From the Dean's Desk

From the Dean's Desk

Dear friends,

As we prepare to celebrate our 125th year this September, we are reflecting on the many nurse leaders who began their careers or furthered their educations at the University of Iowa College of Nursing. We hope you enjoy the conversation about leadership between current and former Arizona State University School of Nursing Deans Karshmer and Pipe, both Iowa BSN grads, and we hope it inspires you to submit your alumni leadership stories for us to feature throughout the year. From nurse managers to hospital executives, university deans to renowned scholars, we proudly prepare nurses who lead with care, lead with innovation, and lead for change.

In December, we graduated 115 future nurse leaders – 74 new BSNs, 33 RNs who furthered their nursing education with a BSN, and eight MSNs – and in January we welcomed 95 new students with the traditional White Coat Ceremony. For the first time, the ceremony included not only a cohort of 80 BSN students at the beginning of their clinical coursework, but 15 Master of Science in Nursing Entry into Practice students at the beginning of their nursing careers. These 15 are the first cohort in our brand-new, accelerated program, designed to prepare students who have a degree in a field other than nursing to become practicing nurses.

 In March, the UI College of Nursing will serve as the host school for the Midwest Nursing Research Society annual conference in Des Moines, Iowa. We hope any of you who are interested will join us for what is sure to be an interesting and informative few days.

Julie Zerwic, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN
Kelting Dean and Professor