By STEPHANIE WILLIAMSON/Contributor
With new simulation labs and programs and more space, the School of Nursing aims to grow and better address the evolving needs of students and the community.
After two years of planning, the university unveiled the expanded David G. and Jacqueline M. Braithwaite building on Aug. 31.
“It’s so exciting, and it is so phenomenal. When you walk in, you’ll see it was worth the wait,” Barbara Haas, dean of the school of nursing, said in a news story marking the opening.
UT System Board of Regents allocated $50.5 million for the two-story, 47,000 square-foot addition and to completely renovate the original building.
On the first floor of the addition are hospital simulation labs designed to train nursing students in medical-surgical acute care, intensive care, pediatrics, mother-baby, and home health care.
“It is a great space that helps meet our mission to empower students to excel as nurse clinicians, leaders and scholars in a caring, learner-centered, strengths-based environment,” Dr. Christy Gipson, an associate professor and accredited provider program director, said.
The second floor, which is projected to be finished by the end of 2025, will have areas for student wellness, research, student affairs and marketing, information from the university said.
Gipson said students were the focal point of the expansion’s design.
Multiple labs and state-of-the-art simulation equipment provide students a hands-on experience to prepare them for real hospital environments.
The expansion has created a more dynamic educational experience, Dr. Jenifer Chilton, the associate dean of academic affairs, said.
For the first time, students have designated spaces to study and eat, marking an important milestone for the nursing school.
“It has given (us) a place for students to go to belong and study,” Chilton said.
Shanna Casayuran, level 3 nursing student, said the study rooms are her favorite part of the expansion.
“We’ve got TVs,” she said. “We could connect to those TVs, and there’s a bunch of chairs so we can study together and just review and stuff.”
NURSING SHORTAGE
“There is a current nursing shortage, and the addition will help us meet the need to educate more students to become nurses to help address the shortage,” Gipson said.
The program admits about 120 to 125 students per semester in its bachelor of science in nursing program.
“What makes our program different is we admit three times a year for the BSN program,” Chilton said.
Throughout their nursing education, students are required to complete skill checkoffs.
Chilton said previously, because of limited space, skill checkoffs would begin sometimes as early at 7:15 a.m. and continue to as late as 7 p.m.
“This time, we started at 9 a.m. and ran 120 students through by 2 p.m.,” she said. “And it has to do with the (additional) space and the ability to spread out.”
NEW PROGRAMS
The state of Texas has allocated funding to the nursing school to launch a new critical care pathway, the Advanced Graduate Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGA-NCP) program.
It will be the first doctoral certification on campus, Chilton said.
The nursing school also is set to become the second program in the nation to offer specialized education through its new flight nursing program.
“I am excited about the opportunities they (new programs) will provide,” Gipson said.
Chilton said the nursing program’s new features are attracting students who did not originally plan to attend UT Tyler.
“Once they actually see our campus, they usually fall in love with it,” she said. “Especially with the new technology.”
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