School of Nursing expanded to provide clinical education

Janel Shoun | 

After seven years of educating student nurses through the innovative Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership, Lipscomb University announces that its fully accredited School of Nursing will now provide both science education and clinical training on one campus.
 
For the past seven years, students in the Lipscomb/Vanderbilt Nursing Partnership had five semesters on the Lipscomb campus studying science and general education and then transitioned to Vanderbilt as the exclusive provider of clinical education for the last three semesters.
 
Beginning August 2011, Lipscomb School of Nursing student nurses will spend four semesters studying science and general education and then spend four semesters in clinical work at a number of regional health care sites, including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a program that now mimics the highly successful program in the Lipscomb College of Pharmacy, Middle Tennessee’s first college of pharmacy, established in 2006.
 
The School of Nursing will be housed within the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, headed by Lipscomb College of Pharmacy Dean Roger Davis. Linda Norman, senior academic dean at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) and one of the architects of the original partnership, will provide leadership during the transition and assist in selecting a new dean and full-time faculty for the expanded School of Nursing.
 
“This represents a very significant milestone in the growth of our nursing program,” Davis said. “While the Vanderbilt collaboration has been enormously successful and valued by both institutions, this expansion allows our students to remain part of their undergraduate community while having access to a wider range of clinical choices in Middle Tennessee and have an additional semester of clinical work to build a core comprehensive set of skills.”
 
In 2003, Lipscomb responded to a national nursing shortage by creating its nursing program in partnership with Vanderbilt, offering an additional faith-based option in the area. In 2008, it enhanced that program with the St. Thomas Health Services Nursing Advantage Scholarships for Hispanic nurses.
 
“More than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2016. There is obviously a great deal of opportunity for our upcoming graduates,” said Davis. “With our school’s very significant expansion, Lipscomb’s School of Nursing positions our students well to benefit from new opportunities in the profession.” 
 
Search for the school’s dean is underway with representatives from both Lipscomb and the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing participating. Committee members include:
  • Jim Arnett, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biology
  • Mike Fowler, Ph.D., Committee Chair, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy                   
  • Linda Norman, DSN, RN, FAAN, Senior Academic Dean at VUSN
  • Jennifer Hicks, MSN, RN, Nursing Coordinator, Lipscomb School of Nursing; Lecturer, VUSN
  • Sydney Clayton, DPT, Pre-Clinical Coordinator, Assistant Professor of Biology, Lipscomb School of Nursing