May 4, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing has been designated a Veterans Affairs (VA) Nursing Academy by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations, joining just 14 other schools of nursing in the country that have this prestigious designation.
The VA Nursing Academy designation means that the UAB School of Nursing and the Birmingham VA Medical Center will work together to train compassionate, highly educated nurses to look after the health care needs of the nation's veterans. It expands learning opportunities for nursing students at VA facilities and funds faculty development opportunities.
"The UAB School of Nursing and the Birmingham VA Medical Center have a long-standing academic partnership through faculty practice, nursing research and clinical education," said UAB School of Nursing Dean Doreen Harper, Ph.D. "This new program will allow us to strengthen our joint academic and service partnership to increase the number of nursing students and the number of faculty committed to enhancing the quality of care for our veterans and their families, all while increasing the number of qualified applicants the school can accept each year."
The Birmingham VA Medical Center/ UAB School of Nursing VA Nursing Academy was developed collaboratively by school leaders and faculty and VA nursing leaders. It is designed to link institutional missions and governance, create a pipeline for the development of VA Nurse Scholars and faculty, and develop shared clinical, educational, and leadership opportunities for students, staff and faculty in the Birmingham VA Medical Center and UAB School of Nursing.
As part of the initiative, 20 additional students per year will be admitted to the school within the VA Academy program and will be identified as VA Nurse Scholars. They will have unique educational and leadership opportunities associated with being a VA Nurse Scholar, including: having all clinical experiences at the Birmingham VA Medical Center except for pediatrics and obstetrics; having a VA-based faculty member as their advisor and mentor; and being hired at the Birmingham VA Medical Center as student nurse technicians, if desired, after successful completion of all first semester courses.
Four components will be added to the curriculum at UAB School of Nursing, including an elective course, Caring for Americas' Heroes: The VHA System; incorporation of the VA's simulated computerized patient record system into the school's clinical simulation laboratory; cultural competence specific to veterans with development of simulations related to top 10 diagnoses of patients seen at the Birmingham VA Medical Center; and projects addressing quality improvement, service learning and research.
"The Birmingham VA Medical Center looks at this joint venture as an opportunity to fulfill our mission to providing excellent nursing care for our veteran patients," said Greg Eagerton, RN, MSN, associate director of Patient Care Service at the Birmingham VA Medical Center. "The VA Nursing Academy allows us to proactively prepare future nurses who will be equipped with enhanced skills and knowledge that are needed to care for this special population.
"The program also gives students and faculty the opportunity to learn and work in an environment that provides specialized care for our American veterans that deserve nothing less than the best care provided by well trained nurses," Eagerton said. "We look forward, as well, to this opportunity to continue to strengthen our relationship with the UAB School of Nursing and their faculty. This is truly a demonstration of how world class health care and world class education partners can collaborate to enhance the nursing care of specialized patient populations."
In the VA Nursing Academy, the UAB School of Nursing and the Birmingham VA Medical Center will jointly work to increase the recruitment and retention of baccalaureate nursing students and graduates into the VA nursing workforce; increase the number of undergraduate nursing students educated about the specific needs of veterans through an innovative curriculum emphasizing high quality, culturally competent care; develop and expand faculty expertise among VA master's degree-prepared nurses and UAB School of Nursing faculty with a focus on the delivery of health care for veterans; and expand partnership opportunities in education, clinical service and evidenced- based practice to improve quality outcomes, specific to prevention and management of chronic conditions, cultural competence, nursing informatics and simulation technology.
Four nursing schools joined UAB in the VA Nursing Academy this year: Western Carolina University, Asheville, N.C.; University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu; Pace University, Manhattan and Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Waynesburg University, Pittsburgh.
About UAB
Building on a century of nursing education on the UAB campus, the UAB School of Nursing prepares nurse leaders to excel as clinicians, researchers, and educators; and advances knowledge and the delivery of high quality health care in Alabama and worldwide. The school offers leading-edge bachelors, master's, and doctoral programs, and offers the opportunity for students learn with faculty and student teams from nursing, medicine, dentistry, health professions, public health and optometry.