University of Maryland Medical System is welcoming first class of nursing students under new hands-on program

Jason Fontelieu, The Aegis, Bel Air, Md.
·2 min read

Sep. 6—The University of Maryland Medical System has begun its first full class of nursing students in the Academy of Clinical Essentials (ACE) initiative that puts nursing students at the bedside under the supervision of an experienced nurse, according to a news release.

Both of the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health hospitals in Harford County will be receiving nursing students from the ACE program this fall, according to the news release.

"This is a significant opportunity for nursing students to get a realistic clinical experience, be immersed in clinical care for a full shift, and have accountability for patients from the beginning of their shift until handing off to the oncoming nurses at the end of their shift," UMMS chief nurse executive Lisa Rowen said in a statement.

ACE cohorts are assigned to a hospital unit for their clinical course, and for one 12-hour shift a week, groups of four students are paired with a UMMS nurse who instructs them.

"Historically, nurses received hands-on training under the guidance of an experienced hospital nurse," Rowen said in the statement, "and the UMMS ACE teaching model returns the profession to its roots."

UMMS piloted the program this past spring with seven cohorts, located at the University of Maryland Medical Center downtown campus and the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center, with 28 second-semester students from the University of Maryland School of Nursing, according to the UMMS release.

This fall, the program is expanding to include students from the Community College of Baltimore County and the Chesapeake College on the Eastern Shore, and will spread to additional UMMS hospitals. There will be over 30 cohorts with more than 120 nursing students this semester.

According to the UMMS release, "goals of ACE include improving the student nurses' education experience with experiential learning by embedding them in hospital culture, bolstering the nursing workforce [and] recruiting students to join the UMMS workforce as new nurse graduates."