Preceptor Development Workshop

Join the Harvard School of Public Health Nurses’ Health Study III

Dear Nurse Colleagues and Nursing Students,
Please consider joining the Harvard School of Public Health Nurses’ Health Study III. The study is ONLY for nurses, which makes it very unique. The longitudinal research study is meaningful to our future. I have been in the Nurses’ Health Study II for 25 years and consider it a privilege to assist with health research. Typically I receive one survey a year that asks about my health, diet, exercise. At times they have asked for x-ray records, blood samples, urine samples, finger nail clippings. I also receive updates and reports from the study.

Please share this email with other nurses and ask them to join with you! You will be glad you did!!

Sincerely,
Dr. Tart

2010 Women of Excellence!

This Saturday, I was the guest of Debra Belgard, RN, MS, at the Federation of Houston Professional Women. Mrs. Belgard, helped teach the Perioperative Nursing Care elective course this summer. She is past president of the AORN group in Houston. We were able to meet Anise Parker, Houston’s mayor, at the event. It was fun celebrating Mrs. Belgard’s accomplishment as one of the 2010 Women of Excellence!

Sincerely,
Dr. Tart

Welcome Message for Fall 2010

Dear UHV School of Nursing Students,

Welcome to the new semester! We have the largest enrollment in our history and are excited to welcome each of you! Your faculty have a great store of knowledge that they are excited to share in your quest to advance yourself in the nursing profession as leaders.

Here are some important updates you will see this semester.

First, Black Board will be loaded for your courses on Monday. Faculty are busy getting their courses uploaded this week and will have the syllabi, course schedule, documents, links, calendars, and course information for you when you get to class. The University and SON will use your UHV email account to send and receive communications. Roberto Tonsul, our on-line support technician, will be available to assist you with any questions. His number is 361-570-4299 and his email is tonsulr@uhv.edu.

Second, you will see faculty CVs and undergraduate course syllabi three clicks away on the www.uhv.edu web site. All universities in the State of Texas must meet this “three clicks away” requirement as outlined in HB 2504 legislation.

Next, I want to invite you to Coffee with the Dean this semester. I will meet with students in Victoria on October 5^th, and with students in Sugar Land and Cinco Ranch on October 7^th. More information will follow.

Ultimately, I wish for you a very exciting semester! The SON faculty and staff are dedicated to helping you learn and explore the many aspects of nursing you will be studying.

Sincerely,

Dean Tart

National organization selects UHV School of Nursing dean for advocacy award

Originally published May 22, 2010 at 8:06 p.m., updated May 22, 2010 at 8:06 p.m.

Kathryn Tart, founding dean of the University of Houston-Victoria School of Nursing, recently was selected from 646 nursing deans across the nation to receive the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Advocate of the Year award for her work on behalf of the nursing profession.
"Dr. Tart is the founding dean of a young nursing program and has clearly made it a priority to engage in the advancement of nursing education and research policy on behalf of nursing students and faculty across the country," said Teri Murray, chair of the association's Government Affairs Committee and dean of the School of Nursing at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Mo.
Tart was named the 2009 AACN Advocate of the Year at the association's spring meeting in Washington, D.C. The award was given based on the visits Tart made to legislators during the association's spring and fall meetings, and the nursing advocacy messages she sent to legislators during the year.
"If we don't advocate for our profession, then policy changes occur more slowly or don't happen at all," Tart said. "I just feel very honored to have the UHV School of Nursing get more national exposure with this award."
Tart, who started her position at UHV in September 2008, has spoken with legislators both at the state and national level about the UHV School of Nursing and the importance of funding for nursing education, she said.
UHV didn't have a nursing program until 2006, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board didn't approve a proposal until 2007 to allow the university to create a School of Nursing. The school now offers bachelor's and master's degrees in Victoria, Sugar Land and Katy. Its first attempt at national accreditation paid off in October when the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education fully accredited the school's undergraduate and graduate programs for the next five years.
"We're a new school and I'm a new dean, so I just thought it was really important for me to get involved," she said.
Tart has written letters on her own time to U.S. legislators asking them to support Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act, which provides funding for nurses, nursing students, nursing schools and healthcare facilities. Increased funding for nursing students is important so that more nurses will get advanced degrees, she said.
"Educational progression is so important within our profession because the more educated the nurse, the better care he or she can give patients," Tart said.
UHV President Tim Hudson said he has been impressed with Tart's work ethic since she first came to UHV.
"She is constantly educating people about the UHV School of Nursing and the nursing profession," he said. "I couldn't think of a more deserving recipient for this national award."

MITIE Simulation Experience

Perioperative Experience