Mississippi aims to grow state’s nursing workforce

• The new marketing campaign ONWard will utilize targeted digital advertising and youth outreach to spread the word about the nursing profession and career advancement.

A new marketing campaign by the Mississippi Board of Nursing and Office of Nursing Workforce is gearing up. The goal is to entice more young people to consider entering the nursing profession. 

Over the next three months, the phased marketing campaign will include targeted digital and social media outreach, combined with an updated website and more video-based storytelling. Dubbed ONWard, the program will not only focus on sharing information about nursing programs but also help existing nurses continue to grow in their profession. 

“Our team has worked with Ad5 Partners to develop a communications strategy that promotes nursing education and highlights clear pathways for career growth,” MSBON Executive Director Dr. Phyllis Polk Johnson said.

State Senator Daniel Sparks (R), chair of the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee, is happy to see more efforts in building the state’s nursing capacity.

“It’s one of the high-wage high demand, priority sectors, and of course, it’s one of the key things that people look for in economic development,” Sparks told Magnolia Tribune on Monday. “They want to know about public safety and infrastructure and schools, but healthcare ranks high on that list.”

Additionally, by convincing more nurses to advance in their career, it also drives them toward a higher earning potential, Sparks noted. 

Enrollment in nursing programs was reported to be on a slight decline between the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years, falling by about 20 students, the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning was told last year.

There is a growing need to fill current shortages, which totaled about 1,500 in 2023. Combined with a turnover rate of 21.2% that same year, there is a recent trend of nurses not renewing their Mississippi licenses. Potential reasons for the loss of 840 active nursing licenses from 2024 to 2025 were that people moved to another state, retired or chose another career path. 

“As Mississippi continues to lead in economic development and job creation, we must meet that growth with a workforce that is strong, skilled, and healthy,” Governor Tate Reeves (R) said. “This effort by ONWard is exactly the kind of smart investment our state is making that helps us reinforce the healthcare foundation that keeps our economy growing. When we invest in education and training, we invest in Mississippi’s long-term prosperity.”

The campaign will also include an increase in the organization’s presence at nursing conferences and on the campuses of Mississippi’s universities and colleges during events. 

“Our goal is to attract more students into nursing and support working nurses as they advance professionally,” said Lacey T. Gentry, DNP, RN, CNE, chair of the Nursing Workforce Committee and professor at William Carey University. “We provide guidance, resources, and scholarship opportunities to enhance their success at every stage.”

As the need for more people to seek a career in nursing persists, Sparks knows the colleges and universities will also have the challenge of enticing those with experience to consider educating the next generation, since teaching typically pays less than working in a particular field. 

“To add capacity to the classroom you got to have teachers and to add additional people out in the market you got to have a class and you got to have capacity, so that’s that’s the focus,” Sparks added.