In just over a year since its move to the University of Houston System’s flagship university, UH’s nursing school has reached its number-one strategic goal on its ambitious timeline. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board acknowledged the completion of criteria for reclassifying the school, which officially became the UH College of Nursing March 2. A name-change reception will be held tomorrow.
“This change comes at a wonderful time in the history of the University of Houston,”
said Kathryn Tart, founding dean of the now College of Nursing. “We’re delighted to
be part of this story, helping the UH Health initiative grow and, in particular, becoming
part of its mission to serve the community, because that’s what nursing is all about.”
Reclassifying the school to a college opens the door for providing opportunities for
endowed scholarships, professorships and chairs, as well as naming opportunities for
the college. It also will help better promote graduate programs in nursing education,
with plans to move into doctoral education with Doctor of Nursing Practice and Doctor
of Philosophy degrees.
Already offering a number of degree options, UH’s nursing program offers degrees to
suit all career levels, from freshly minted nurses to experienced nurses wishing to
expand upon their training by securing additional degrees. Of particular importance
in today’s health care climate is the college’s Second Degree Bachelor of Science
in Nursing (BSN) program.
In its report on the future of nursing, the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued a call to action for 80 percent of nurses
to have a BSN degree or higher by year 2020, as well as doubling the number of nurses
holding doctoral degrees.
“This has been one of the driving missions of UH’s nursing program,” Tart said. “Evidence
shows having a higher percentage of nurses with a bachelor’s degree caring for people
in hospitals results in better patient outcomes, as measured by nurse-quality indicators
such as fewer deaths, infections and falls.”
The Second Degree BSN track is an accelerated, pre-licensure program for post-baccalaureate
students who already hold bachelor’s or master’s degrees in other fields and want
to become registered nurses (RNs). The program is designed to facilitate a career
change for more mature and experienced students, combining two years’ worth of work
into 12 months. Upon completion, they can sit for their national licensure exam, and
Tart notes that their graduates have accomplished three years of 100-percent, first-time
pass rates on the national licensure exam. Compared to 84 percent nationwide and 85
percent in Texas, UH’s 100-percent pass rate places the college in the top 5 percent
of the nation.
Another bachelor’s degree option offered is the RN to BSN completion program, designed
specifically for working registered nurses who have completed their associate’s degree
and subsequent RN licensure. The degree program is for RNs who wish to advance their
professional qualifications, while continuing to live and work in the area. Tart says
this is part of the reason why the program is based at the University of Houston Sugar
Land Campus, with Methodist, Memorial Hermann, CHI St. Luke’s, Texas Children’s, Oak
Bend and M.D. Anderson having hospitals in communities right where the students live
and work.
At the graduate level, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is offered, allowing nurses
to build upon their BSN degrees to become leaders in advanced practice roles, such
as nurse educators, nurse administrators and family nurse practitioners. The MSN family
nurse practitioner graduates have had a 100-percent pass rate on their national certification
exams each year since the program started. Tart adds that the master’s level nursing
education track is particularly helpful in light of the current nursing shortage,
because the profession is in need of more educators. More educators mean having the
ability to admit more students to nursing programs. Additionally, nurse administrators
are needed in multiple leadership roles for hospitals, clinics and health care facilities.
“It’s remarkable that we’ve been granted college status in such a short timeframe
since coming under the umbrella of the University of Houston from UH-Victoria,” Tart
said. “UH Provost Paula Short, who championed this reclassification, was integral
to us reaching this milestone a year and a half ahead of schedule.”
An unveiling ceremony of the new logo and signage will take place March 9 at the Sugar
Land campus. The College of Nursing will become the 14th college at the University
of Houston.
Link: http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2017/March/030817NursingCollege.php
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation’s fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 42,700 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country. For more information about UH, visit the university’s newsroom at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/.
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