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Colleagues,

 

I cannot believe my first year has come and gone. Time has just flown by! The School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science hit the ground running this fall. The minor in Public Health moved from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences to our school. This step marked the journey to starting a bachelor’s of arts undergraduate major in Public Health in the fall, 2016. A graduate Public Health Certificate program starts in January, 2016. These programs are under the direction of visiting professor Dr. Ruthann Russo who joined us this summer.

To respond the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Futures of Nursing report issued in 2010 that calls for 80% of the nursing workforce to be baccalaureate prepared by 2020, TCNJ’s Department of Nursing has partnered with five healthcare systems to offer off campus and onsite at the healthcare institution RN to BSN programs. Our partners are Saint Peter’s, Hunterdon, Capital Health, Princeton, and in January, 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in Hamilton. Over 100 students are enrolled in these programs.

The School Nurse graduate master’s and certificate program was reinstated due to community need. These programs are led by Dr. Tracy Perron a certified School Nurse who is a nationally recognized expert in this area.

The Department of Nursing was selected as a Center of Excellence for fostering a positive student learning environment, awarded by the National League for Nursing. This national achievement is quite an honor as only a very few programs are selected each year.

The Department of Nursing also received funding from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to hold its first White Coat ceremony on November 18th. Over 200 people came to support the sophomore students as they received their White Lab Coats and recited the Oath to commit to humananistic, compassionate care. Over the years, rites of passage in nursing have been lost as we moved away from the white uniforms and caps. This ceremony symbolizes the achievement of entering the first clinical experiences in the nursing. We look forward to repeating this ceremony next year.

Several new people joined Nursing this year. Assistant Professor, Dr. Dolores Dzubaty, a specialist in women and infant health, Dr. Gerry Altmiller, Associate Professor whose expertise is in quality, safety, and geriatric care, and Program Assistant Ada Swain. We are also saying goodbye to a long-time professor of nursing, Dr. Lovey Haumann who is retiring in December. Lovey has been a great mentor and colleague to many over the years. She will be missed but we wish her well in her retirement!

The Health and Exercise Science Department welcomed a new staff member Noah Beller as the Internship Coordinator and Assistant Professor Laura Bruno whose expertise is in teaching and fitness for life. Welcome to all our new staff and faculty we are so honored you have chosen to be part of TCNJ.

Construction continues in Forcina and Packer to build out new state of the art facilities for simulation and physical enhancement labs. These facilities are slated to be ready in 2016.

This past year the School has brought in a little more than 7 million dollars in grants and donations, much of which is to support student scholarships. We continue as part of the College’s capital campaign to seek funding to support students and programmatic initiatives. We have a corporate/community advisory board, Chaired by Elizabeth Sheridan, TCNJ nursing alum, Chief Operating Officer of Inspira Medical Centers, Vineland and Chief Nurse Executive of Bridgeton, Elmer and Vineland Campuses, assisting with fundraising and raising the visibility of the School. If you would like to more information about our initiatives or fundraising activities please contact me at kennerc@tcnj.edu.

 

Happy Holidays!

kenner
Carole Kenner, PhD, RN, FAAN
Carol Kuser Loser Dean/Professor

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TCNJ's Department of Nursing is currently accepting applications for the ABSN program.Learn More
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