Strategic Plan

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Strategic Plan 2007-2010

College of Nursing Strategic Initiatives
2004-2007

CORE VALUES
The University of Utah College of Nursing supports the mission and vision of the University, and is an integral part of the Health Sciences Center. We serve the public by improving health and quality of life through excellence in nursing education, research, and clinical care. We endorse the following values of the Health Sciences Center:

• Compassion
• Collaboration
• Diversity
• Integrity
• Responsibility
• Excellence

VISION STATEMENT
As a College, our vision is to develop leaders in nursing and health care whose actions, discoveries, and voices strengthen and transform the health of individuals and communities worldwide.

MISSION STATEMENT
The College of Nursing is a dynamic and evolving organization where we prepare all levels of professional nurses and scholars for diverse health care delivery and leadership roles. We offer interactive education in both nursing and gerontology. The College provides exceptional clinical care through innovative practice models. We are committed to developing knowledge that leads to improved health and quality of life.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The College of Nursing is positioned within an environment that respects the individual, fosters diversity, promotes community, cultivates life-long learning, and makes excellence an imperative. The action plans for education, research, and practice are located within the context of three organizing principles: 1) scholarship, 2) service, and 3) inclusiveness. As foundational elements, these principles inform and guide all activities for faculty, students, and staff.

SCHOLARSHIP
The first organizing principle, scholarship, is defined in the broadest sense of the word, and includes the scholarship of analysis, critique, creation, and utilization. Scholarship is exemplified in excellent practice, inquiry based teaching, and the creation of new knowledge forms. Scholarly work includes publications, presentations, grant writing, and academic endeavors directed toward knowledge construction and distribution.

SERVICE
The second organizing principle that informs all activities in the College is service. Faculty, students, and staff participate in the life and organizational work of the College and University through committees and taskforces. Faculty participate in professional organizations, review panels, and service activities. As a form of service, faculty also engage in public presentations, public education, and volunteer work directed toward promoting health in individuals, families, and the community.

INCLUSIVENESS
The third principle is organized around the cultivation and implementation of diverse ideas, perspectives, and beliefs in the College. This orientation influences the policies and practices of the College and guides student, faculty, and staff recruitment. The outcomes to be achieved and maintained by this organizing principle are:

1. The development of a culturally relevant and sensitive curriculum.
2. The delivery of culturally competent care.
3. The creation and maintenance of an inclusive community.

GOALS
The following four major goals form the basis for strategic planning and resource investments for the College of Nursing over the next three to five years:

1. Addressing the nursing shortage and nursing faculty shortage in Utah and across the country.
   
   Currently we are involved in several innovative collaborative student preparation partnerships:
   • Student nurse internships
   • Post graduate nurse residency
   • Expand RN-BS options and add long-term care specialty
   • Service-Learning
   
   
   
   We have also expanded our faculty preparation and faculty resources through:
   • teaching in nursing specialization track
   • clinical faculty associates model
   • accelerated BS to PhD program
   
   
   
   We will be exploring additional educational innovations to expand access and enrollments though:
   • 2nd degree options for students with degrees in other fields.
   • Explore Clinical Nurse Leader partnerships and affiliations.
   • Expand innovative models for doctoral education including; PhD specialty foci, distance options, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education collaborations and faculty and student exchanges.
   • Expand tenure track faculty and funded research programs to support growth in graduate education.
   • Create additional Faculty Fellowships and scholarships.
   • Market and expand Teaching in Nursing Master's Specialty and Post-Master's Certificate programs.

2. Enhancing quality and access to nursing and gerontology education through innovative technology-based delivery modalities.


Currently we lead the University in programs and courses utilizing distance technology in the following:


• Web-based programs:
RN to BS
Gerontology Certificate program
Teaching in Nursing MS & Certificate
Rural NP Program


• Teleconferencing:
PhD in Oncology Nursing

Our goal is to become know nationally for:

• Best practices in using innovative technology and pedagogy.
• Our research initiatives in evaluation and educational research.
• Our pioneering work in simulated learning and other new technology -based teaching modalities such as IP Video and PDAs.
• Setting the stage and role modeling best practices in the new interdisciplinary HSE building in collaboration with the Eccles Library.
• Build on our success and national notoriety for the distance based PhD in oncology nursing doctoral program and expand it to other models and other specialties.
• Creation of a Center for Simulated Learning- Critical Care and other Modules.

3. Advance recognition for research through sustained extramural funding and collaborative activities.


The College of Nursing is currently ranked 20th in NIH funding out of over 500 schools of nursing in the U.S. The impressive growth in extramural funding has risen from $350,000 to $1,465,000 in the past five years.

Our objectives in this area are to sustain faculty productivity and visibility and to:

• Support additional clinician researcher teams/partnerships.
• Expand portfolio and diversify grant funding sources to include funded centers, cores and institutional pre and postdoctoral awards and funding from additional agencies.
• Increase number of interdisciplinary funded research projects in several foci - cancer, aging, pain, women and children (informatics & genetics).
• Explore and expand interdisciplinary research and education opportunities:
• Center on Aging/Gerontology
• Medical and Nursing Informatics
• Genetic counseling and Neuroscience
• Alternative and Complementary Healing
• Evaluation/Educational Research

4. Align our clinical and educational endeavors with Health Science Center (HSC) areas of clinical emphasis and other clinical partners' strengths and interests.


Currently we are serving the medically underserved through our faculty practice and community outreach initiatives:

• Expand access to services through the use of NPs in community sites and incorporate the use of telemedicine links.
• Increase the College of Nursing presence in the Huntsman Cancer Hospital in both the research and clinical service areas.
• Expand and promote the Center for Aging as the model for elder care regionally and nationally.
• Expand and market our expertise in pain management, end of life and palliative care as part of the Caring Connections: Center for Hope and Grief.
• Prepare and utilize advanced practice nurses with genetic counseling skills.
• Integrate psychiatric mental health clinicians and services into primary care settings.