Apprenticeship, Evidence, and the Discipline of Asking Good Questions
Dear Colleagues,
June offers a brief pause between graduation and fall planning, a chance to reflect on the larger questions shaping nursing education. As I begin my first year as Secretary on the OADN Board, I have spent recent months listening closely to members across our community. One conversation continues to surface: how ADN programs can expand opportunity while maintaining the rigor and quality that define associate degree nursing.
A Milestone Worth Noting
On May 21, 2026, in Edinburg, Texas, ten nurse apprentices completed what partner organizations describe as the nation’s first federally recognized Traditional Track registered nursing apprenticeship program. The collaboration among DHR Health, South Texas College, and the Texas Workforce Commission represents years of regulatory, curricular, and clinical coordination.
For many ADN students, apprenticeship addresses a longstanding challenge: the need to balance education with financial realities. These graduates earned a paycheck while completing an associate degree in nursing without compromising academic or clinical standards.
Jayson Valerio, DNP, RN, Regional Healthcare Liaison at South Texas College and former OADN Board member, noted that registered nursing was not originally included on the U.S. Department of Labor’s approved apprenticeship occupation list. Developing the program required navigating both federal apprenticeship regulations and state nursing education requirements. The result demonstrates what is possible when workforce, academic, and healthcare partners align around a shared goal.
A Conversation OADN Has Been Part Of
This milestone builds on broader national conversations about earn-and-learn pathways. In 2024, OADN shared the National Center for Apprenticeship Degrees Advocacy Playbook, which highlighted the growing need for flexible postsecondary models. ADN programs have long served students balancing work, family responsibilities, and educational advancement. Apprenticeship offers one additional structure that may help support those students.
Where Research Comes In
Equally important is the evidence base supporting these conversations. Dr. Valerio recently noted that the OADN Research Hub has become an important resource for ADN-focused data and scholarship. That matters because workforce policy is shaped not only by advocacy, but by evidence. ADN outcomes, student demographics, faculty trends, and workforce contributions must remain visible in national discussions about nursing education and healthcare capacity. Research citations may not receive public attention, but they influence state task force recommendations, federal policy briefs, accreditation discussions, and workforce planning initiatives. Dr. Valerio himself contributed to four recommendations enacted into Texas law through Governor Abbott’s Healthcare Task Force, underscoring how data and frontline expertise can shape meaningful workforce policy. Strong policy decisions depend on reliable evidence, and ADN programs must continue contributing to that foundation.
The Discipline of Good Questions
In the coming weeks, deans and directors will receive the 2026 National Assessment of Associate Degree Nursing Programs. I strongly encourage every program to participate. The survey collects critical information on program capacity, faculty workforce trends, admissions, enrollment, and student demographics, helping ensure ADN programs are accurately represented in national workforce and policy conversations.
OADN survey findings have been cited in multiple National Council of State Boards of Nursing Environmental Scans and published in Teaching and Learning in Nursing, OADN’s peer-reviewed journal. This year’s assessment also includes expanded questions related to faculty capacity and student application trends, two issues of growing importance in nursing workforce planning.
The survey takes approximately 25 to 30 minutes to complete and is submitted anonymously. Participation from every program strengthens the evidence base we bring to legislators, accreditors, workforce agencies, and healthcare leaders. Nursing deans and directors who did not receive the survey invitation or survey link should contact OADN at nationalsurvey@oadn.org.
Apprenticeship is one promising model, but not the only one. Simulation, emerging technologies, and innovative clinical partnerships are also reshaping nursing education. The common thread is a willingness to evaluate whether our approaches continue to meet the needs of students, communities, and patients.
Congratulations to the inaugural apprenticeship graduates and to the leadership at DHR Health, South Texas College, and the Texas Workforce Commission whose partnership made this work possible. Thank you as well to the members of the OADN Research Committee and to the faculty across our programs who continue the steady work of building, evaluating, and strengthening pathways into nursing.
Elizabeth Robison EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, CHSE-A, FAADN
Secretary, OADN Board of Directors
Retired Professor, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville, Florida