Educating Nurses as Clinicians, Researchers, and Teachers

Nursing has changed dramatically since Florence Nightingale’s determination turned caring for the wounded and sick into a profession, rather than work undertaken by uneducated caregivers. Likewise, the education of nurses has changed dramatically, and The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston, now in its 30th anniversary year, has been a major player.

Part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the UT-Houston School of Nursing is recognized by U.S. News & World Report, ranking in the top 12 percent of 272 nursing schools cited as the best in the country. At No. 32, we are well on the way to achieving our goal of entering the top 10 percent of U.S. nursing schools. (The rankings are based on surveys of nursing school deans.) UT-Houston is also among the top tier of schools of nursing nationwide receiving research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

In a recent national accreditation visit, alumni and other nursing leaders in the community described the UT-Houston School of Nursing as the "innovator" – always on the cutting edge, introducing new trends. The school was granted the maximum number of years of accreditation with "no recommendations."

The school, in part, enjoys the reputation as "innovator" because our faculty and students conduct diverse studies that have strong potential for changing clinical care. For example, one nurse researcher is examining the role of heart-rate variability as a predictor of fetal and newborn health. Her project is derived from new theories and uses cutting-edge biomedical computational techniques to monitor the pattern of heart rate in utero, through labor and delivery, and in the early neonatal period. Preliminary results suggest major differences in patterns between pre- and full-term infants who are sick or healthy.

What sets us apart is the broad scope of our coursework and a wide variety of clinical settings in which students and faculty can study, conduct research and participate in clinical practice. We are proudly associated with every health care institution in the Texas Medical Center and many in the greater Houston community.

Because nursing roles are very comprehensive and complex, our nursing school has focused on preparing students at the baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral levels. Our graduates are much in demand around the country in patient care, clinical research, nursing education and nursing leadership.

We are confidently addressing the current and predicted future shortage of nurses in a number of ways:

• The school’s UT Health Services is a national model for a successful nurse practitioner-run clinic, providing primary care and occupational health services to our internal community and many Houston-area businesses and industries. The program works with physicians in an interdisciplinary team model, teaching nursing students excellent clinical care and the business aspects of practice.
• We are a national model for recruitment of males into nursing. This fiscal year, 29.5 percent of our program participants are men versus the 5.9 percent national average.
• We are expanding our enrollment at the baccalaureate level and offering a Baccalaureate Plus program to applicants with prior non-nursing baccalaureate degrees.
• We are beginning a program in distance learning by offering selected bachelor of science in nursing courses from the UT-Houston B.S.N. program to other sites in the community, pending approval.
• Our 11-track master’s programs include the first Emergency Nurse Practitioner program in the country (our faculty literally wrote the book, co-authoring the "Standard of Practice Manual for Emergency Nurse Practitioners") and the only graduate oncology nursing program in Texas.
• Our doctor of science in nursing degree program offers the only clinical nursing doctorate in Texas. It prepares senior clinicians, clinical researchers, outcomes researchers and faculty to teach future generations of nurses. One of our recent D.S.N. graduates has undertaken a postdoctoral fellowship in genetics research, studying ways to treat high blood pressure through drug regimens keyed to genetic makeup. She is also project director for Tex-Gen, a collaborative research effort targeting genetic aspects of cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer by collecting DNA and other information on a voluntary basis from thousands of patients each year in Texas Medical Center hospitals.
• UT-Houston offered the first on-site graduate nursing program in the Rio Grande Valley, educating nearly 50 nurses to become faculty members and nurse leaders in their communities. After eight years, we helped UT-Pan Am take over the graduate program, which successfully continues today.
• After a request from UT-El Paso, in 1998 we began bringing doctoral nursing education to that community through interactive television. Nearly 15 nurses from that region have obtained advanced education through this collaboration.
• Last fall, the nursing school and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center signed an agreement to offer a new opportunity for nurses to earn a master of science in nursing degree with an emphasis in clinical research management. These nurses will be prepared to manage clinical trials.

All of our current and future programs will be enhanced with the 2004 opening of the new UT-Houston School of Nursing and Student Community Center building, which will provide:

• a state-of-the-art facility for the education of nurses and for nursing research;
• interaction with all UT-Houston students (in addition to housing the nursing school, the building will house the UT-Houston student government offices, a bookstore and a cafeteria); and
• interaction with the greater-Houston area through continuing nursing education and community outreach programs.

The new building has been designed and will be built based on fundamental principles that are tied to our mission and role as healers and good citizens. The building will steward resources, do no harm, benefit others in the present and the future, and respect the environment.

Through our role in nursing education and through this sustainable building, we continue – as part of the UT-Houston Health Science Center – to lead the way to better health.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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