- Impact Report Introduction
- Letter from Dean Mason
- Facts and figures
- Preparing nurses. Statewide impact.
- Employee spotlights
- Community impact
- Healthy people + healthy pets
- Giving that changes lives
- A Lasting WIN & Smart Giving From Your IRA
- Partnerships that transform care
- WSU nursing students gain global health perspective in Zambia
- First-generation student spotlight: Called to care
- Alumni spotlights
- Building confidence through practice
- Empowered Coug nurses
- Lighting up the sky for National Nurses Week in 2026
The future of healthcare depends on nurses, and nurses depend on you
The United States is projected to face more than 193,000 registered nurse openings every year through 2032. In Washington, the challenge is even greater, with the state expected to experience one of the nation’s largest nursing shortages within the next decade. Meeting this growing demand requires more than awareness – it requires action.
As one of Washington’s largest nurse educators, WSU College of Nursing is helping lead the solution. That is why Empowered Hosted by Meg Ryan, a nationally syndicated television program highlighting important issues shaping our communities, partnered with the College to showcase students, faculty, alumni, and innovative approaches to preparing the next generation of Coug Nurses while bringing national attention to the urgent need to expand the healthcare workforce.
Our goal is to expand simulation-based education so we can educate more nurses across our state. Simulation bridges classroom learning with clinical readiness, helping students enter practice with confidence while creating opportunities to grow our programs.
Dean Anne Mason
At the College’s Center for Experiential Learning, students build clinical judgment, communication, and technical skills in realistic healthcare settings before ever caring for a patient. Using a combination of highfidelity manikins and standardized patients, students practice everything from routine assessments to complex, emotionally charged situations in a safe environment that also eases pressure on hospitals and clinical partners already facing staffing shortages.
Coug Nurse Kinsey Dewan shared, “One of the biggest factors why I chose WSU is because of the simulation center. I really wanted an education that would foster me moving from being a student into being a nurse and working in the clinical setting… it’s a very low pressure, realistic environment.”
WSU College of Nursing is currently pursuing International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation (INACSL) accreditation that would allow for increasing the number of curriculum hours delivered through simulation. Achieving this vision requires continued investment. The cameras may be shining a national spotlight on the nursing workforce crisis, but lasting change depends on people willing to invest in the solution. With your support, WSU College of Nursing can expand student capacity, strengthen simulation-based education, and prepare more compassionate, practice-ready Coug Nurses for the communities that need them most.