UTPB Nursing Program Marks Its Fourth Year

Just over four years ago, UT Permian Basin opened its doors to its inaugural class of nursing students with the promise of improving healthcare in West Texas. Since that time more than 107 students have graduated and have gone on to become bachelor’s degree trained registered nurses, many of whom remain locally to practice a high demand profession both nationally and regionally.

UT Permian Basin offers fully accredited BSN and accelerated RN to BSN programs and currently enrolls over 343 nursing and pre-nursing students who are supported by 33 faculty and staff. The program enjoys world-class teaching facilities including a state-of-the-art simulation center located on campus.

After graduating its first several cohorts of nurses, the nursing program was designated a college by The University of Texas System in May 2016. Dorothy Jackson, PhD, RN, was appointed the founding dean of the College of Nursing. Apart from providing quality nurses for the Permian Basin since its inception, the UTPB nursing program has forged collaborative partnerships with local hospitals and clinics as well as colleges and universities including Odessa College, Midland Collegeand Texas Tech Health Sciences Center.

Additionally, the program has been the beneficiary of the generosity of many local entities and organizations such as the Permian Basin Area Foundation, The Wayne & Jo Ann Moore Charitable Foundation, Midland Memorial Hospital, Medical Center Hospital, Odessa Regional Medical Center and the Permian Basin Area Health Education Center. The College of Nursing also boasts a number of endowments, including the James A. “Buddy” Davidson Charitable Foundation Endowed Nursing Scholarship, Permian Basin Medical Community Endowed Nursing Scholarship, Vickie Gomez Endowed Scholarship, Dr. Edwin & Suzanne Rathbun Endowed Scholarship in Nursing and the Medical Center Hospital Endowed Chair.

In spite of its many successes, UTPB’s nursing program, like other new programs across the nation, state and region, is confronted by numerous challenges including nursing faculty shortage, funding cuts and general growing pains.

Having witnessed five nursing cohorts graduate from their program and move on to rewarding nursing careers, Jackson and her faculty have reflected on how nursing at UTPB can better meet the needs of students and the communities they serve.

“Nursing education is about preparing graduates to be caring, skillful advocates for their patients,” said Dorothy Jackson, dean of the College of Nursing. “As a nursing program, we not only teach our students, but we provide academic and emotional support for managing a very rigorous learning experience. We are constantly evaluating and reevaluating what we do as nurse educators and how we can do it better.”

This includes preparing UTPB’s nursing candidates for the National Council Licensure Examination-RN (NCLEX-RN) which is taken by nursing students after graduation and is required for state licensure. “After completing all of the nursing coursework, going through the pinning ceremony and commencement ceremonies, nursing students are not finished proving their proficiency,” said Jackson. They still must attain a passing score on the NCLEX Exam before they can become registered nurses.”

Jackson emphasized nursing programs must prepare students throughout their college career for this exam. “As a relatively young program, we have had to learn about and respond to the particular needs of our student population and how to most effectively address them, including improving licensure test scores, and we have,” she said.

In the past several months, the nursing program completed an in-depth assessment and self-study of student and faculty performance and policies related to student success. Several measures have been implemented to improve nursing students’ achievement, including their performance on the NCLEX. These measures include raising the standards on individual course performance, integrating standardized testing exercises in each course and faculty-led NCLEX review sessions. Jackson said the recently implemented measures have resulted in increased student classroom and NCLEX performance. “Our faculty and students really have responded and these supplemental student success measures have paid off,” she said.

The University also implemented ATI testing modules in each course which provide students with integrated learning resources, test-taking skills and content mastery tests, as well as evaluation, remediation and NCLEX-predictor exams that are used in the nursing capstone course. The nursing program also instituted faculty development programs and devised new policies to guide and strengthen classroom and clinical teaching to improve student success.

“While improving licensure scores remain critical for our students and program, we continue to teach patient-centered care,” said Jackson. “Listening to patients and providing safe, compassionate care are of the utmost importance.”