Nursing down under

Pictured: Susan Weeks, Deborah Edwards, Robin Christian and Kay Sanders.

Fort Worth, TX

9/25/2008

In 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nurses (AACN) called for advanced practice nurses to have a doctorate degree by the year 2015. Because of this, Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences developed the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program at TCU.

As part of the program, four DNP students, along with Dr. Kathy Baker and Dean Paulette Burns, traveled to Australia for two weeks to learn about the country’s approach to nursing care delivery, health policy and research efforts.

“We forged some fruitful academic relationships with the two universities and research institute we are partnering with in Adelaide, South Australia,” said Dr. Baker, director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

Students worked alongside nursing doctoral students from Flinders University and University of Adelaide, as well as taking a course in Systematic Research Review at the prestigious Joanna Briggs Institute.

“We were the first doctoral group to have this experience and we have stirred a bit of interest from other nursing doctoral groups around the United States who have heard about our plans,” Baker explained.

Harris College is at the forefront of filling the gap in nursing education through offering its Doctor of Nursing Practice program. After all, it was the second program to develop in the U.S. and blazes new trail with the practice in Australia.

During the trip, the faculty and students made presentations about nursing practices in the United States, and the hosts did the same. Students also visited clinical sites relevant to their practice roles – two students are nurse practitioners, one is a nurse anesthetist and one is a clinical nurse specialist.

As the doctoral nursing program moves forward at TCU, advanced practice nurses have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills across the globe, as well as in the classroom