GW Nursing Magazine Spring 2016
GW Nursing is a publication of the George Washington University School of Nursing. The magazine tells the story of GW nurses and their endeavors in the areas of education, research, policy and practice.
GW Nursing is a publication of the George Washington University School of Nursing. The magazine tells the story of GW nurses and their endeavors in the areas of education, research, policy and practice.
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Building An Environment for Learning: Celebrating our Past, Planning our Future<br />
Mapping the Future:<br />
To the Cutting Edge—and Beyond<br />
By Teddi Fine<br />
Its willingness to take a different approach to nursing<br />
education has distinguished the George Washington<br />
School of <strong>Nursing</strong> as an institution virtually without walls,<br />
without barriers and without limits. Policy savvy, technical<br />
expertise and management acumen enable SON faculty to<br />
customize nursing education to the shifting needs of the<br />
student population and the health care environment. The<br />
recent award by the Commission on Collegiate <strong>Nursing</strong><br />
Education (CCNE) of the highest term of accreditation (10<br />
years) to each of the SON’s degree programs is testament to<br />
how far and fast the SON has come.<br />
Yet, the SON’s leadership has no intention of resting on<br />
its laurels, as articulated in a recent roundtable convened by<br />
Dean PAMELA JEFFRIES with directors DEBORAH CHAPA<br />
(Doctor of <strong>Nursing</strong> Practice program) and SANDRA DAVIS<br />
(Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner<br />
program), and associate deans BILLINDA TEBBENHOFF<br />
(Undergraduate Studies) and KIM ACQUAVIVA<br />
(Faculty Affairs) and senior associate dean MARY JEAN<br />
SCHUMANN (Academic Affairs). In a free-flowing, informal<br />
Q&A, participants visualized the SON of 2020.<br />
Q: What is the vision for the SON of 2020<br />
and beyond?<br />
The SON’s leadership team aims high. By 2020, the SON<br />
will be one of the premier schools of nursing in the U.S.,<br />
with a national ranking to match. However, their vision<br />
extends beyond rankings alone. The leaders predict the<br />
<strong>GW</strong> brand of nursing education will be a driver of new<br />
best practices in nursing education.<br />
They envision a school of nursing with an integrated<br />
approach to populations, policy and practice at the core<br />
of education, research and clinical care. The emphasis<br />
will be on the long-term health of a whole person, not<br />
the isolated treatment of an acute illness. Students, of all<br />
backgrounds and past careers, will learn in ways that fit<br />
their schedules, locations and needs and prepare them<br />
to meet the growing health care needs of a changing<br />
community and world.<br />
“We won’t be just about nursing, we’ll be about overall<br />
health care,” says Dr. Schumann. Education and clinical<br />
practice will not happen in silos. Students and faculty<br />
will engage in interprofessional partnerships with local<br />
hospitals and with the larger health care practice and<br />
policy communities at large.<br />
With its expertise in national health policy, the SON<br />
will aspire to change how nurses and other health care<br />
practitioners think and practice wherever they live.<br />
Dr. Chapa rephrases a description of tomorrow’s nurses<br />
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