The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth has long prepared its students to bring good medicine to the region, educating doctors of osteopathic medicine, physician assistants and future public health experts.
Now, UNT HSC can add degreed, trained nurses to the list of medical professionals it will educate at the campus in Fort Worth.
Cindy Weston, the founding dean of the College of Nursing at UNT Health Science Center, said nursing is already vital in clinics, hospitals and schools.
Now, Weston said, nurses are crucial in each of those settings and beyond.
鈥淣urses are vital in increasing access to primary care across the lifespan,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen we talk about family practice, that is really across-the-lifespan care. Health promotion, disease prevention, addressing acute and chronic conditions 鈥� all of these have been a cornerstone of nursing practice.鈥�
At a recent UNT Board of Regents meeting, the .
Texas House Rep. Lynn Stucky, R-Denton, carried the message about the deepening need for nurses in the Lone Star State earlier this month, during the . TWU has been training nurses for generations and has one of the top nursing programs in the country.
鈥淩ight now we are 20,000 nurses short in the state of Texas,鈥� Stucky said at the TWU groundbreaking. 鈥淭he projection is that by 2028, we will be 190,000 short.鈥�
Weston confirmed that Texas鈥� demand for skilled nurses is a multidimensional one. Like the rest of the country, Texas residents are aging, and older Texans will need more medical attention more frequently. But Texas is also leading the nation in growth, .
Weston said nurses are at the front lines of health care in the country and have been for more than 100 years. Clara Barton parlayed her nursing experience into founding the American Red Cross in 1881. Lillian Wald, a nurse, founded the Henry Street Settlement in lower Manhattan to provide health care to residents about 12 years after Barton founded the American Red Cross.
鈥淣urses have been going into communities and delivering access to care where it was needed the most for generations,鈥� Weston said. 鈥淣urses have had a focus on communities and improving population health outcomes. We certainly need that in our state. And we certainly need that here in the Fort Worth-Dallas metroplex area.鈥�
But don鈥檛 mistake Weston as being hyperfocused on DFW.
鈥淲e are a metropolitan area, but we鈥檙e surrounded by vast regions of rural communities, and that鈥檚 an area that needs access to health care and will continue to need it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭exas has the largest rural population in the entire United States. Over 3 million in our population live in rural areas. And we know that, when you live in a rural area, you have poor health outcomes and higher potential mortality rates from conditions because of later diagnosis of those conditions.鈥�
The new College of Nursing will start with two degrees: a new Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing and a Master of Science in nursing practice innovation.
The degree programs are slated to be open as online programs in fall 2024.
Weston said the registered nurse to Bachelor of Science in nursing is a pathway for nurses who earned an associate鈥檚 degree to complete a bachelor鈥檚 degree. Research has found that nurses who earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree see better health outcomes in their patients, something Weston credits to more education and more practical experience.
UNT HSC is especially excited about the second degree, a master鈥檚 degree for degreed nurses who can match their scholarship to leadership with a program that they can customize.
鈥淭here is no other degree like this in Texas right now,鈥� Weston said. 鈥淭his degree is not a canned degree that we鈥檙e going to fit a nurse into. It allows for the nurse to come in with different areas of interest and expertise that we will allow them to upskill in an area of focus.鈥�
Weston said the master鈥檚 student could be a nurse working in chronic care management or complex care coordination.
鈥淚t could be digital health and technology to impact health disparities,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t could be correctional care nursing, or any area of concentration that a registered nurse wants to develop a stronger expertise in.鈥�
The new master鈥檚 degree could also attract nurses who saw urgent needs in COVID-19 care units, or who might have entrepreneurial ideas about nursing administration.
UNT HSC鈥檚 new nursing college has such broad and deep implications, Weston said, that North Texas and the rest of the state could well be the beneficiaries of skilled nurses who鈥檝e completed degrees through the Fort Worth college. Whether they land in school districts, suburban, urban or rural clinics, hospitals, telehealth or other health care settings, Weston said, UNT HSC graduates will be community-minded. It鈥檚 nearly a reflex for degreed nurses, she said.
鈥淣urses are going to be the health care professionals that close those gaps,鈥� she said. 鈥淣urses so often are the first people to see what is happening in communities, and what the needs are. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we intend to help nurses find a pathway into that advanced degree.鈥�