers most likely to remain in the region. SHORE-RN aligns with the Nursing Education, Practice, Quality and Retention – Transition to Practice (NEPQR-TPP) program by strengthening nursing workforce pathways, supporting nursing students and trainees, expanding community-based training, developing faculty and preceptors, and enhancing competency-based education through simulation. The project creates a pathway from healthcare career exploration and entry-level employment through nursing education, licensure, transition-to-practice, and long-term rural practice. Regional healthcare organizations experience persistent nursing vacancies and turnover among newly licensed nurses, while shortages of nurse educators and clinical training opportunities limit workforce growth. Nursing students face financial barriers related to transportation, childcare, housing, and employment, while nurses entering rural practice often require additional preparation for resource-constrained environments. To address these needs, SHORE-RN will provide retention supports for approximately 200 CCMGW nursing students through a dedicated Retention Coordinator, enhanced clinical instruction, student success interventions, and stipends that reduce barriers to degree completion. Additional clinical instructors and expanded access to preceptors will strengthen educational quality and increase the number of students entering the workforce. UM Shore will also support retention through a CNA Residency Program serving approximately 80 CNAs and an enhanced Nurse Residency Program serving approximately 96 newly licensed nurses. Dedicated staff will coordinate onboarding, mentoring, professional development, and transition-to-practice support, while preceptor training will strengthen regional clinical teaching capacity. SHORE-RN will provide at least 100 clinical hours beyond standard nursing rotations in community-based settings, including the Shore Community Outreach Team, mobile health programs, outpatient clinics, urgent care centers, schools, and home care. These experiences will build competencies in prevention, chronic disease management, care coordination, population health, and rural healthcare delivery. The project will further enhance experiential learning through advanced simulation technologies, including the Gaumard VICTORIA maternal and neonatal simulator, Pediatric HAL simulator, and virtual and mixed-reality platforms. Students, CNAs, newly licensed nurses, preceptors, and healthcare professionals will participate in interprofessional simulations focused on maternal emergencies, pediatric deterioration, sepsis, behavioral health crises, overdose response, trauma, and care transitions. Populations served include high school students exploring healthcare careers, incumbent healthcare workers, CCMGW nursing students, newly licensed nurses, CNA residents, nurse preceptors, clinical instructors, and other healthcare professionals participating in simulation training. Ultimately, SHORE-RN will improve access to care throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore by increasing the supply of locally trained nurses, improving workforce retention, expanding community-based care capacity, and creating a sustainable nursing workforce pipeline rooted in the communities it serves.
