Return to Main Menu

CON dean's advice: organization, organization by Heather Woolwine Public Relations The College of Nursing (CON) has reached an all-time enrollment high this year with more than 400 students, and the accomplishments and career  interests of these students are as varied as the colors woven into a well-sewn tapestry.   The most challenging issue these students face is how they will take advantage  of  what  CON has to offer and mold it into their own prescription for success.   Gail Stuart, Ph.D., CON dean, has some advice for her students: “Organization, organization, organization.”    “We know that our students are talented and very bright,” Stuart said. “Many of them have families, children, aging parents, and jobs. What they need to understand is that their time is at a premium and they must learn how to manage it effectively to gain all the benefits from their chosen program of study.”   Stuart encouraged this year’s new crop to reach out to the multitude of resources and opportunities the college has to offer by talking to faculty and the students ahead of them in a program. “Everyone’s so willing to help, and the better organized you are, the more likely it is you’ll stay on top,” she said.   CON is poised to take the nursing world by storm. In the four years since Stuart began at CON’s helm, enrollment in the various nursing programs has shot up 40 percent with the help of online teaching technology and increased enroll-ment in advanced nursing degree programs. This fall, no vacancies exist with 410 students and 36 faculty. Stuart said she feels that is a testament to the high quality of  CON and its learning environment.   Half of the 410 students are pursuing master’s or doctorate level nursing degrees so they can also fill badly needed nursing faculty positions around the country.   Numerous media outlets have reported a national nursing shortage that has led to a crisis in the health care industry. As a solution, Stuart and her colleagues around the country are focusing extra attention on teaching the teachers. “We have two times the number of students enrolled in graduate programs than Clemson, and three times the amount enrolled when compared to USC. I think that’s an indication of the niche MUSC has found in preparing the nursing leadership of tomorrow,” she said.   In addition to gearing up for the year’s curriculum, Stuart mentioned a collegewide commitment to adhering to the strategic plan devised during a recent faculty retreat. That plan includes a goal toward improving and expanding technology used to enhance teaching. For example, CON will work side by side with the Colleges of Medicine and Health Professions to create a new simulation laboratory on the first floor of  CON building. MUSC officials hope the lab will be open in a year.   “Our faculty has a huge learning curve because we’ve never done anything like this before. We first need to  get the faculty’s hands wet and then we’ll let the students jump in,” Stuart said.   Stuart highlighted the advancement of innovation and best practices in nursing education, building nursing research and scholarship, and addressing the nursing workforce issues in South Carolina and the region as other college priorities for the coming year.   “We feel that nursing scholarship has a place in the CTSA initiative that MUSC is advancing toward and that we’re well equipped to compete for federally- funded grants and to become  a significant  player in the CTSA at MUSC,” she said.   CTSA (Clinical translational Science Award) is a National Institutes of Health Roadmap Initiative aimed at transforming approaches to research and discovery implementation. The main thrust of the program is to catalyze the development of interdisciplinary research initiatives so that information learned in research could be quickly translated from the bench to the patient bedside.   With numerous partnerships in the community and some already outstanding research initiatives in place, Stuart sees the CTSA push for interdisciplinary and community-based research as coinciding perfectly with the direction that CON has already begun to take. “Most of our research is conducted in community settings. It’s a great world. It’s where all the action is,” she said.   As for the nursing issues facing the state and region, Stuart said that CON’s guidance is sought by other entities in the state. At a nursing leaders summit in early August, Stuart and other statewide leaders banded together to prioritize nursing issues in need of legislation. “In the past, our efforts were individualized and disconnected. We realized that if we could all agree on what to pursue and move forward together, that we could get things accomplished,” she said.   CON seems to have reached a very stable point in its existence, with state board examinations showing excellent marks for MUSC graduates. But great grades and standardized test scores are only part of the equation. Collaboration and CON’s continued effort towards interprofessional and interdisciplinary education will seal the envelope on its  continued success.     Friday, June 23, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Papers at 849-1778, ext. 201.