Partnership begins with Bethune-Cookman College

Tampa, FL (October 12, 2006) - The University of South Florida College of Nursing is partnering with Florida's historically black colleges and universities to help increase the state's number of doctorally-prepared minority nursing faculty.
The initiative began this fall with the enrollment of five nursing instructors from Bethune-Cookman College (BCC) in Daytona Beach into USF's Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.

"Florida and the rest of the nation need a highly skilled nursing workforce that is more representative of the increasingly diverse patient populations we serve," said Patricia Burns, PhD, dean of the USF College of Nursing. "We must increase enrollment of minority students in our nursing schools, and that can best be achieved by increasing the number of minority faculty with doctorate degrees."

The program is funded by a $450,838 continuation of the $1.28 million SUCCEED Florida Career Education Grant awarded last year to USF to start the state's first DNP program. Unlike the traditional research-oriented PhD degree, the DNP degree emphasizes bringing advanced scientific evidence to the classroom and the clinical setting, where most nursing education occurs.

"This collaboration between Bethune-Cookman and USF is the direct result of Dr. Burns and her nursing faculty working so hard to be inclusive in their doctoral program," said Alma Dixon, EdD, dean of the BCC School of Nursing. "The DNP degree will provide the level of preparation needed for nurse educators to step into leadership roles ... Because, when it comes to reducing racial and ethnic health disparities, you not only want a credible health care professional. You want a leader able to conduct relevant research, frame policy and approach a body of knowledge in an organized and critical manner."

Nationwide, minorities represent only 8.7 percent of all nursing faculty and 6.8 percent of nursing school deans, said Mary Webb, PhD, associate dean of Academic Affairs and the director of the DNP program at the USF College of Nursing. "Assisting faculty from historically black universities to obtain doctorate degrees will prepare them to teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels in their respective nursing schools, thus increasing opportunities for their students."

The continuation grant from the state's Department of Education covers tuition and helps subsidize the BCC nursing instructors' salaries so they can complete most of the 52-credit DNP program full time within a year. Students spend one day each week at the USF Tampa campus attending class and complete other coursework online. In addition they are expected to complete a teaching residency and applied research project.

"This is an opportunity of a lifetime. I feel very fortunate to be part of the cohort from Bethune Cookman attending the DNP program at USF," said Norma Cooper, one of the BCC faculty students. "The DNP degree will give me the chance to enhance my knowledge and leadership skills to strengthen nursing practice and to improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery."

In addition to Cooper, the BCC instructors enrolled in the DNP program are Donna Edwards, Patsy Love, Willie Mae Session and Shirley Thompson.

The instructors will return to BCC full time to teach students in the school's baccalaureate nursing program. The doctorally-prepared faculty would also be needed to start a master's program at the nursing school, Dr. Dixon said. Including the BCC contingent, USF's DNP program, which began in August 2005, now has a total of 30 students, with the first class expected to graduate by summer 2007.  USF has offered the traditional PhD degree in nursing since 1997.