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Creating Global Solutions in Nursing
UT Tyler Sets Pace Through Innovation, Quality Education, Compassion
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From the moment you walk through the doors
of the David G. and Jacqueline M. Braithwaite
Building on The University of Texas at Tyler
campus, you feel a heartbeat. It is a strong,
sure rhythm that pulsates throughout the
lecture halls, clinical laboratories and offices
of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
It is a passion that beats within every faculty
member and nursing student – whether in
the Tyler facility or at one of the satellite
campuses in Palestine or Longview. The UT
Tyler nursing program has always been
about educating professional nurses who
can help provide resourceful solutions for
global health care. Graduates address community
needs through health promotion,
risk reduction and disease management.
But when you boil it all down, the heart of the
matter comes down to one thing – helping
others. Caring is the core pursuit of nursing.
“I chose nursing because I wanted to care
for others in their time of need,” said
Melinda Stanley-Hermanns, a UT Tyler
nursing graduate and College of Nursing
faculty member. “My passion is helping
others. I love being a nurse.”
Dawn Johnson, a UT Tyler nursing graduate
and registered nurse for Tyler Independent
School District, said, “I wanted to closely
impact the lives of others.”
The UT Tyler College of Nursing is in the
business of equipping caregivers and health
educators with the skills, knowledge and
practical experience to help save lives
through nursing. And that heartbeat has
never been stronger – or needed more than
right now.
According to the American Hospital
Association, U.S. hospitals need about
118,000 registered nurses to fill vacant
positions. The Health Resources and
Services Administration projects that
number will swell to more than 1 million
nurses needed by 2020.
New Doctoral Program
Dr. Linda Klotz, UT Tyler College of
Nursing dean, said UT Tyler is working to
help provide solutions for the nationwide
shortage of nurses by increasing enrollment,
educating tomorrow’s nursing faculty and
offering nurses opportunity for career
growth through accelerated programs.
But one of the biggest steps the College of
Nursing is taking to impact health care
is launching UT Tyler’s first doctoral level
program. College of Nursing faculty began
planning for the doctoral program in 2005.
Dr. Klotz said, “We hope to get on the
agenda for the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board this fall for final
approval and begin coursework in 2008.”
The Ph.D. in nursing will be one of only
seven nursing doctoral programs in the state.
UT Tyler President Rodney Mabry said,
“The new doctoral program in nursing is an
important milestone for the university and
for the state. It will allow us to help reverse
the shortage of nursing faculty and nursing
slots for students, which will enable us,
ultimately, to provide more nurses and
administrators for area health institutions.
It is also a pilot project for the entire nation.”
The innovative Ph.D. nursing degree program
will offer coursework completely
online, although students will continue to
rotate through hospitals and outpatient
clinics for practical training and faculty will
work on research projects.
“One of the reasons nursing schools cannot
increase enrollment and increase nursing
graduates is a lack of faculty,” Dr. Klotz said.
She said the nursing doctoral program is
designed to produce nursing faculty for the
state so that other colleges and universities
can grow nursing colleges in the future.
“We are working to increase our master’s
enrollment as well as start the doctoral
program,” Dr. Klotz said. “We have a
number of accelerated programs that allow
nurses with an associate degree or LVNs
to take the fast track to undergraduate and
graduate nursing degrees that will allow
them to move into teaching. We provide
courses online to give more access, rather
than require them to come here.”
Fastest Growing in State
Through innovation and excellence over the
past 32 years, the College of Nursing has
become one of the largest and most soughtafter
nursing programs in the state. What
began in 1975 as a degree completion
option for associate degree registered nurses
has grown into a highly respected, internationally
known program that is the fastest
growing in the state.
Dr. Pam Martin, associate dean for undergraduate
programs, said UT Tyler ranks No.
2 in the state in size. Total undergraduate
and graduate enrollment each year is is over
700 students.“We are accredited at both
the state and national level,” Dr. Martin
said. “We have high-quality programs.”
The UT Tyler pass rate for the nurse licensing
exam is 98 percent, Dr. Martin said. And
job placement is about 99 percent. She said
some 60 percent of students go on to graduate
school to become educators, nurse practitioners,
nursing administrators and more.
Dr. Mabry said, “We have a very progressive
and innovative nursing college here. It is
phenomenal in many ways, not only in
growth but quality. It is one of the best nursing
programs in the state.”
Learn more about UT Tyler’s College of
Nursing in the following pages. Not only
will you find out about its history, but you
will discover how passionate instructors and
state-of-the-art technology are impacting
the health community locally and across the
globe. You will find out what the program
is doing to combat the national nursing
shortage. And, you will get a glimpse into
the heart and soul of nursing. You will read
how nursing students are caring for those in
need, not only in this region, but also in faraway
places like Guatemala.
For UT Tyler’s College of Nursing, it is all
about helping people.
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