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Health systems nationwide face ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining registered nurses amid a competitive job market. As part of our strategic plan's Best Place to Work initiative, UVA Health has responded by continuing to build intentional career pathways that prioritize long-term workforce development, not just fill immediate vacancies. 

Two standout initiatives — UVA Health Earn While You Learn (EWYL) Registered Nurse (RN) Program and UVA Health Nurse Extern Program — play a central role in that approach. “These programs have gained traction in recent years, becoming an incredible pipeline for developing new grad nurses and transitioning them into Clinician 1 roles within the health system,” describes Nathaniel Ledford, MSN, RN-BSN, Clinical Program Coordinator, Workforce Initiatives team. 

EWYL RN Program: Learning Where You’re Already Valued

The two-year EWYL RN Program allows UVA Health employees to attend nursing school while earning a paycheck and benefits, in return for a work commitment after graduation. After the first class of RNs graduates this spring, they will work at UVA Health for one year for each year of educational support they received.

Program leaders expect many to stay even longer. “The more you immerse someone in the culture, the more likely they are to stay — especially if it’s a good culture,” says Nicole Henley, MSN, RN, CCRN, NI-BC, Nurse Manager, EWYL Clinical Programs.

Henley explains how EWYL came to be: “We knew from the Virginia Community College System that it takes an average of eight years for someone to get a two-year degree when they’re working full time and going to school, and only 25% are successful. We asked, ‘Why can’t we pay people while they’re training?’ That question really changed everything.” 

Ledford says EWYL’s seven, entry-level programs and 12 advanced programs are good for UVA Health and the region. “It's an incredible investment in the community and individuals who are from the Charlottesville area. If we're going to invest money, this is the place to do it, because it's definitely removing barriers.”

When Passion Meets Opportunity — Hearing From Participants

EWYL has made a difference for participants professionally and personally — helping them balance work, school, and family life:

• Digestive Health Medical Assistant Caitlin Payne (pictured above), also a mother of four, says EWYL made her goals feel possible, even while caring for her family. “EWYL allowed me to still earn the income I need while pursuing my dream of becoming a nurse. I’m ecstatic to share that I have accepted my first job as an RN Clinical Nurse I in Labor and Delivery. Thank you, EWYL, so much!”
• Fourth-semester student and Medical Assistant Ashlynn Dinsmore appreciates the program’s flexibility and mentorship. “Allowing me to work full-time while having two days off to complete schoolwork has been incredible,” Dinsmore says. “The support of the EWYL program is phenomenal!”
• Kathleen Pace Morris, LPN, UVA Health Cardiology Home Visit Program, found the program allowed her to follow her lifelong dream without leaving the organization she considers home. “UVA Health supported me from the very beginning of my career! This program allowed me to continue working in a role I love, while advancing my nursing career and being present for my family.”
• Ashlyn Hughes, Administrative Specialist, Continuum Home Health and Home Infusion, says the program helped her build confidence and feel a sense of belonging. “Having access to mentors and colleagues who genuinely want to see students succeed has been incredibly motivating!” 

Nurse Extern Program: Where Experience Turns into Belonging

That same feeling of support and belonging extends into the UVA Health Nurse Extern Program, which provides nursing students with hands-on clinical experience across the health system including critical care, acute care, pediatrics, and some ambulatory areas. Designed for students nearing graduation, the summer program primarily serves those who have completed their third year of a four-year nursing program — or their first year in a community college program.

As nurse extern programs have expanded nationwide, UVA Health’s program has become increasingly competitive. “We are getting applications from everywhere,” says Susan Prather, MSN, RN, Clinical Program Coordinator, Nursing Initiatives, who oversees the program. “Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Florida, Maine, Michigan — you name it!”

Prather says her eight-member clinical intake team (three team members pictured above) conducts all the extern interviews. “We absolutely could not run this program without their herculean efforts to interview them all, make recommendations for where they should be placed and document everything.”

Data from the Nurse Extern Program shows strong conversion outcomes: “They know the unit, the patients, and the team. That familiarity is a huge advantage for them and for us,” says Prather.

• In 2024, 77 students participated, all of whom applied for an externship and 44 (57%) were hired into RN roles at UVA Health.
• In 2025, 95 students participated; of the 68 who applied for permanent positions, 57 (82%) were hired. In addition, 23 new nurses (40%) were hired into the same units where they trained — already familiar with the teams, patients, and culture they had come to know. 

Growing Nurses — Not Only Numbers

For Loucita Hurlbrink, BSN, RN, Clinical Program Coordinator, Workforce Initiatives, helping shape and manage these programs has been very meaningful. She started her career at UVA Health more than ten years ago as a new graduate nurse in the Surgical Trauma ICU (STICU). “I love getting to tell new nurses what it’s like to be a nurse at UVA Health: what the culture is, why I stay, and why I’m in the role I’m in,” Hurlbrink says. “It’s helpful for them to hear that I’ve lived this.”

She adds that her role lets her give back in a real way. “I’m here because I genuinely have a passion for nursing at UVA Health, and I can tell them from experience how great it can be!”

Building Careers

Together, our Earn While You Learn and Nurse Extern programs demonstrate how UVA Health is strengthening its nursing workforce by removing barriers to education while investing directly in team members. Through early immersion, meaningful support, and access to learning, UVA Health is not just recruiting nurses — it's building long-term careers and sustaining the community it serves.