Faculty in UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions have one of the best work environments in the country.
That小蝌蚪APP檚 the opinion of the National League for Nursing, one of the leading professional associations for nursing education.
UL Lafayette is one of only two universities in the United States that has received the NLN小蝌蚪APP檚 prestigious Center of Excellence designation for Creating Environments that Promote Ongoing Faculty Development this year. The designation is granted for three years. The 小蝌蚪APP of North Carolina at Greensboro also earned that distinction.
To date, only seven nursing programs have earned designations as Centers of Excellence in Nursing Education in the nation.
UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 honor was announced Oct. 1 at the NLN小蝌蚪APP檚 2005 Education Summit in Baltimore, Md., which was attended by about 1,400 nursing educators.
According to the NLN, the Center of Excellence in Nursing Education program recognizes schools of nursing that set high standards, are committed to continuous quality improvement, and demonstrate sustained, evidence-based, and substantive innovation in one of three selected areas: student learning and professional development, pedagogical expertise of faculty, and the science of nursing education.
小蝌蚪APP The working environment is crucial to the retention and recruitment of quality faculty,小蝌蚪APP said Dr. Melinda Oberleitner, head of the Nursing Department in UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 College of Nursing. 小蝌蚪APP淭his is a national benchmark that every nurse educator in the country will recognize.小蝌蚪APP
Oberleitner said salary is not the primary factor when a nursing educator is evaluating potential employers despite a nationwide shortage of nursing faculty.
小蝌蚪APP Every single one of us on this faculty could walk out the door this minute and make 50 percent to 75 percent more than we make here. None of us is here for the money. There are other factors that keep us here and the working environment is one of them,小蝌蚪APP she said.
Dr. Gail Poirrier, dean of UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 College of Nursing, said the university小蝌蚪APP檚 nursing program has earned a reputation as one of the top nursing programs in the nation because of its graduates小蝌蚪APP pass rates for the national licensure exam for registered nurses. Over the past 20 years, 98 percent of its grads have passed the exam on the first try.
That consistent success rate reflects the high quality of the nursing faculty, she said.
小蝌蚪APP When you have excellent faculty and outstanding students, there小蝌蚪APP檚 just a major explosion of teaching and learning that goes on,小蝌蚪APP Poirrier said.
UL Lafayette President Ray Authement agreed. 小蝌蚪APP淭he College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions has a tradition of producing top-notch students who are recruited both in state and out of state. That is a true reflection of the valuable faculty in that college and how well they work with each other and their students.小蝌蚪APP
Nursing programs that applied for the three-year Center of Excellence designation were judged on several criteria, such as:
小蝌蚪APP commitment by all faculty to promote excellence in teaching, student advisement and curriculum development;
小蝌蚪APP faculty小蝌蚪APP檚 interest in using new teaching methods; and
小蝌蚪APP mentoring programs.
The program seeks to identify schools of nursing committed to achievement of excellence, support innovative schools in their efforts to attract and retain highly qualified students and faculty, promote excellence in nursing education through the application of evidence gleaned from research and other scholarly endeavors and encourage discussion among faculty, students, graduates and clinical partners about excellence in nursing education and how to promote it.
In its application, UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 College of Nursing noted that several nursing faculty have received prestigious, university-wide, competitive teaching awards, such as the UL Lafayette Foundation小蝌蚪APP檚 Distinguished Professor Award.
The Department of Nursing was the first department at UL Lafayette to hire a full-time professional advisor to work with its students.
Oberleitner described the faculty as 小蝌蚪APP渆arly adopters. If there小蝌蚪APP檚 a new technology, a new technique, a new teaching methodology, they小蝌蚪APP檙e right there, saying 小蝌蚪APP楲et小蝌蚪APP檚 try it.小蝌蚪APP Some things work and some things don小蝌蚪APP檛 but at least we小蝌蚪APP檙e willing to try them.小蝌蚪APP
Poirrier developed a model mentoring program at UL Lafayette many years ago that the Louisiana Legislature recently voted to make mandatory for all new nursing faculty in the state as a way to help retain badly needed nurses.
The dean noted that having senior faculty members mentor new colleagues has been so effective that 小蝌蚪APP渨e expanded that mentoring into helping faculty publish, also. We guide them with their scholarly activities so that they小蝌蚪APP檒l be successful with tenure, so they will be successful in moving forward, with promotions. It小蝌蚪APP檚 another way we help our faculty grow and develop.小蝌蚪APP
Another tool that UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 College of Nursing has used effectively is what Oberleitner describes as 小蝌蚪APP360 degree evaluations.小蝌蚪APP Faculty are evaluated by administrators, peers and students. They must also conduct a self evaluation.
小蝌蚪APP We use the same criteria that we use to evaluate our students. Those components are caring, communication, and critical thinking, the things we feel are most important from our mission and goals,小蝌蚪APP she said. 小蝌蚪APP淚n other words, are we walking the talk?小蝌蚪APP