Welcome to the Fall 2011 semester!

Welcome to each of you to a new school year! I am looking forward to the opportunities we have in store for the School of Nursing! I am in awe of the accomplishments we have seen and the vision we have for the future. Our school has grown by 205% over the last four years!

The Future of Nursing Report that came out in October of 2010 gave 8 recommendations that will help guide our profession for the next decade.

Recommendation #4 is to: Increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalarueate degree to 80 percent by 2020. The School of Nursing's RN-BSN program now has seamless articulation agreements with Lone Star Community College System, Wharton County Junior College and The Victoria College. www.uhv.edu/nursing (click RN to BSN program). The ADN graduates from these programs can attend our UH System Cinco Ranch, UH System Sugar Land and UH Victoria campuses respectively.

If you want to know more about the report you can view it on-line at: www.iom.edu/reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health.aspx It's our profession!!!

UHV Spring Nursing Forum to bring experts to address health care changes

Please click the link below to find out about the upcoming UHV Spring Nursing Forum in Victoria. Hope students and nurses come and find out about how the Institute of Medicine report and the Affordable Care Act will impact nursing's future! What a great way to start National Nurses Week!!

http://www.uhv.edu/car/newswire/release.asp?id=1121

UHV Nurses in Austin!

Nursing students in the RN-BSN and MSN programs attended Nurse's Day at the Capitol. The pictures were provided by Judy Jacob Mathew RN BSN (thanks!!). Comments I heard from students were: "I really understand how important the legislative process is for the nursing profession." "I have joined TNA now that I have been to Austin - I see how important the organization is to protecting my license." Thanks to Dr. Neill for heading up the experience!

Coffee with the Dean event

Eighty three (83) undergraduate and graduate students and alumni made it to the Coffee with the Dean in Cinco Ranch, Sugar Land and Victoria. We had a great time being together! Great questions, laughs and ideas along with some coffee and treats..... Our thanks to Mary Beth and the doctors at OGA for the great mugs and sponsoring our event!

I am looking forward to the next Coffee with the Dean in Victoria!!!

Spring Coffee with the Dean

UHV School of Nursing Spring Forum

87.5% of First Class taking NCLEX-RN exam are RNs!

87.5 percent of the first class of students taking the NCLEX-RN exam have passed. Despite this, the Texas Board of Nursing has placed the School of Nursing on warning status because the pass rate on initial testing in two consecutive reporting periods was below 80%. In August 2009 the SON graduated its first Second Degree BSN class of 17 students. The initial testing results were 77.78% (7 passed of the 9 testing) for the 2009 reporting period. The initial testing results were 28.57% (2 passed of the 7 testing) for the 2010 reporting period. The students were strongly encouraged to take the test in the 2009 reporting period, however, they did not. On April 5, 2010 a Self Study was submitted to the Texas Board of Nursing. The Self Study evaluated factors which contributed to graduates’ performance and included a description of corrective measures that were implemented. Major problems included inadequate admission criteria for the first cohort, nursing faculty who were new to BSN education and unprepared for the technological requirements, and the logistics of teaching a compressed curriculum. In September 2009 the University did not hold classes for three (3) weeks because of Hurricane Ike. This confounding event compressed this initial class even further. In all actuality the two year pass rate represents one class of 17 students. Currently, fourteen (14) total have passed the exam (5 after the second attempt), two (2) have not passed and one (1) student has not taken the NCLEX-RN exam. Thus, 87.5% of the first class of students taking the exam have passed. From our records 13 of these 14 Registered Nurses are working full time in nursing. Your faculty and dean are totally committed to the educational process in the SON. All good things take time and we are moving in a postive direction! Sincerely, Dr. Tart