University of South Florida College of Nursing

Infobox_University
name = University of South Florida College of Nursing


established = 1973
type = Public
dean = Patricia A. Burns, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN since 1997
enrollment = 1,072 for 2006-2007
687 B.S.
307 M.S.
47 Ph.D.
31 DNP
faculty = 79
staff = 25
city=Tampa
state=Florida
country = USA
campus = Urban
nickname=Bulls
mascot=Rocky D. Bull
colors=Green and Gold color box|#336633color box|#cccc99
website = http://www.hsc.usf.edu/nursing/

University of South Florida College of Nursing (USF College of Nursing) is one of the graduate schools of University of South Florida's USF Health conglomerate. It is located in north Tampa, Florida and serves the communities of greater Tampa Bay & St. Petersberg.

The college recently launched Doctor of Nursing Program DNP and a Nurse Anesthetist Master's Program. The USF College of Nursing has a 96% pass rate on the state board exam NCLEX-RN.

Academics

Founded in 1973 and accredited by the National League for Nursing, the college offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in Nursing. During the 2006-2007 academic year 1,470 students applied for 144 seats in B.S. in Nursing with an approximate acceptance ratio of 10 to 1. In conjunction with the University of South Florida College of Public Health, students may earn an M.S./M.P.H. in Occupational Health Nursing. USF College of Nursing offers programs with an emphasis in Psychiatry, Gerontology, Oncology, Adult Health, Community and Family Health and Maternal/Child Health. The college has forged a clinical collaborative with Tampa Bay's leading health care providers to offer students "home base" hospitals with one-to-one mentoring for state of the practice education.

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing BSN program, established in 2003, places a student in a single clinical agency (local hospital) for their entire clinical experience where the student works one-on-one with a Registered Nurse. The students of this program can qualify as a nurse tech to be employed by an agency after the first semester in most cases. The program also contains a BSN to PhD track which emphasizes nursing education in order to facilitate a future career as a nursing instructor upon graduation.

The Master of Science in Nursing MSN program trains students to become administrators in clinical agencies. Initially conceived in hopes to address the acute shortage of nurses, the program also contains a Nurse Educator track where students train to be effective nursing faculty.

The Doctor of Nursing Practice DNP program train students to become advanced clinicians. The program also contains a PhD Research Leader where doctoral students are trained to be educators as well as researchers.

Teaching Affiliates

Tampa General Hospital is the primary teaching affiliate for University of South Florida College of Nursing and the rest of USF Health. In 2007, the hospital was ranked in the Top 50 of the Best Hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for numerous Adult Specialties:
* Orthopedics was ranked 24th
* Gynecology was ranked 25th
* Urology was ranked 41st
* Kidney Disease was ranked 41st
* Otolaryngology was ranked 46th

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is the primary Cancer affiliate for the school. In 2007, the hospital was ranked in the Top 50 of the Best Hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for numerous Adult Specialties:
* Cancer was ranked 16th
* Otolaryngology was ranked 42ndThe school is also affiliated with two VA Hospitals:
* James A. Valey VAMC in Tampa, Florida is recognized as the busiest VA Hospital in the nation.
* Bay Pines VAMC is recognized as the 2nd busiest VA Hospitals in the nation.

All Children's Hospital located in St. Petersburg, Florida is the school's Pediatrics Teaching Affiliate:
* America's Top 25 Children's Hospital 2007 by Child (magazine)
* Best Children's Hospital in Florida 2007 by Child (magazine)

Research

The University of South Florida College of Nursing Research Center was especially established in 1997 to provide consultation and technical support to faculty and student researchers. The Distinguished Lecture Series was also developed to bring nationally recognized researchers to USF to further encourage mentoring and research. As a result of such programs, the college's NIH funding has increased from 64th to th 45th percentile nationally.

Funding for research increase 95 percent during 2002-03 and the College aspires to be in the top 20 for federal research funding by 2008. Research teams are focusing on palliative and end-of-life care, cardiac rehabilitation, and complementary therapies for chronic illness and cancer.

Community Impact

USF nurses provide care for Floridians from school age to old age through programs such as preschool vision screenings and the Elderhealth Center, a nurse directed clinic at the J.L. Young apartments in Tampa. Nursing faculty and students care for patients in more than 100 cooperating health care agencies in USF's 15-county service area. The College received a $1.9 million federal grant to educate health care providers for Florida's Native American population.

Faculty

The acting Dean of College of Nursing, since 1997, has been Patricia A. Burns, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN. Dr. Burns previously worked at State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Nursing, and held a joint appointment in the Department of Family Medicine. Dean Burns is a nationally recognized researcher in female urinary incontinence, and holds appointments in the Department of Family Medicine and the Department of Urology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. Dr. Burns is actively involved in leadership roles within the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty, Southern Regional Education Board Nursing Council, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Dr. Burns has been honored with the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition; the Outstanding Leadership Award presented by Sigma Theta Tau, Delta Beta Chapter and Fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing.

Hinks & Elaine Shimberg Health Science Library

Founded in 1971, the Hinks & Elaine Shimberg Health Science Library serves the University of South Florida College of Medicine, the University of South Florida College of Nursing, and the University of South Florida College of Public Health.

External links

* [http://www.hsc.usf.edu/ University of South Florida Health]
* [http://www.cancer.gov/ National Cancer Institute]
* [http://www.nih.gov/ National Institutes of Health]