WGU Ohio Salutes Night Shift Nurses

To honor the service and professionalism of nurses who face extra pressures from work on the night shift, Western Governors University Ohio (WGU Ohio) is delivering Night Shift Nurse Appreciation Kits this week to a number of Ohio hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the state.

WGU Ohio’s salute specifically recognizes nurses’ service in the early hours of November 7, when clocks are set back to end daylight savings time and night shift nurses face an extra hour of work. Each Night Shift Nurse Appreciation Kit contains a handwritten note of thanks from WGU Ohio faculty and staff along with items such as snacks, sleep masks, coffee, hot chocolate, pens, lip balm, and post-it notes. This is the third straight year that WGU Ohio has delivered this special recognition.

“Healthcare professionals deserve our praise every day of the year, especially after an unrelenting year and a half of COVID-19 stress. An extra hour of duty on November 7 gives us one more reason to recognize their service,” said Dr. K.L. Allen, Chancellor of WGU Ohio.

“As educators who help so many Ohioans prepare for a nursing career or upgrade their skills, all of us at WGU Ohio understand the extra pressures felt by healthcare workers on night-shift duty,” Allen said. “Quite a number of the students in our nursing degree programs are also night shift nurses. They appreciate WGU’s flexible, online approach to higher education, which allows them to advance in their careers and study on their own schedules while also providing quality care to their patients.”

In addition to its Night Nurse Appreciation Kits, WGU Ohio is once again offering WGU Night Shift Scholarships of up to $4,000 to for night shift workers in any profession who are enrolled in any of WGU’s bachelor’s or master’s degree programs.

WGU Ohio offers a wide range of accredited, online health programs and nursing school courses to help nurses and other health professionals earn additional credentials so they can improve patient care while they advance their careers.

WGU was established in 1997 by a partnership of state governors to offer students, particularly adult learners, the chance to go to college while working and caring for their families. In 2018, Ohio became the 27th state to join the WGU partnership, offering a new pathway for Ohioans to seek careers in such in-demand careers as healthcare and nursing, business, teaching, and information technology.