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The School of
Nursing
The School of Nursing, an integral component of The University of Texas at Arlington, seeks to assure health care of the highest quality for the people of Texas. Through its baccalaureate, graduate and continuing education programs, the School of Nursing is committed to the preparation, enhancement and development of individuals who will use professional nursing roles to collaborate with other professionals and consumers in the delivery of health care. The faculty believes in the promotion and support of excellence in professional nursing through teaching, scholarly endeavors and community service. The faculty subscribes to a philosophy in which the person is viewed holistically. A person has unique and complex needs that are communicated through a variety of behaviors in the process of living and dying. Each person has unique environmental, physiological, psychosocial-cultural, philosophical, developmental and spiritual dimensions with inherent dignity, worth and responsibility to society. Each person has the right to health care provided through interdisciplinary collaboration. Nursing, as a part of the health care delivery system, is a socially determined profession whose practice evolves in response to the needs of individuals, families, groups, communities and societies. These needs provide direction for the current and emerging roles of professional nursing practice. The professional nurse, guided by concern for quality of life, functions in diverse practice settings with persons of various cultures. Professional nursing practice encompasses the application of knowledge and skills in the management of nursing care. Nursing, utilizing research and implemented through the merging of nursing process and roles, is accountable for helping the person toward the maximum potential for daily living. Learning, a continuous lifelong process, is the responsibility of each individual. In nursing education, learning experiences are planned to achieve sequence, continuity and synthesis of knowledge and skills as defined by the educational objectives. The teaching and learning processes involve the teacher and student in setting goals, selecting learning experiences, evaluating student progress and appraising instructional methods. Faculty and students share the responsibility for creating an educational climate which fosters intellectual inquiry, critical thinking and creativity; facilitates the development of each person's potential; and reflects democratic values and ethical principles. Undergraduate nursing education is based upon studies in the arts, sciences and humanities and provides a foundation for continuing personal, professional and educational development. The baccalaureate program is designed to prepare a competent, self-directed, general practitioner of nursing who can assume increasing responsibility and leadership in the delivery of nursing care for individuals, families, groups, communities and societies. Graduate nursing education builds on a foundation of undergraduate nursing education and provides an opportunity for professional nurses to develop a specialty practice that is congruent with an expanding theoretical and empirical knowledge base. The graduate program in nursing is designed to assist professional nurses to prepare for advanced clinical and functional roles that require increased accountability, expertise and leadership. The master's program facilitates the use of the research process through the course of study and prepares the graduate to be a critical thinker and a self-directed professional who collaborates with consumers and other health care providers. Continuing education in nursing is based upon the premise that maintaining competency in nursing practice is the responsibility of each professional nurse. The faculty believes it is the responsibility of the School of Nursing to be sensitive to the influences inherent in a changing society and to respond to the continuing educational needs of professional nurses in Texas. The UTA School of Nursing was established in 1971 as the U.T. System School of Nursing in Fort Worth and was housed in John Peter Smith Hospital. The first baccalaureate class enrolled in fall of 1972; the graduate program (MSN) began in 1975. In 1976, the school became an academic unit of UTA, moving to the campus in 1977. The Undergraduate Program consists of the BSN and the RN to BSN programs. In addition to the Arlington campus, the RN to BSN program is offered via videotape and site coordinators on the following extended campuses in the following rural areas (parenthesis indicate the year in which each program was established): Texarkana (1985 to 1995), Waco (1989), Grayson (1990), Paris (1990) and Kaufman (1996). The Graduate Program offers a Master of Science in Nursing with preparation as a nurse practitioner in the areas of Acute Care (1996), Adult (1989), Child Health/Pediatric (1985), Family (1975), Gerontology (1984) and Psychiatric/Mental Health (1995). In addition, the UTA Graduate Nursing Program offers preparation in nursing administration and the functional roles of educator and administrator. The school began offering a professional field in nursing as part of the Ph.D. in Urban and Public Administration, fall 1996. Since the fall of 1976, the school has graduated more than 4,500 individuals with baccalaureate degrees and more than 900 with an MSN, of which 450 are prepared as nurse practitioners. Currently, UTA has an enrollment of approximately 260 master's students and eight students in the doctoral professional field. In addition to the academic programs of the school, support programs include Continuing Nursing Education and the Rural Health Outreach Program (1975). The school also has a Center for Nursing Research (1987), a Center for Health Services (1996) and the Center for Hispanic/Latin American Studies in Nursing and Health (1996). The Learning Resources Center offers a variety of services to undergraduate and graduate students (see the section on Special Programs and Opportunities for details). The Master of Science in Nursing degree program is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). An annually updated source for the program's required tuition, fees and program length is: NLNAC, 61 Broadway, New York, NY 10006 (telephone: 800-669-1656 ext 153 or 212-363-5555). Scholastic Activities and Research Interests of the Faculty The research programs of School of Nursing faculty are diverse. A sampling of their areas of study includes Hispanic health care (Dr. Mary Lou Bond and Mary Elaine Jones); effects of nursing care interventions such as enemas (Dr. Marilee Schmelzer); patient education (Dr. Carolyn L. Cason); chemical dependency and abuse (Drs. Cheryl Anderson and Diane Snow); care of persons with HIV disease and AIDS (Dr. Jennifer Gray); sickle cell disease (Dr. Phyllis Adams); cancer (Drs. Nancy Burns and Karen Heusinkveld); care of the elderly (Drs. Ferne Kyba and Barbara Raudonis); adolescent pregnancy (Dr. Imelda Nwogea); care of ill children (Drs. Laura Gibson and Andi Smith); and health services research (Drs. Susan K. Grove and Reni Courtney). Special Programs and Opportunities
Mission: To provide quality continuing nursing education for the improvement of nursing practice and health care in North Texas. The program strives to be a regional center for the advancement of professional continuing nursing education and to meet the diverse needs of nurses in most every clinical specialty and all levels of functional roles. Center for Hispanic/Latin American Studies in Nursing and Health Center for Nursing Research Center for Health Services Learning Resources Center Rural Health Outreach Program Center for Nursing Leadership Development Center for Psychopharmacology Education and Research Major Areas of Study in Nursing Nursing Administration |
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