— Dean Victoria Vaughan Dickson, Ph.D., RN, FAHA, FHFSA, FAAN
As the 11th dean of the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, I am honored to join a tradition of excellence in nursing practice, education, research, and service. For over 80 years, the UConn Nursing community has been committed to preparing the next generation of nurses dedicated to advancing the health of individuals and communities, locally and globally. These past few years have highlighted the critical role that nurses play and must continue to play to ensure the health and well-being of all people. Today’s increasingly complex health care and social needs influence individual overall health as well as that of families and communities and require efforts to address structural and social determinants of health.
UConn nurses have historically been at the forefront as clinicians, educators, leaders, and scholars to develop and implement innovative models of care — models that have improved how and where we care for patients when they are at their most vulnerable. Through this tradition of excellence, UConn nurses have made significant contributions to promoting health equity across the lifespan.
This fall, we continued to build on this tradition as we welcomed 170 first-year students to UConn Nursing, our largest incoming class ever, accepted from a record breaking 2,874 applicants. We also welcomed 150 students into the Accelerated BS in Nursing program (formerly CEIN) across the regional campuses. During the UConn Weekend of Welcome events, these energetic new students learned about the history of UConn Nursing, discovered the many resources and opportunities we have to offer, and shared why they wanted to be a “UConn Nurse.” As our sophomore students started their first simulation experiences and our senior nursing students readied for their final clinical experiences, the “Transitions to Clinical Practice” ceremony marked an important milestone for the members of the junior class. This event commemorates the start of the clinical component of their education and solidifies their entrance into the nursing profession. During this ceremony, I reflected that the class of 2025 arrived to UConn in 2021; they chose nursing — specifically UConn Nursing — in the midst of the pandemic. It was inspiring to see them now standing proudly alongside the dedicated faculty to recite our PRAXIS pledge!
In this year’s Unison, we highlight the many ways in which UConn nurses are demonstrating their ongoing commitment to caring, innovation, and health equity. Expanding UConn Nursing undergraduate enrollment is vital; our in-demand graduates are needed to fill growing needs at hospitals and other medical facilities in Connecticut and nationwide. Through generous gifts by alumni that support nursing student scholarships and develop innovative programmatic support for nursing education in patient-centered practice, we are able to rapidly increase our student enrollment and prepare nurses poised to meet the nursing care needs of the state. We are also increasing our interdisciplinary and technology-based research that will secure our position as a leader in nursing research, education, and innovation.
Thanks to one of these transformative gifts, planning is underway for a new, state-of-the-art facility that will provide much-needed space and resources for our students. The new building will highlight the innovative use of space and technology, which are essential to preparing the next generation of nurses, nurse-scholars, and leaders poised to meet the nursing care delivery needs of the state and conduct cutting-edge research that advances nursing science. You’ll find much more about this project on the next few pages.
This year, we launched the University of Connecticut’s Nursing and Engineering Innovation Center. The mission of the Center is to advance health care, workforce, and economic development through interdisciplinary collaborations between nursing and engineering that promote innovations in health technology. As one of the first of its kind in the nation, the Nursing and Engineering Innovation Center will support research through seed grants, student education, and community engagement. The unique partnerships and resources of the Center will facilitate transdisciplinary education of nurses and engineers who will be uniquely positioned to lead the implementation of tomorrow’s technology. Learn more on page 8.
In this edition of our annual publication, you’ll read more about how UConn nurses are building upon the tradition of excellence in practice, education, research, and service. Our internationally renowned faculty are conducting research that seeks to advance health equity across the lifespan in vulnerable populations. Our global outreach is raising the international visibility of our school and investigating ways to address health equity in developing countries. This work is aligned with our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) that has been incorporated into our strategic plan. We believe that diversity culminates in strength that advances our learning, research and scholarship, practice, service, and innovation. We understand that a diverse nursing workforce is essential to promoting health equity locally and globally. We echo this commitment through our outreach programs that seek to engage high school students in nursing as a career.
This is an exciting time of unprecedented growth and opportunity for UConn Nursing. Thanks to the incredible leadership of our former dean Deborah Chyun and with your support, UConn Nursing has a strong foundation and collaborative partnerships in place to achieve our vision of innovative, evidence-based, and caring nurses transforming health care and promoting health equity for all.
— Dean Victoria Vaughan Dickson, Ph.D., RN, FAHA, FHFSA, FAAN
This article was originally published in the Fall 2023 issue of Unison.
