Orbis Solutions in Action

Orbis Full Circle Solutions follow a detailed plan that has been thoroughly tested in the field. Our process starts with due diligence and moves through successful graduation.

Step One: Due Diligence

Before Orbis implements a collaborative solution for your healthcare system, it is important to learn about the underlying marketplace, the economic conditions, and the feasibility of such a solution. To do this, Orbis offers a free due diligence and feasibility assessment with no required commitment on your part. In this due diligence phase, a team visits your facilities to learn about your process first-hand so that we can implement the best possible solution for your business. Among the items we will investigate:

• Potential local college partnerships and regulatory hurdles
• Interviews with your staff to learn about your system’s needs
• Market intelligence
• The current and future cost of your nursing shortage
• A net present value of a collaborative solution

If you would like to schedule a no obligation, due diligence assessment, please take a moment to contact us.

Step Two: Program Development

Once you have determined that the Orbis collaborative solution will benefit your organization, we begin our implementation phase. During this timeframe, we work with a college to migrate their program to an online format and to gain all necessary regulatory approvals. We do prefer to work with our existing network of educational suppliers, but understand that some market conditions dictate that we bring in new affiliations.

It is our preference to offer accelerated, online nursing education. We have worked with schools to offer “accelerated second degree BSN programs” which allow students to earn a BSN in as little as 14 months. We also offer RN-to-BSN programs and MSN programs as the market conditions dictate. As Orbis has grown, healthcare and nursing education thought leaders have again and again expressed a preference for baccalaureate-educated registered nurses. Following this train of thought, we currently do not have any associate degree or vocational nursing programs and do not anticipate adding them in the near-term.

The program development phase requires your organization to allocate a point person to work with our project managers, but there are NO capital expenses required of your organization to get the ball moving. Our team will construct a detailed project and will manage the project with your input and guidance. Orbis remains a transparent, “behind the scenes” player in this arrangement – we make sure everything works.

Step Three: Infrastructure and Staffing

Parallel to the program development step, Orbis will begin all infrastructure and staffing responsibilities. This includes finding and procuring office space, equipment, and other resources necessary to operate a successful nursing program. We will create a skills laboratory, a computer laboratory, and other areas. We will utilize leading-edge technologies to help orient students using equipment that they will see in your facilities. In addition, we will hire all the necessary staff (in partnership with the college) to educate the next generation of nurses at your facilities. Although we fully anticipate that members of your staff will want to work with us on the project, we do not require you to “donate” faculty or other resources. (Many of our partners do, however, choose to make in-kind contributions to the program in lieu of paying our small monthly service fees and we are happy to discuss this arrangement with you.)

Step Four: Awareness

Our marketing group will work with your staff and the college to develop a brand and customer experience congruent with the goals of both organizations. Orbis Education is transparent in all marketing – students will only see the brands of the hospital and the college. However, Orbis will handle the expense of all marketing and advertising for the program.

Step Five: Student Recruitment

Orbis, hand-in-hand with our education partner, is responsible for finding students. We work directly with the college to find highly qualified students. We interview them on behalf of the college and we help the students with their applications. The students we want are the students that your organization wants – those who will stay with your healthcare system after graduation. Our mission is to educate clinically competent, critical thinkers who share your values. Our goal is to find these people in your staff and in your community and encourage them to apply for the school.

Step Six: Admission and Financial Aid

Admission and financial aid is typically handled exclusively by the college. Students will be eligible for all forms of financial aid through both government and private funding, as well as for scholarships available to nurses. If your organization offers tuition reimbursement, students may choose to take advantage of this also. Some of our healthcare provider partners elect to offer some additional financial assistance to students (or graduates) but this is not required. (We can make a solid financial case to do so, but it is your decision!)

Step Seven: Online Learning

One of the foundations of the Orbis program is our commitment to online learning. In partnership with our education affiliates, we’ve created blended programs that take some of the strongest components of the traditional learning experience, face-to-face interaction and faculty-led coursework, and combine them with the flexibility and efficiency of online coursework. Students still complete the clinical portion of their education in your facility but you do not have to find the building space to host new classrooms for the non-clinical work. Our online learning model also allows schools to be more flexible with the location of faculty – these programs will not draw upon your regional faculty as would a traditional program.

Step Eight: Clinical Learning

The clinical learning components of our programs are hands-on and take place in your hospital system. When students graduate they are already well-versed in your system, policies and procedures. This preparation significantly reduces your orientation time – while most hospitals spend three months orienting a new graduate nurse, the graduates from our collaborative programs are often ready in half that time. We work with your staff to determine the best available use of space so as not to interfere with spaces currently in use. Combined with our online learning it’s the perfect blend of technology and tradition.

Step Nine: Graduate Clinically-Competent BSNs

Upon graduation, students receive a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Already steeped in your values and culture, these graduates can begin working immediately after passing their license exams (or as “graduate nurses”, depending on your state’s rules and regulations). Orbis puts the pieces together but remains completely transparent through the entire process. In partnership with the college or university, you have created an ideal nursing pipeline.

Step Ten: Repeat and Scale

We prefer that our collaborative education solutions are as accessible as possible. We typically ask our educational partners to offer at least three starts per year – significantly more than traditional “on the ground” programs. Our goal is to keep class sizes efficient for the hospital and for us to manage. The end result is a renewable and scalable program within your system that provides a source of high quality nurses for years to come.