Departmental Self Review - UCLA Academic Senate

The UCLA SON and their clinical partners are working collaboratively to develop the MECN; anew role in which a new cadre of health care professionals specially trained in leadership in thehealth care delivery system will be added to the nursing workforce. These nurses will beproviders and managers of care at the point of care for individuals and cohorts. The MECNnurses will assume accountability for patient care outcomes through the development andapplication of evidence-based guidelines in order to design, implement, and evaluate patientplans of care. A number of other entry points for nurses to enter or advance in the profession willbe considered.The generic BS provides a pathway for several of our academic programs and enhances thenumber of critical bedside nurses for our nursing profession. The bridge program, a transitionalprogram for students from the community colleges is planned for expansion.While not a program to be seriously considered at this time, the Doctor of Nursing Practice(DNP), a concept under discussion nationwide, has been accepted by AACN as a replacement forthe MSN by 2015. The UCLA SON will entertain discussions on this program as well.Benefits:By adding these two nursing programs, the UCLA SON would assist the State of California intheir shortage of registered nurses. The MECN nurses will assume accountability for patient careoutcomes through the development and application of evidence-based guidelines in order todesign, implement, and evaluate patient plans of care. Closer affiliation with our medical centerpartners is also of benefit. The BS prepared nurse is a critical step to these advanced degrees innursing as is the bridge program. The DNP will enable nurses to be on par with other clinicaldoctorates.Barriers:Medical Center partnership needs to be fiscally attractive. Moreover, the concerns raised by thefaculty regarding the DNP have been numerous; including the issue of housing a DNP aresearch-intensive university and concern of implementing many new programs within limitedspace. Therefore, a significant amount of investigation and discussion will be warranted.Current Status:The MECN taskforce has made dramatic movement in creating partnerships and building acurriculum. Several national meetings were attended in 2004 and 2005. Continued work isneeded in operationalizing the curriculum and ensuring shared ownership. While few studentshave entered nursing through alternative paths, these paths are not publicized nor are they wellunderstood by faculty. The generic program is rapidly undergoing development by the faculty.Expansion of the bridge program is also being discussed. The DNP, conceptualized as anentrepreneurial program at the SON, is just under discussion based upon a survey which will bedisseminated shortly.224