“We have listened to the recommendations of our students, alumni, community and health care partners to constantly improve our programs and ensure that we are in the forefront of knowledge and technology.  On-line and web-enhanced courses enable our students to meet the challenges of combining school and work. Scholarship and traineeship support has grown dramatically over the lasts few years, with over $500,000 provided to our students in the last two years alone.”
	- Elizabeth Poster, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean, School of Nursing

Case for Support
With the current and projected shortages of RNs in the state of Texas is between 28,000 and 40,000, increasing the number of professional nurses is vital to improving the nation’s health care industry. The University of Texas at Arlington’s School of Nursing is meeting this need with a diverse set of educational options delivered by outstanding faculty dedicated to fostering student success.

Programs for the school’s more than 1,000 students include the bachelor of science in nursing (BSN), RN to BSN, and master of science in Nursing (MSN) and Ph.D. Post-master’s nurse practitioner certifications, RNFA courses, continuing nursing education courses and the Rural Health Outreach Program further extend the school’s influence throughout the region.

Excellence
The School of Nursing’s faculty, students and alumni continue to distinguish themselves:

• BSN students annually provide more than 100,000 service learning hours at area hospitals and health care agencies. The value of their time is estimated at more than $1 million.
• Graduates of the school’s nurse practitioner program—the largest with 350 students, and oldest in Texas—annually exceed the national passing rate on certification examinations with 98-100% pass rates.
• Launched in 2003, the school’s Ph.D. program prepares nurse scholars to be researchers and educators to meet the needs of the nation’s vulnerable and culturally diverse population.

Student Gloria Carr commutes all the way from Memphis, Tennessee, to be part of the growing doctoral program. “I had heard that UT Arlington had a great nursing school, and it has certainly lived up to my expectations,” she said. “The faculty are very nurturing and supportive.” They are also committed to excellence in teaching, scholarship, clinical practice, community service and leadership.

Future Direction
Nursing students benefit from state-of-the-art science and technology equipment such as human patient simulators, high-fidelity computerized manakins that breathe, blink, cry and bleed. These 27 manikins are part of the school’s plans to develop a virtual hospital, the Smart Hospital and Health System, to serve as a national demonstration center for education of health care providers and research and development of health care innovations. The School of Nursing has been designated as the 6th National Laerdal Center of Excellence in simulation-Fall 2005.

The use of simulated patients will allow UTA to overcome the current “patient bound” restrictions on clinical education and workforce development. Moreover, the Smart Hospital and Health System will permit the UTA School of Nursing and its multidisciplinary partners to develop and test new models and methods for increasing workforce capacity, reducing health care costs, and enhancing safety for health care consumers.

Contact
Dr. Elizabeth C. Poster, RN, FAAN, Dean
School of Nursing
Pickard Hall, Box 19407
Arlington, TX 76019
817/ 272-2776
http://www.uta.edu/nursing/

Karen Mullowney
Director of Development
School of Nursing, School of Social Work
701 S. Nedderman Dr., Rm. 421, Box 19198
Arlington, Texas 76019
(817) 272-0655