Newswise — WASHINGTON (May 13, 2011) –The George Washington University School of Nursing celebrated its first anniversary by hosting nursing, corporate, and other health care leaders, Virginia government officials, and university officials to discuss the future of nursing. The school was established on May 10, 2010, and within its first year, is ranked among the top 50 schools of nursing by U.S. News & World Report.
“This is a great day for the GW School of Nursing. We are proud of our faculty, students, and staff who helped us reach this day. We embrace the future and the challenges that will unfold as health reform takes place in Virginia and across the country,” said Jean Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the GW School of Nursing.
A panel of influential nurses and health care leaders—including Karen Drenkard, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Executive Director, American Nurses Credentialing Center; Jane Raymond, BSN, MBA, Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Ethics Compliance Officer, Reston Hospital Center, HCA Virginia Health System; Jennifer M. Kirby, RN, MSH, CNAA, BC, Chief Nursing Officer, The George Washington University Hospital, Universal Health Services; and moderated by Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean and Professor, School of Nursing at University of Alabama at Birmingham—discussed the future of nursing and the implications of an aging population and an aging nursing workforce. Panel members agreed that nursing education should stress leadership skills like adaptability, since change is an inherent component of the nursing profession and the health care field in general.
Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. William Hazel, Jr. described the future of nursing in Virginia. Secretary Hazel spoke about the positive impact of the GW School of Nursing as it recruits students from medically underserved areas to provide nurses for sustainable health care and helps to fill a critical need for nurses in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“By establishing the School of Nursing in Virginia, GW is helping to find resolutions to fundamental problems that we face everyday, as we work to provide quality health care to our residents,” said Secretary Hazel. “I commend GW for reaching out to medically underserved areas of Virginia and helping to fill the need for nurses in those regions.”
Additionally, GW leadership, including Provost Steven Lerman and Dean Johnson, discussed the challenges facing nursing today and in the future.
The anniversary celebration was held at the GW Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, which is celebrating 20 years of serving students in Virginia. Guests in attendance were given tours of the school, including the newly built, 3,000-square-foot state-of-the-art simulation and skills lab which enables students to work autonomously in simulated, real-life situations, while nursing faculty members oversee, evaluate, and provide feedback.
In addition to the school’s location in Virginia, GW nursing students take advantage of the university’s Foggy Bottom campus location in Washington, D.C., as the curriculum provides students with an understanding of health care policy and exposes them to high-level leaders in the field of nursing. With the Nursing Alliance for Quality Care housed at GW, students get the benefit of hands-on policy action. In addition, GW has a nationally recognized partnership with the National Committee for Quality Assurance to offer the only Master of Science Nursing program in the country with a focus of study in quality improvement.
About the GW University School of NursingEstablished in May 2010, The George Washington University School of Nursing (SON) is educating exceptional nurses with strong clinical skills and a broad understanding of the profession. The School develops nurse leaders who will actively engage in promoting health and well-being at local, national, and global levels. The GW School of Nursing has emerged as a national leader in academics, research, and many of the day’s key health care movements. Already, US News & World Report ranked the GW School of Nursing among the nation’s top 50 nursing schools. www.nursing.gwumc.edu/
About the GW Virginia Science and Technology CampusThe GW Virginia Science and Technology Campus, established in Loudoun County in 1991, is a robust center for innovative research, graduate education and regional corporate partnerships. As the university's science and technology campus, it hosts a dozen centers of excellence in critical areas such as energy science and technology, transportation safety and high performance computing. The GW Virginia Science and Technology Campus also combines its research excellence with more than 20 exceptional graduate degree and certificate programs in business, education, and engineering and unique undergraduate programs in nursing and the health sciences. GW has been serving Virginians for more than 50 years, beginning in Hampton Roads in 1958 and expanding its service across the Commonwealth, notably in Arlington, Alexandria and Ashburn. For more information on the Virginia Science and Technology Campus, visit www.gwvirginia.gwu.edu.
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