Purdue nursing school gets grant for doctoral program
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The grant will fund an endowment for scholarships, leadership development and the implementation, evaluation and delivery of new programs. Nursing doctoral students from across the nation also will have the opportunity to partner with Purdue students on health-care engineering projects at Summer Institutes that will increase dispersion of new ideas and approaches.
"The health-care delivery system in the United States is in turmoil and has been described as broken and/or mismanaged," said Julie Novak, head of the School of Nursing. "Health-care costs are spiraling out of control in many sectors. We want to equip a new generation of nursing leaders who will create genuine change in health policy, delivery systems and patient care."
Just as pharmacy advanced from extended bachelor's preparation to the pharmacology doctorate degree, nursing will move to the doctorate as the highest level of advanced practice nursing by 2015.
"Purdue is on the cutting edge with the doctor of nursing practice degree program," said Novak, the principal investigator for Purdue's project. "This national movement was created as a result of the complexity of the health-care system; the information, knowledge and technology explosion; spiraling costs; and the need for a systems approach to create new models of care and solve existing health-care dilemmas."
Purdue doctoral nursing students spend their first two years in an area of specialization as a pediatric or adult nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners focus on individualized and family care that prioritizes health promotion, wellness, disease prevention and patient education. The last two years of the four-year program focuses on systems approaches. This integrated model from individual to family to community to system increases access while lowering health-care costs.
Purdue's program will emphasize interdisciplinary education by partnering nursing students with Purdue's Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering and other academic disciplines. Purdue's program, the 10th formed in the nation, will include coursework that integrates epidemiology, evidence-based practice, innovative clinical projects, collaborative partnerships, health policy initiatives, and the application of engineering principles to health care.
"The contribution that nurses make to hospitals and patients is often underestimated," Novak said. "Advanced education programs increase not only the requisite knowledge for an increasingly complex health-care system but also the opportunities and prestige in any profession. For nurses this can help lead to longer, more satisfying careers and patients can expect improved care."
Novak said the biggest reason nurses cite for leaving their jobs is a poor working environment. Nearly 120,000 registered nurse openings exist nationwide; Indiana has 2,000 openings. Fewer than 10 percent of all nurses are under age 30. Purdue's School of Nursing has increased its undergraduate class size by 60 percent since 2003 to help fill the gap. Novak said more nursing instructors, like those that will be educated in Purdue's program, will be needed nationwide to teach increased class sizes.
"We expect Purdue's multidisciplinary program will produce multiple benefits including increased efficiency and safety in the delivery of nursing care and improved working conditions for nurses who deliver that care," said Stephen B. Boies, of HSBC Bank USA, trustee for the Helene Fuld Health Trust.
Purdue's nursing doctoral students will apply engineering analysis of health-care delivery through projects designed to:
• Increasing time available for patient care through improved use of information technology.
• Enhancing patient flow by improving scheduling practices with the use of simulation modeling.
• Improving efficiency of operations through time and motion studies.
• Improving hospital design for safer, more efficient care and infection control.
• Evaluating the current system readiness and surge capacity for challenges such as a possible avian influenza epidemic.
• Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of alternative service delivery methods, particularly in nurse-managed clinics in underserved and rural areas.
Purdue's School of Nursing manages five Indiana clinics in Lafayette, West Lafayette, Delphi and Monon. Doctoral students will introduce advanced information technology to the clinics, including the use of electronic health records. The interconnected clinics will be able to easily share online patient information with each other to promote continuity of care while increasing efficiency, accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of patient care.
Doctoral students will complete clinical projects and residencies in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. Students also will be expected to write for peer-reviewed journals, present research at professional conferences, conduct self-evaluations and plan for continued learning.
Purdue began a two-year nursing degree program in 1963 and added a four-year baccalaureate program in 1970. The nursing department achieved School of Nursing status in 1979. More than 600 students are currently enrolled in the undergraduate program and 40 more are enrolled in the graduate program.
"The school's mission integrates discovery, learning and engagement to enhance the well-being of our local to global community and to promote innovative partnerships," Novak said. "The faculty emphasize, 'best practice and education that is evidence-based.' Our theme for this year is synergy, energy and delivery. The Fuld grant takes us to the next level in realizing our goals for nursing and for safer, more effective and more efficient patient care."
Writer: Jim Schenke, (765) 494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu
Sources: Julie C. Novak, (765)494-4008, novakj@purdue.edu
Stephen Boies, Stephen.B.Boies@HSBCPB.com
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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