The KSU WellStar School of Nursing produces the most baccalaureate nursing graduates in the state. A $126,000 scholarship from University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents will be divided into two initiatives that will help the nursing faculty. Interim director for WSON, Tommie Nelms, discussed how the scholarship will impact the program.
The Sentinel
How will the nursing program benefit from the $126,000 scholarship?
Nelms
Part of the money will go to doctoral nursing students enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Science at KSU, who are nursing faculty at other USG schools of nursing, to allow them to attend the nursing doctoral program full time and therefore allow them to become prepared nursing faculty sooner.
A doctoral degree will give the nursing faculty a depth of knowledge to enhance the nursing education they deliver to the next generation of new nurses. Another [portion] will go to new tenure-track nursing faculty at KSU to allow them to establish programs of research which will enhance the healthcare of various patient populations or populations of nursing students, which will also enhance their abilities to educate new nurses.
The Sentinel
Where will the grant go and how will it be disbursed?
Nelms
The monies are housed in the WellStar School of Nursing and disbursed from the WSON with oversight from the KSU budget office.
The Sentinel
How will it affect the Nursing Program?
Nelms
Both grants will enhance the depth of knowledge of nursing faculty throughout the USG and at KSU. A well-educated and scholarly productive nursing faculty produces better-educated new nurses who will enter the current complex healthcare system to practice nursing.
The Sentinel
What other exciting news can you share with the Sentinel in regards to the nursing program?
Nelms
The WellStar School of Nursing is preparing for an accreditation visit from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education in October 2012. An in-depth self-study of the Baccalaureate Nursing Program has been prepared and sent to the commission for review. The WSON is looking forward to showcasing the quality nursing education offered at KSU, which continues to be one of the top producers of new nurses in Georgia.
