School of Nursing
Executive Summary
The Duke University School of Nursing has emerged from the brink of complete closure in the early 1980s to a school that is ascending the national rankings, is able to recruit some of the most talented and well-respected nursing faculty in their specialties, and is poised to assume its rightful place among the top schools of nursing within the US. Following the closure of the School's traditional undergraduate nursing program in 1984, the School underwent an understandable exodus of intellectual, financial, and affiliation-related support from the School. In the intervening years, the School's leadership faced the daunting responsibility of redefining the School for the future and reengaging the support of the University, the professional community, and the alumni base. At the time the BSN program closed, the decision was made to focus the limited resources on the development of the graduate program (MSN), assuming that the preparation of advanced practice nurses would have a significant impact upon care delivery models within the Duke University Health System (DUHS). In the twenty years since that closure, the graduate program enrollment has grown from fewer than 50 students to over 350 matriculants.
Strategic initiatives implemented in the latter part of the 1990s placed greater emphasis on the development of nursing research. DUSON's portfolio of funded research has grown from practically nothing to exceed $3 million annually, a figure associated with an NIH funding ranking of 23 rd. The strategic plan for the next five years outlines plans for DUSON to further increase research productivity, reaching NIH top 10 status and, more importantly, translate findings from our research to improvements in nursing care outcomes.
In the year 2000, the School of Nursing initiated a strategic plan to carry through 2005 outlining the need for growth: growth of faculty, of programs and degrees offered, of students, and of space. Strategies were designed that would lead to that growth. These strategies were successful and led the School toward: 1) successfully proposing a doctoral program in nursing, to begin in Fall 2006; 2) launching an accelerated BSN program for non-nurse college graduates; 3) receiving its first NIH research infrastructure-building Center grant; and 4) transforming the faculty to include research-productive experts able to conduct cutting edge research and prepare future leaders in nursing research; and 5) successfully proposing and funding a new 59,000 square foot building to be completed in July 2006.
The proposed plan builds from the successes realized in the previous five-year period. In October 2004, Catherine L. Gilliss (BSN '71) was recruited to Duke in the capacities of Dean and Vice Chancellor for Nursing Affairs. Under her leadership, the faculty and senior staff have participated in a series of facilitated discussions. The process has led to the identification of four strategic objectives supported by multiple goals for the next five year period.
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