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The health care system is experiencing enormous change and our
students need to be prepared for the emerging, reorganized system.
To that end, students will practice transitions in care in our new
laboratories as they tend to patients from home to hospital and back
to home, care for multiple patients at one time, or stage mock events
such as flu epidemics or disasters.
The third floor of the Bass Building will house the new competency
laboratory with two eight-bed units for students to practice basic
care skills and pharmacological interventions. New community
health rooms are planned to accommodate the national emphasis
on population health and wellness. Our nurse anesthesia students
will practice in state-of-the-art simulated operating suites as they
learn to be safe providers of anesthesia to all ages.
We have been educating our students in disciplinary silos, then
expecting them to work well together when they graduate. Nursing,
social work, speech-language pathologists and kinesiology students
will work in interdisciplinary teams to solve problems, such as caring
for patients who have had a stroke, a child with developmental
delays or a cancer survivor, mirroring the environment in which they
will work following graduation.
Harris’ approved plan also includes new programs and strengthening
current programs.
The newMaster of SocialWork (MSW) program is scheduled to accept
students for fall 2013 enrollment. The BSW has been offered at TCU
since 1978, with graduates practicing across the country in positions
in health care, social service agencies and education. MSW graduates
function in clinical roles such as counseling, administrative positions
in health and social service agencies and leadership positions in
health policy and research.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice is the preferred degree of the
future for advanced practice nurses such as nurse practitioners,
clinical specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse
administrators. Similar to other doctoral degrees required in the
health professions, the DNP is a practice degree rather than a
research degree, preparing students to function at the highest level
of practice.
TCU’s School of Nurse Anesthesia will now admit students only to
the DNP option in 2013, and will no longer admit students to the
MSNA degree option. The MSN Clinical Nurse Specialist option also
will transition to only the DNP option within the next few years to
meet the 2015 deadline of the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing.
The master’s program in speech-language pathology is in high
demand due to a shortage of graduates and new developments in
speech and hearing therapy, such as cochlear implants. Harris’ goal
is to increase enrollment in this program over the next few years,
including the bilingual option.
A new Harris Academic Resource Center has opened this fall,
bringing together the diverse resources of the college to focus on
academic advising, recruitment and retention, career services and
enhanced student activities. The new center is envisioned to be a
“one-stop shop” where students and families can easily find and
access information, academic advising and support services.
Through TCU’s recent fundraising campaign,
The Campaign for TCU
,
Harris College received a remarkable amount of new scholarship
funding to support the best graduate and undergraduate students
now and into the future. These new funds will foster opportunities
for Harris College students to be leaders in their intended career field.
Helping students secure their future through scholarship assistance
brings great satisfaction to our donors, students and faculty. We
greatly anticipate seeing their accomplishments during their
education and in their careers through the generosity of donors
who care deeply about TCU students and the future of nursing and
health sciences.
The immediate future of Harris College is within sight as we plan for
the new facility, the launching of new degrees, the addition of more
students and sustaining academic excellence. Please stay tuned as
we bring you updates on the many changes of the College and a
groundbreaking ceremony in spring 2013.
Indeed, the Harris College is an integral part of the university’s
vision of creating a world-class, values-centered university, with the
mission of educating individuals to think and act as ethical leaders
and responsible citizens in the global community.
HCNHS’s dreams are embodied in its mission statement:
“To enhance the human condition by
preparing graduates
who think and practice
as ethical leaders, and
by advancing
knowledge of health and human
development
within the global community.”
Features
Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences ·
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