As the economy recovers, many more nurses will retire (Staiger, Auerbach, & Buerhaus, 2012). A decrease in the nursing workforce has far-reaching implications for the quality and safety of patient care (Snavely, 2016). Patient care acuity, increased technology, and increasing need for quality and safety initiatives are but a few factors that have increased the complexity of nursing care demanding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) prepared nurse or higher in practice.

In response, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued its Future of Nursing report recommending sweeping changes in nursing education and practice (IOM, 2010). Unfortunately, a BSN nursing workforce takes longer to produce. Innovative recruitment efforts targeted to diminish the preparation time for a well-educated nursing workforce are urgently needed. One such effort is the collaboration between nursing and school counselors to adequately prepare middle and high school students interested in nursing resulting in seamless transitions to baccalaureate nursing programs.