Key Takeaways
- Spokane is a growing healthcare hub in eastern Washington, with nursing programs at WSU Spokane, Gonzaga University, and Spokane Community College feeding a regional workforce that benefits from strong RN demand projected by the BLS.
- Washington State University's College of Nursing in Spokane leverages the WSU Health Sciences campus and clinical partnerships at Providence Sacred Heart and MultiCare Deaconess.
- Gonzaga University's Department of Nursing offers a highly regarded BSN program in the Jesuit tradition, with strong community health and social-justice components.
- Eastern Washington University (EWU) provides a BSN completion and graduate nursing program accessible to working RNs across the Inland Northwest.
- Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College offer ADN pathways that are significantly more affordable than four-year programs and enjoy strong local hospital hiring relationships.
- Spokane's lower cost of living compared to Seattle makes nursing salaries stretch further, attracting students who want excellent training without the Seattle price tag.
Spokane's Rise as an Inland Northwest Nursing Education Hub
Spokane is frequently overlooked in conversations about Pacific Northwest nursing education, overshadowed by the University of Washington's national reputation in Seattle. That oversight is a mistake. Spokane has assembled an impressive cluster of nursing programs anchored by Washington State University's Health Sciences campus, supported by Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University, and the Spokane area community colleges. Combined with a healthcare economy that has been growing steadily as Spokane becomes the dominant regional medical center for a vast swath of eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana, the city offers a compelling combination of quality training and excellent post-graduation employment prospects.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook projects a 6 percent increase in registered nurse employment nationally through 2032, but regional shortages in areas like eastern Washington are far more acute. Spokane's major health systems -- Providence Health and Services (Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center) and MultiCare Health System (Deaconess and Valley hospitals) -- are perpetually hiring nurses, and both have invested in nursing residency and preceptorship programs specifically designed to retain locally trained graduates.
Washington State University College of Nursing -- Spokane
WSU's College of Nursing is distributed across multiple campuses but has a significant and growing presence in Spokane through the WSU Health Sciences campus -- a collaborative academic medical complex shared with the University of Washington School of Medicine's WWAMI regional program, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, and other health professions programs. The co-location of multiple health sciences programs on one Spokane campus creates opportunities for interprofessional education that many nursing programs cannot offer.
WSU Spokane's nursing programs include a pre-licensure BSN (available both on the Spokane campus and at partnership sites), an RN-to-BSN completion track, and a graduate entry Master of Nursing program. Clinical rotations are conducted primarily at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center -- the region's Level II trauma center -- MultiCare Deaconess, and a network of community health sites that expose students to the rural and frontier health challenges unique to eastern Washington.
WSU's research focus on nursing workforce issues, rural health, and health disparities aligns with the real challenges facing nursing in the Inland Northwest. Students who pursue graduate study at WSU Spokane often engage with faculty working on federally funded research projects, giving them a research credential that stands out when applying for leadership or advanced practice positions.
WSU Spokane Nursing Programs at a Glance
- Pre-licensure BSN: traditional four-year pathway on the Spokane Health Sciences campus
- Accelerated BSN: intensive program for non-nursing bachelor's degree holders
- RN-to-BSN: online-friendly completion track for working associate-degree nurses
- Master of Nursing (MN): graduate-entry advanced practice preparation
- PhD in Nursing: research doctoral program with rural and community health emphasis
Gonzaga University: Nursing in the Jesuit Tradition
Gonzaga University, a Jesuit institution in Spokane with a national reputation for undergraduate education, offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program that blends rigorous clinical preparation with Gonzaga's signature emphasis on ethics, social justice, and servant leadership. The program is smaller and more selective than state university nursing programs, which translates into close faculty-student relationships and mentorship that many students find invaluable.
Gonzaga nursing students complete clinical rotations at Providence Sacred Heart and St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute, as well as community sites that include free clinics, homeless health services, and Native American health programs across the Inland Northwest. This breadth of clinical experience aligns with Gonzaga's mission to prepare nurses who can serve not just in well-resourced hospitals but in any setting where care is needed.
Gonzaga graduates tend to perform exceptionally well on the NCLEX licensing exam and are highly sought by employers who value both clinical competence and the professional identity formation that a Gonzaga education provides. For students who value the smaller cohort experience and the Jesuit educational tradition, Gonzaga is arguably the most distinctive nursing education option in eastern Washington.
Eastern Washington University Department of Nursing
Eastern Washington University, based in Cheney with a significant presence in Spokane, offers nursing programs that are particularly well suited to working adults seeking to advance their credentials. The RN-to-BSN program is delivered in a hybrid format that allows practicing nurses to complete their bachelor's degree while maintaining full-time employment -- a critical feature given the nursing shortage and the reluctance of experienced nurses to leave the workforce for full-time schooling.
EWU's MSN program includes tracks in nursing education and nursing administration that feed the region's acute need for nursing faculty and healthcare leaders. The nursing education track is especially important: the Inland Northwest, like most of rural America, faces a nursing faculty shortage that constrains how many students can be enrolled in nursing programs. EWU graduates who enter faculty roles are contributing directly to expanding the regional nursing pipeline.
EWU's location and tuition structure make it one of the most affordable pathways to a BSN or MSN in eastern Washington. Combined with Washington's generous higher education financial aid programs for nursing students, EWU represents an attractive option for students who need to balance cost, convenience, and credential quality.
Community College ADN Programs: Shoreline to Spokane
For students who need to enter the workforce quickly or cannot commit to a four-year program, Spokane Community College (SCC) and Spokane Falls Community College (SFCC) offer ADN programs that provide a direct route to RN licensure. SCC's nursing program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and has maintained strong NCLEX pass rates, reflecting a rigorous but supportive curriculum.
ADN graduates from Spokane-area community colleges are actively recruited by Providence and MultiCare, both of which have established hiring pipelines for local community college graduates. Many hospitals offer ADN-to-BSN tuition reimbursement programs as a benefit, recognizing that supporting bachelor's degree completion is a more cost-effective workforce strategy than recruiting experienced nurses from outside the region.
The cost advantage of a community college ADN is substantial. Total program cost at SCC or SFCC is a fraction of a BSN at Gonzaga or even WSU, and ADN nurses earn the same RN licensure and can compete for the same entry-level hospital positions. The tradeoff is that advancement to senior clinical, management, or advanced practice roles increasingly requires a BSN or higher, making the ADN-to-BSN pathway nearly universal for community college graduates who want long-term career growth.
Spokane Area ADN Programs and Community College Options
- Spokane Community College: ACEN-accredited ADN, strong Providence Sacred Heart hiring pipeline
- Spokane Falls Community College: ADN program with community health clinical focus
- Columbia Basin College (Pasco): ADN for students in the Tri-Cities region
- Big Bend Community College (Moses Lake): ADN serving the Columbia Basin rural health market
Spokane's Healthcare Economy: Clinical Sites and Employers
Spokane is the largest city between Seattle and Minneapolis that does not have a major metropolitan area nearby -- a geographic reality that makes it the undisputed healthcare hub for a vast region. Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center is the region's Level II trauma center and a 686-bed tertiary-care facility that handles cases from across eastern Washington, northern Idaho, western Montana, and portions of Alaska. MultiCare Deaconess, a 388-bed community hospital, and MultiCare Valley Hospital in Spokane Valley together form the second major health system anchor.
Beyond the two main systems, Spokane's healthcare economy includes the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, CHAS Health (a Federally Qualified Health Center with multiple sites), Shriners Hospitals for Children, and a dense network of outpatient specialty clinics. The Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, now on the Spokane Health Sciences campus, is training the next generation of physicians alongside nursing students -- an interprofessional collaboration that enriches clinical education for everyone involved.
For nursing graduates, Spokane's job market is consistently strong. BLS data on RN wages and employment shows national demand projections that translate into an even tighter local market given eastern Washington's population growth and the retirement of experienced nurses across the region. New graduates who complete local programs and build relationships during clinical rotations often receive job offers before they sit for the NCLEX.
Frequently Asked Questions
What nursing schools are in Spokane, Washington? The main nursing programs in Spokane include WSU College of Nursing (Spokane Health Sciences campus), Gonzaga University Department of Nursing, Eastern Washington University Department of Nursing, and ADN programs at Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College. All feed into Spokane's two major health systems. BLS nursing career data can help compare program types.
Is Spokane a good place to work as a nurse? Yes. Spokane is the dominant healthcare hub for a large region, and both Providence Sacred Heart and MultiCare Deaconess are major regional employers with active hiring programs. Cost of living is significantly lower than Seattle, making the effective purchasing power of a Spokane RN salary very competitive.
Do Spokane hospitals hire ADN nurses? Yes, Providence and MultiCare both hire ADN-prepared RNs and offer tuition reimbursement to support BSN completion. Washington's nursing shortage means community college graduates are actively recruited rather than deprioritized. Most ADN nurses in Spokane complete RN-to-BSN programs within a few years of hiring.
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