Alabama Student Nurse Apprenticeships

Program Description: 

Nursing apprenticeships allow current nursing students to complete their required clinic hours under the guidance of a “journeyman” or mentor, who they work with one-on-one. Most nursing students’ clinic hours are unpaid, but Alabama’s apprenticeship program ensures that students receive compensation for their work. Alabama’s nursing apprenticeship program was instituted via Alabama Act 2021-275, which allows the Alabama Board of Nursing to regulate Student Nurse Apprenticeships and created a separate license for these apprenticeships. 
 
This program aims to help alleviate the nursing shortage, and tackles the leaky pipeline from nursing assistant to licensed practical nurse and registered nurse. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) wages can be too low to afford the up-front cost of a higher degree, even with tuition reimbursements. The process for reimbursement can also be difficult to navigate. This program allows students to offset some of the cost of tuition, making it more accessible. As of December 2025, 80 employers and 28 colleges and universities have created nursing apprenticeship programs. Unlike other nursing apprenticeships, this program targets students: not already-licensed RNs and LPNs. 

Impact:

Since 2022, 450 nurses have completed apprenticeships with this program. Students are required to stay at the hospital they train at for one year after completing internships, but many stay beyond that. Mobile Infirmary in Mobile, Alabama has hosted 90 Student Nursing Apprentices since 2022, and 85 of them are still employed by the hospital. Nationally, only 3 percent of CNAs complete further higher education due to financial barriers. This program helps to eliminate those barriers while also letting nursing students complete their required clinical hours. 
 
Students say that they learn more via the one-on-one time they receive as apprentices than they would learn in traditional clinic hours, which are completed in groups. 
 
Staff retention is higher for students who complete a hospital’s apprenticeship than those who don’t. The attrition rate for students who undergo apprenticeships seems to be lower than before the program was implemented. 

Population Served: 

Lower-income students, students already employed in the healthcare field facing financial barriers to nursing. 

Obstacles Faced: 

• Lack of journeymen/mentors, since one mentor is required for each Student Nursing Apprentice. 

• Strict licensing requirements mean that nursing apprenticeship programs need to be carefully selected and defined. 

• Clearly defining scope of practice for Student Nursing Apprentices 

Learn more here.

Page last updated in August 2026