Photo provided IUPUC nursing students inflate the balloon of a Foley urinary catheter after placement on a skills trainer in the nursing simulation center.
IUPUC’s nursing program is set to become part of Indiana University’s core school of nursing, with college officials saying that the change will lead to increased academic opportunities for students and staff.
The nursing program at IUPUC will become part of a “core campus structure” that currently includes IUPUI, IU Bloomington and IU Fort Wayne, Indiana University officials said. The complete transition is targeted to be finalized by 2025 and is part of the college’s efforts to streamline statewide access to nursing education.
The change will unify curriculum across the four campuses, expand student access to degree programs and increase faculty professional development opportunities.
“We’re truly excited about the transition of our campuses’ nursing programs to the IU School of Nursing,” said IUPUC Vice Chancellor and Dean Reinhold Hill . “These changes represent a powerful opportunity for our students and faculty members to grow professionally and academically through access to a broader range of high-impact research, scholarship and service activity.”
According to IU officials, transitioning IUPUC’s nursing programs into the core school will provide “a clearer path for nursing students at IUPUC to benefit from the robust graduate programs currently offered at the core school campuses of the IU School of Nursing.”
The IUPUC Division of Health Sciences’ offerings include an IU Bachelor’s of Science in nursing with traditional and accelerated tracks and an IU master’s degree that focuses on preparing graduates for family practice as nurse practitioners (FNP) and qualifies degree recipients to sit for certification as an FNP.
IU School of Nursing graduate programs offer a master’s degree with nine different tracks as well as two doctoral programs, the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing.
School leaders said the change will also provide IUPUC’s nursing faculty with closer connections to their colleagues in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Fort Wayne, including greater collaboration and sharing of expertise on curriculum development.
“The core school is strongly focused on the generation of new research and scholarship,” said Rebecca Bartlett Ellis, executive associate dean for academic affairs at the IU School of Nursing. “We are excited about the opportunity to expand opportunities for research and scholarship and support our nurse colleagues at IUPUC who will join us in this mission, further strengthening our collective efforts to advance nursing.”
The transition occurs amid an effort by the IU School of Nursing to revise its curriculum based on a guiding framework from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, said Ellis. As part of the core school, IUPUC faculty will have the opportunity to become more involved in this work, and students at the local campus benefit from updated curriculum.
