College of Nursing

Strategic Plan

The College of Nursing Strategic Plan can be down loaded by clicking on the title. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print the Strategic Plan document.

College of Nursing Strategic Initiatives
2007 - 2010

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

In addition, we support the values of innovation, and caring.

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:

The development of a culturally relevant and sensitive curriculum.

The delivery of culturally competent care.
The creation and maintenance of an inclusive community.

GOALS

Educational Programs

  1. Prepare graduates with the requisite knowledge and skills to practice effectively as the health professionals of tomorrow.
  2. Secure national recognition for excellence in academic service learning.
  3. Enhance academic advising and student services to provide better support to students and faculty.
  4. Graduate students with a global perspective of contemporary issues and an understanding of their effects on health care.
  5. Graduate health professionals who demonstrate effective communication with diverse individuals, groups and interdisciplinary teams.
  6. Redesign graduate educational offerings to include the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, and design articulations with BS, MS and PhD offerings.

Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program

  1. Increase the student enrollments in most Gerontology interdisciplinary classes.
  2. Increase student enrollment in the certificate programs (both undergraduate and graduate) and the Master¿s Degree Program.
  3. Strengthen and expand existing relationships with key departments within the College of Nursing and across campus.
  4. Re-envision the MS specialty tracks and consolidate them as needed.

PhD Program

  1. Restructure PhD Program delivery while retaining the current curriculum.
  2. Increase congruence of faculty and student research, and initiate periodic admission of additional specialty-focused cohorts of PhD students based on faculty research strengths and interests.
  3. Strengthen the BS¿PhD program option.
  4. Create a highly successful post-doctoral program.
  5. Improve the process and outcome evaluation of the PhD Program.

Research Program

  1. Develop a limited number of collaborative clusters (pre-centers) around research focus areas that will position the College of Nursing for increased productivity and advanced research funding, such as institutional training and center grants.
  2. Leverage current resources to enhance a research culture characterized by collaboration, trust, high productivity, and funding success.
  3. Promote nursing science and gerontology contributions and develop a pipeline of investigators for the future.

Information Technology

  1. Enhance education and program evaluation through the use of state-of-the-art information technology.
  2. Provide technical support and assistance for faculty and staff for distance learning delivery.
  3. Provide administrative systems that improve service and efficiency.
  4. Support interdisciplinary simulation-based learning and research opportunities.

Practice and Service

  1. Engage faculty and students in clinical research opportunities within the College of Nursing Faculty Practice sites.
  2. Maintain a forum (the Faculty Practice Organization) for coordination and oversight of faculty practices, including evaluation and faculty development.
  3. Increase Faculty Practice involvement in community service and/or increase practice experiences for faculty and students that emphasize cross-cultural interdisciplinary experiences in the community.
  4. Increase interdisciplinary, collaborative faculty practice positions with key partners such as University Health Care, the School of Medicine, the Veteran¿s Administration Medical Center and Intermountain Healthcare.

Organization and Environment

  1. Develop and implement a formal mentoring plan for new faculty.
  2. Strengthen the College division structure and align division goals with the College Strategic Plan.
  3. Monitor and improve the work environment to increase faculty and staff satisfaction as measured by an annual survey.
  4. Create an inclusive climate and increase the diversity of faculty and staff.
  5. Build on existing relationships to increase collaboration with other disciplines and health care organizations.
  6. Complete the renovation of the College of Nursing building and create a new simulation center.