The University of Texas at
Arlington Doing its Part to Keep
North Texas Healthy
With the demand for full-time registered
nurses expected to exceed the supply by
70,000 in 2020, according to the Texas
Center for Nursing Workforce Studies, it’s
good to know we have the University of Texas at Arlington
(UTA) providing a solution to the shortage.
The UTA College of Nursing and Health Innovation’s online
nursing curriculum has one of the state’s highest graduation
and licensure rates, with graduation and first-time National
Council Licensure Examination pass rates exceeding 90
percent. The innovative accelerated bachelor of science
degree in nursing program provides blended online,
technology-enhanced courses with faculty-supervised clinical
experiences at partner hospitals throughout the state. By
delivering coursework online, UTA is able to admit more
nursing students. By helping them gain hands-on experience
in hospitals, the program is able to graduate nurses that will
make a difference.
The majority of clinical experiences students receive takes
place in the healthcare partner’s facilities, enhancing the
new graduate’s readiness to practice while minimizing the
time needed for new nurse orientation, ultimately saving
the healthcare organization both time and money.
According to Jeanean Boyd, DNP, MSN,
RN, chair of undergraduate nursing for
the College of Nursing and Health
Innovation at UTA, there are many
benefits to students partnering with
hospitals for clinical rotations. “Not only
does our nursing faculty supervise
students in the facilities, but they also become role
models,” she said. “Often, the host hospital will hire our
graduates; some are already employees.
“The benefit of networking is it connects education with
hospitals, and you become partners, as well as a
partnering between nurses. We keep in touch with how
the practice is changing, what skills are needed for
nurses, and what our young students need to understand
for overall care.”
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UTA’s nurse practitioner master’s of science in nursing
(MSN) online program is helping fill another gap – where
there simply aren’t enough physicians to provide care,
nurse practitioners can step in and provide care themselves,
operating at the top of their licensure and maximizing
their potential. By offering courses online, UTA is able
to reach a population of nurses, most who are working,
many of whom with families, who want to achieve a higher
level of education and experience but do not have the
time or resources to stop working to devote themselves
only to pursuing a graduate degree. UTA’s online MSN
program allows them to do both and, with five programs
offered, allows them to become a specialist in an area that
they are interested in pursuing: pediatric acute care nurse
practitioner, pediatric primary care nurse practitioner,
adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner, adult
gerontology primary care nurse practitioner and family
nurse practitioner.
This advanced training allows nurses to handle the many
aspects of patient care, each specific to their area of
expertise. The family nurse practitioner, for example,
receives intensive training in the primary care practice
to manage the needs of patients and families at each
stage of life, with specialized knowledge in the areas
of pharmacology, diagnostics, health assessment and
advanced research and clinical management. They
complete clinical experiences that prepare them for a
role as an advanced practice primary care nurse.
UTA partners with healthcare facilities that provide
the opportunity for nurses to get a nurse practitioner
certificate. Many nurses choose to do clinical requirements
in the facility where they already work. These facilities have
realized the best way to recruit a nurse practitioner is to
take the nurse as a student, cutting the orientation process
in half, with an added benefit that they reap for identifying
people that are committed to their organization and to
achieving a higher level of education and training.