Building a program for practice-ready nurses from scratch
Building a program for practice-ready nurses from scratch
The time has arrived for the inaugural cohort of students to begin their classes on campus as part of UNI's Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In the year and a half since the Iowa Board of Regents approved the program, UNI has hired faculty, created curriculum, purchased equipment and renovated facilities. At the helm of it all has been Nancy Kertz, UNI’s chief academic nurse administrator and head of the Department of Nursing and Public Health.
“The top priorities in building this program have been creating a curriculum that is relevant to today's workforce,” said Kertz. “It's really critical that our students are ready for practice when they graduate, and we term that ‘practice ready.’ We want to ensure our graduates have the skills that they need to enter practice where they can safely care for all types of patients in many different types of settings.”
To build practice-ready nurses, Kertz said UNI’s curriculum, faculty, facilities and equipment all have an important role to play. Partnerships with the local health care system is also vital to to stay abreast with trends and practices in health care and provide clinical sites for UNI students to learn.
“Without the support of our health care community, we could not offer a nursing program,” said Kertz.
Kertz is accompanied by three other faculty members in UNI Nursing. Another will join in spring. When searching for the right individuals to fill these spots, Kertz considered how their different backgrounds and skill sets would complement one another.
“As we hire additional faculty, I will perhaps look at other types of specialization that they bring in, whether it's expertise in pharmacology, medical-surgical nursing or mental health nursing,” said Kertz. “There are a lot of variables.”
Even with all the milestones Kertz has helped UNI Nursing reach, she is the most excited about finally having students in the ITTC.
Kertz has a plan to grow UNI’s BSN program. It’s off to a great start, with the first cohort exceeding the 24 students as initially planned. In spring 2025, Kertz hopes to add 48 students. Then in fall 2025, she is hoping to add between 60 and 72. Eventually, Kertz said she would like to see more nursing programs added at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at UNI.
“The future is bright for UNI nursing,” she said.
