Almost 1,200 students are currently enrolled in undergraduate and graduate level programs at OUCN this fall! Through the use of technology we now have the ability to educate more students throughout the state of Oklahoma. For more information on the variety of programs offered at OUCN click here.

In July 2008, the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing received funding to establish the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence.  Full funding in the amount of $2,600,000 will come over the next five years and support the Center’s goals of helping to increase the number of new highly qualified geriatric nursing faculty, increase geriatric capacity of current faculty across the state, and address solutions to support older Oklahomans to age in place.  Under the direction of Lazelle E. Benefield, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor and Parry Chair in Gerontological Nursing at OUCN, the Center will focus on the development of academic leadership in geriatric nursing through strong mentorship in the components of academic geriatric nursing (research, teaching, and community service), the development of a statewide group of geriatric faculty champions, interdisciplinary research collaborations to craft and test interventions to assist caregivers and older adults in community, and geriatric translational research postdoctoral training.  Ten doctoral students will received substantive funding to pursue full time doctoral study in the OU PhD in Nursing program.  Two deserving students were chosen as Reynolds Scholars and will receive financial support as they begin their geriatric-focuseddoctoral studies this fall.  Scholarship applications for selection as Reynolds Scholars for fall 2009 will be available in December.  In addition, doctorally-prepared faculty from nursing programs statewide who wish to be considered for selection into the  geriatric translational research postdoctoral training are encouraged to contact Dr. Benefield for further information. This program will begin summer 2009.

For additional information on the Reynolds Predoctoral Scholarship Program or OU PhD with a focs on Geriatric Nursing please click here.

This year marked the first OUCN graduates from our Duncan, OK site!  Students in southern Oklahoma are now able to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing right in their own backyard!  OUCN currently offers the traditional bachelor’s degree program and an accelerated bachelor’s degree program to students in a Learning Center at Duncan Regional Hospital.  Under the leadership and initiative of Scott Street, CEO and Cindy Rauh, Vice President for Patient Care Services, Duncan Regional Hospital constructed a state-of-the-art learning facility dedicated to nursing education. OU nursing faculty is based in Duncan and teaches students in the undergraduate bachelor’s degree and accelerated bachelor’s degree programs. The learning center includes technology equipped classrooms, faculty offices, student computer labs and a clinical skills learning lab. The clinical practice space is equipped to operate like the rooms currently found inside DRH and even offers the chance for simulation activities.  The first class of traditional BSN students and accelerated BSN students graduated in spring and summer2008.  We are proud of our ability to use technology to allow students to stay close to home as they pursue a degree in nursing.  By educating students in a hospital setting close to home, we help encourage them to remain in their own community and serve the healthcare needs of that area.  Our program in Duncan continues to expand and we are thankful for the continued support of the leadership at Duncan Regional Hospital.

The Oklahoma VA Medical Center and the OU College of Nursing have been funded by the Department of Veteran Affairs to promote service and education collaboration and increase numbers of RNs. The program is one of only five funded nationally. The VA will provide clinical supervision to baccalaureate students and the College will provide the didactic instruction. The grant will run four years and is funded at $800,000.

This initiative, the "Enhancing Academic Partnerships Program" will enable stronger, mutually beneficial relationships between nursing schools and VA facilities by expanding faculty and professional development; increasing nursing student enrollment; providing opportunities for educational and practice innovations; and increasing recruitment and retention of VA nurses as a result of enhanced roles in nursing education.

Congratulations to Anita Finkelman, MSN, RN and Brenda G. Skaggs, RN, PhD, APRN, BC on this accomplishment.

Read more about the collaboration with VAMC.