April 22, 2024 • 16 mins
What's being done locally to address the national nursing shortage? Dr. Barbara Haas, Dean of the School of Nursing at UT Tyler, explains the root causes and the innovative measures being adopted to tackle this crisis. Understand the effects of the declining college-age population and the evolution of higher education's role, while getting an exclusive look into the pioneering strategies of UT Tyler, from year-round programs and online learning to the exciting collaboration with the new UT Tyler School of Medicine. Dr. Haas shares her expertise on the expansion of nursing facilities, the irreplaceable value of simulation in training, and the essentials needed to retain skilled nurses in the workforce.
Learn more about the often misunderstood yet vital interplay between nurses and physicians, clarifying the enduring myths surrounding their professional relationship. Dr. Haas brings clarity to the symbiotic bond that underscores the importance of teamwork in life-saving situations and the true meaning behind medical jargon like "STAT." Celebrate the triumphs of The University of Texas at Tyler School of Nursing, from their impressive NCLEX national nursing test pass rates to the cutting-edge preceptor program and online PhD in nursing.
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LANDESS (00:04):
A study in 2019 predicted that a nationwide
nursing shortage would continueto spread across the country
through 2030.
What's the problem and what'sbeing done about it?
I'm Mike Landis.
Ut Tyler Radio connects withSchool of Nursing Dean, dr
Barbara Haas, to find out.
Now.
You've just been appointed to astate committee that's going to
be looking for answers.
HAAS (00:24):
Yes, that's correct, just been appointed to a state
committee that's going to belooking for answers.
Yes, that's correct.
This committee has actuallylooking at refining an existing
rule in which the coordinatingboard has funded schools of
nursing to help with enrollmentand retention.
LANDESS (00:37):
Well, yeah, exactly.
The issue is that even whennurse retirements and workforce
exits are factored in, theBureau of Labor Statistics of
Labor Statistics projects thatmore than 203,000 openings for
RNs will happen each yearthrough 2031.
What is the UT Tyler School ofNursing doing to help meet that
need?
HAAS (00:57):
Oh goodness.
Well, we've got severalinitiatives going, Some of them
we've made to be talked about inthe past.
Mike, we went to a year-roundprogram so we could admit many
more students each year.
We offer some programs onlinefor students who are
geographically bound so thatthey're able to return to school
.
We're starting new programs toget more people in.
So there's several things thatwe're doing as a school of
(01:19):
nursing to address the shortage,but the shortage is a
nationwide problem and there's alot of factors that are
contributing to it.
Such as Well, for example, thenumber of college-age students
is taking a sharp declinestarting in 2025.
And we know that over the nextfour to five years we're going
(01:39):
to see a 15% decline in collegeenrollment across the country,
across all disciplines, not justnursing.
So we're seeing this very sharpcliff where the numbers of
students going to college isgoing to be much lower because
there's just fewer.
There was a population decreaseat that time, so there's fewer
students eligible to go toschool and there's less faith in
(02:01):
higher education than thereused to be, because there's so
many opportunities for reallygood careers that don't require
a college education any longer.
So even those who are eligibleto go to school aren't
necessarily returning to school.
LANDESS (02:14):
But nursing to some extent from my perspective, for
whatever that's worth issomewhat of a calling.
HAAS (02:21):
It is.
Yet across the country nursingenrollments are down and
particularly for a couple of theprograms, the BSN programs.
The Bachelor of Nursing Scienceis still fairly strong and has
stayed fairly level this pastyear.
The American Association ofColleges in Nursing just
released a report yesterday,april 15th, that looked at the
(02:46):
numbers of students in differentprograms across the country and
, as I said, the BSN has stayedfairly stable.
Very slight increase, like 0.3%.
Perhaps it had had a dip theyear before.
But programs like the RN to BSNcompletion program has taken a
very significant drop inenrollment and a lot of the
(03:06):
master's degrees and graduatedegrees are taking dips.
So there's concern for theadvanced practice.
LANDESS (03:13):
Big challenges there.
Let's go back to the committeething we were talking about
earlier.
There's an old joke about acamel being a racehorse created
by a committee.
Do you have confidence thatthis 19-member committee is
going to be able to come up withsome substantive solutions to
what you're facing?
HAAS (03:27):
Well, the committee is an advisory committee, so we can
only make suggestions, and wehad a day-long meeting and I
think it was productive.
We had several thoughts abouthow the program could be
improved to make it moreaccessible to more programs that
would give more support toschools of nursing across the
state.
LANDESS (03:47):
The UT Regents supported your nursing school to
the tune of $35 million forimprovement and expansion, and
that expansion is going up rightoutside our studios.
If you listen closely, it's outthere.
Groundbreaking was a year ago,april.
Is it on schedule?
HAAS (04:01):
It is on schedule.
We're so excited we should bemoving into the new building
later this summer, hopefullylate July or early August.
Now that's only the first floorof the new addition that will
be completed, but that's animportant part, because that is
the new simulation center andall of our skills lab and health
assessment labs.
LANDESS (04:19):
That must be very, very exciting for you.
HAAS (04:21):
It is very exciting.
It must be very, very excitingfor you.
It is very exciting and itreally will increase our
capacity to have more studentsin simulated environments, which
is very important to preparepeople before they go take care
of patients in the real world.
LANDESS (04:33):
In the real world.
Yeah, Tell us about thebenefits of the new addition,
the complete addition, not justthat first floor.
HAAS (04:39):
Well, it'll be another year before the second floor is
completed at least another yearand then also the remodel of the
existing older building.
But once everything iscompleted we will have space not
only for a much largersimulation area, but then
there'll be more space on thesecond floor for student
engagement with the communityeducation research data
(05:03):
analytics lab.
So a lot of activity is goingto go on in that new building.
LANDESS (05:08):
Tell me about the connection between the new
medical school that's beingbuilt, the School of Medicine,
and the nursing school.
How closely will you work withthose folks?
I see their buildings going uptoo.
How closely will you be workingwith those folks?
We have the first class goingand the second class is about to
be announced.
Tell us more about that.
HAAS (05:26):
Well across all health professions, not just medicine
and nursing, but also ourCollege of Pharmacy and our
School of Health Professions.
And within health professionswe have things like public
health and occupational therapy,speech-language pathology and
hopefully we'll have physicaltherapy in the future.
So all of those healthprofessions come together and we
meet on a regular basis alreadythe deans do, along with our
(05:49):
executive vice president forhealth affairs, and we have
what's called interprofessionaleducation.
So activities are planned bothin a classroom setting where the
students across thosedisciplines can work together,
solve problems, do case studies,and then we also have a
component where the students areout in the community,
volunteering, doing serviceprojects again working together.
LANDESS (06:12):
Tell us about the benefits and challenges to
retention in the nursing fieldthese days.
Are they the same that they'vealways been, or are there
mitigating factors now that makeit tougher?
HAAS (06:24):
Wow, that is a great question.
Retention has always been anissue.
I think it's probably.
LANDESS (06:29):
Is it because of burnout?
HAAS (06:31):
It is because of burnout and interestingly, everyone
assumes that it is salaries, andcertainly salaries play a part
of it than the salaries, it'swhether the nurses who are
employed are feeling valued andheard and respected and engaged,
that they're a part ofsomething, and so a lot of the
(06:53):
organizations are doing thingsto acknowledge the importance of
nurses.
You know, nurses have been themost trusted profession for over
20 years now, so they'rerespected and trusted and yet
they don't get the sameaccolades as some of the other
health professions, and it isn'tthat we expect them to be.
(07:17):
Oh, there goes our heroes again, which happened during the
pandemic.
LANDESS (07:19):
Absolutely.
They were heroes and they wereheroes.
HAAS (07:22):
They were, and now they're still doing that same work, but
no one looks at them as heroesanymore, so it's just kind of an
expectation.
So I think it's a difficult,very complex problem and I wish
I had an answer, because if Idid I'd probably be a really
wealthy woman.
Yes, you would.
But I guess I'll say thisEveryone is working on trying to
(07:47):
solve that problem, to makeworkloads more reasonable, to
make that life-work balance morereasonable, to give people more
autonomy.
That's an important part ofwhat nurses value in their work
life, because they are highlyeducated and they want to be
able to put that education touse.
LANDESS (08:06):
Gosh for a lot of people if they haven't had
someone in the hospital or hadmedical issues in which they
were dealing with the healthprofession on a regular basis.
Most of their information comesfrom TV shows.
I mean, this must be how thatreally works, and there's always
a constant tension, it seemslike, between nurses and doctors
.
Are docs getting the messagethat they need these people and
(08:29):
they need to change theirattitudes?
HAAS (08:31):
Oh, I don't think doctors are the problem.
I really don't.
LANDESS (08:34):
Okay, I think that the— See, I'm getting my information
from TV too, from.
HAAS (08:37):
TV.
No, I think our medicalcolleagues highly respect their
nursing colleagues that theywork with.
Now, maybe not 100%, but noprofession is 100% right.
But I think overall thephysicians recognize the
importance of the nurses andthey value value.
Our own president Calhoun, youknow, has said over and over
again you know, smart physicianwill recognize the good nurses
(09:00):
because the nurses are thoseeyes and ears and you know they
make the decisions up front.
Shall I call a physician orshouldn't I?
Is this something I can handle,or should I get a new order?
Or do I need a new order?
And I know I was in theteaching hospital many, many
years ago and I remember havingto call those residents and
they'd say, well, what should Ido?
(09:20):
And I'd have to tell them well,I really need an order for XYZ,
because I'd been in practice along time and I knew what was
needed.
But they had the authority todo that.
So they work side by side andit's an important relationship.
But I don't feel like for themost part, physicians don't
recognize that.
So I don't see that that isreally the issue.
LANDESS (09:44):
Is it a cultural issue?
HAAS (09:47):
Well, as you pointed out, I think there's a lot of
misunderstanding about what isit that nurses do, and
television shows do not help,because it is not accurate, it
just isn't.
LANDESS (09:57):
There's no TV show called the Nurses, it's the
Doctors.
HAAS (10:01):
Exactly, and the nurses are kind of in the background.
LANDESS (10:08):
I mean it's unrealistic for everybody.
HAAS (10:10):
I mean the physicians, the way they're portrayed.
That is not how a physicianspends his or her day
transporting patients to x-ray.
LANDESS (10:23):
It's just so not real.
Tell me what STAT stands for.
I've always wondered that whensomebody yells STAT, what does
that mean?
S-t-a-t, I guess that's what itis.
HAAS (10:29):
Great question.
I don't know.
LANDESS (10:33):
You need to watch more television.
It means right away.
HAAS (10:35):
But whether it's an acronym, I don't know.
LANDESS (10:38):
I don't know either.
HAAS (10:40):
It means immediately.
LANDESS (10:42):
I got that part of it.
I was pretty sure that was trueCode blue.
There we go, all right.
So how many nurses are expectedto graduate this year from this
facility here on the UT Tylercampus and how many do you hope
to graduate in the coming years?
HAAS (10:56):
Well, what I'd like to say ?
We'd hope to graduate about 600undergraduates a year, because
that's about how many we admitevery year.
Now they don't all make it andwe would like them to, and
that's why a lot of effort hasbeen put into retention, because
if they're good enough to getin, we would think they'd be
good enough to finish.
But life gets in the way.
(11:17):
Maybe sometimes they see thereal world oh, it's not like it
is on TV, so they change theirmind.
So we'd like to see at least600 undergraduates and then,
with a graduate program,probably another 200 to 300
graduates.
Now we are really growing ourgraduate programs, although
those numbers are decliningacross the country.
(11:38):
At UT Tyler our numbers ofgraduate students are increasing
.
LANDESS (11:42):
Oh, that's nice it is.
That's good to hear.
Yes, what's the best keptsecret about the UT Tyler School
of Nursing?
What don't people know thatyou'd like for them to know?
HAAS (11:51):
Well, I think there's a lot of things that people don't
know about us, mike to know.
Well, I think there's a lot ofthings that people don't know
about us, mike.
But one of the things they maynot realize is how highly
respected this program is acrossthe state and the nation.
We have a very high pass rateon our NCLEX scores.
That's for the undergraduatesto become registered nurses.
So our most recent class issomewhere between 97 and 98%
(12:13):
pass rate, well above thenational average and well above
the state average as well.
Our advanced practice nursestheir pass rates on their
certification exams is 100%.
LANDESS (12:24):
Wow.
HAAS (12:24):
And that includes both the family nurse practitioner and
the psychiatric mental healthnurse practitioners.
So our programs are excellent.
So that's one thing.
We are also very innovative.
We're the first in the countrynot the first in the country,
I'm sorry the first in the stateto offer the preceptor program.
That was many years ago andthat spread throughout the state
(12:45):
.
We were the first.
LANDESS (12:46):
What is a preceptor?
HAAS (12:47):
program, addition to having the faculty making rounds
with the students and spendingthe day with them, and the
facilities that currentlylicensed registered nurses serve
as their mentor, their coach,while they're in the hospital.
So they pair up and have aclose relationship built.
So we were the first in thestate to do that.
(13:11):
We were the third program inthe country to do an online PhD
program in nursing, and now thathas spread and most programs
have gone online.
There are still some that aresolely face-to-face, but even
those that have a face-to-facecomponent are often a hybrid
where they have some online,some face-to-face.
We were one of the first to goyear-round face-to-face.
(13:38):
We were one of the first to goyear-round, and now several
programs in the state areswitching to a year-round
nursing program because we canadmit more students that way and
we can get them out faster,both of which will help address
that nursing shortage.
So we've been innovative inthat way.
We've been innovative in thetypes of programs we offer.
I'd love to talk to you aboutour critical care pathway
sometime because we're doingsome real exciting things there.
So we're innovative in that weare a strengths-based program.
(14:02):
What that means is everystudent who comes into our
program.
They are evaluated for theirstrengths, their natural talents
, and we like to build upon thatand recognize that, although
people have different talents,they're all important, they all
contribute to the team, they'reall important and not just point
out like, oh, you need to fixthis, do this better.
But you know, you've got thisreal skill set at XYZ, so let's
(14:26):
invest in that and make it evenbetter because you can shine in
this area.
So we have that kind of a focusarea.
So we have that kind of a focus.
Our newest thing this is hot offthe press starting this fall,
we are going to be admittingstudents directly to the BSN
program, and most places youhave to go to what's called a
pre-nursing program where you'readmitted, you have to do all
(14:47):
these prerequisites and then youmay or may not get into the
program.
Well, what that does is it setsstudents up to spend two years
of their life taking all thecourses they need to get into
nursing, and then maybe there'snot room and they don't get in.
And now what do they do?
So instead, what we're doing iswe're going to say, from the
minute you walk in as a freshmanat UT Tyler, you are already in
the nursing program and we aregoing to have courses that start
(15:10):
at the end of the freshman yearand throughout the sophomore
year, that are more introductorycourses, so they can start
learning about what is nursinglike because it's not like TV
and so make sure that this isreally the career they want and
then give them that a little bitof exposure and then have
milestones along the way.
So before they can startclinicals they have to maintain
(15:31):
these milestones.
They have to maintain a certaingrade point average.
They have to do well in certaincourses, these science courses
that are so foundational to whatwe do.
So that is going to be a gamechanger, I think, for a lot of
students, because we hope thatit would help with retention.
It would help identify thosestudents early who might be
(15:51):
struggling and need moreassistance, identify those
students early who might bestruggling and need more
assistance.
And it would help students whoperhaps really didn't know what
nursing was and it really wasn'tcut out for it, help them
identify early that I'd like togo a different direction.
And maybe what I really wantedto do is get a degree in
business, so I think it's awin-win-win for everybody.
LANDESS (16:13):
Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
HAAS (16:17):
Only that.
I would hope that yourlisteners would remember how
nurses are just really thatbackbone of health care.
And when you think about whenyou're born, who's there?
It's a nurse, right.
And then all through your lifethere's nurses in the school, in
your industries, in thehospitals, of course.
(16:38):
But who's holding your handwhen you die?
It's often a nurse.
So the nurses are there frombirth to death and everywhere in
between.
LANDESS (16:47):
Thanks for listening as UT Tyler Radio connects with Dr
Barbara Haas, Dean of the UTTyler School of Nursing.
For UT Tyler Radio News, I'mMike Landis.
A study in 2019 predicted that a nationwide
nursing shortage would continueto spread across the country
through 2030.
What's the problem and what'sbeing done about it?
I'm Mike Landis.
Ut Tyler Radio connects withSchool of Nursing Dean, dr
Barbara Haas, to find out.
Now.
You've just been appointed to astate committee that's going to
be looking for answers.
HAAS (00:24):
Yes, that's correct, just been appointed to a state
committee that's going to belooking for answers.
Yes, that's correct.
This committee has actuallylooking at refining an existing
rule in which the coordinatingboard has funded schools of
nursing to help with enrollmentand retention.
LANDESS (00:37):
Well, yeah, exactly.
The issue is that even whennurse retirements and workforce
exits are factored in, theBureau of Labor Statistics of
Labor Statistics projects thatmore than 203,000 openings for
RNs will happen each yearthrough 2031.
What is the UT Tyler School ofNursing doing to help meet that
need?
HAAS (00:57):
Oh goodness.
Well, we've got severalinitiatives going, Some of them
we've made to be talked about inthe past.
Mike, we went to a year-roundprogram so we could admit many
more students each year.
We offer some programs onlinefor students who are
geographically bound so thatthey're able to return to school
.
We're starting new programs toget more people in.
So there's several things thatwe're doing as a school of
(01:19):
nursing to address the shortage,but the shortage is a
nationwide problem and there's alot of factors that are
contributing to it.
Such as Well, for example, thenumber of college-age students
is taking a sharp declinestarting in 2025.
And we know that over the nextfour to five years we're going
(01:39):
to see a 15% decline in collegeenrollment across the country,
across all disciplines, not justnursing.
So we're seeing this very sharpcliff where the numbers of
students going to college isgoing to be much lower because
there's just fewer.
There was a population decreaseat that time, so there's fewer
students eligible to go toschool and there's less faith in
(02:01):
higher education than thereused to be, because there's so
many opportunities for reallygood careers that don't require
a college education any longer.
So even those who are eligibleto go to school aren't
necessarily returning to school.
LANDESS (02:14):
But nursing to some extent from my perspective, for
whatever that's worth issomewhat of a calling.
HAAS (02:21):
It is.
Yet across the country nursingenrollments are down and
particularly for a couple of theprograms, the BSN programs.
The Bachelor of Nursing Scienceis still fairly strong and has
stayed fairly level this pastyear.
The American Association ofColleges in Nursing just
released a report yesterday,april 15th, that looked at the
(02:46):
numbers of students in differentprograms across the country and
, as I said, the BSN has stayedfairly stable.
Very slight increase, like 0.3%.
Perhaps it had had a dip theyear before.
But programs like the RN to BSNcompletion program has taken a
very significant drop inenrollment and a lot of the
(03:06):
master's degrees and graduatedegrees are taking dips.
So there's concern for theadvanced practice.
LANDESS (03:13):
Big challenges there.
Let's go back to the committeething we were talking about
earlier.
There's an old joke about acamel being a racehorse created
by a committee.
Do you have confidence thatthis 19-member committee is
going to be able to come up withsome substantive solutions to
what you're facing?
HAAS (03:27):
Well, the committee is an advisory committee, so we can
only make suggestions, and wehad a day-long meeting and I
think it was productive.
We had several thoughts abouthow the program could be
improved to make it moreaccessible to more programs that
would give more support toschools of nursing across the
state.
LANDESS (03:47):
The UT Regents supported your nursing school to
the tune of $35 million forimprovement and expansion, and
that expansion is going up rightoutside our studios.
If you listen closely, it's outthere.
Groundbreaking was a year ago,april.
Is it on schedule?
HAAS (04:01):
It is on schedule.
We're so excited we should bemoving into the new building
later this summer, hopefullylate July or early August.
Now that's only the first floorof the new addition that will
be completed, but that's animportant part, because that is
the new simulation center andall of our skills lab and health
assessment labs.
LANDESS (04:19):
That must be very, very exciting for you.
HAAS (04:21):
It is very exciting.
It must be very, very excitingfor you.
It is very exciting and itreally will increase our
capacity to have more studentsin simulated environments, which
is very important to preparepeople before they go take care
of patients in the real world.
LANDESS (04:33):
In the real world.
Yeah, Tell us about thebenefits of the new addition,
the complete addition, not justthat first floor.
HAAS (04:39):
Well, it'll be another year before the second floor is
completed at least another yearand then also the remodel of the
existing older building.
But once everything iscompleted we will have space not
only for a much largersimulation area, but then
there'll be more space on thesecond floor for student
engagement with the communityeducation research data
(05:03):
analytics lab.
So a lot of activity is goingto go on in that new building.
LANDESS (05:08):
Tell me about the connection between the new
medical school that's beingbuilt, the School of Medicine,
and the nursing school.
How closely will you work withthose folks?
I see their buildings going uptoo.
How closely will you be workingwith those folks?
We have the first class goingand the second class is about to
be announced.
Tell us more about that.
HAAS (05:26):
Well across all health professions, not just medicine
and nursing, but also ourCollege of Pharmacy and our
School of Health Professions.
And within health professionswe have things like public
health and occupational therapy,speech-language pathology and
hopefully we'll have physicaltherapy in the future.
So all of those healthprofessions come together and we
meet on a regular basis alreadythe deans do, along with our
(05:49):
executive vice president forhealth affairs, and we have
what's called interprofessionaleducation.
So activities are planned bothin a classroom setting where the
students across thosedisciplines can work together,
solve problems, do case studies,and then we also have a
component where the students areout in the community,
volunteering, doing serviceprojects again working together.
LANDESS (06:12):
Tell us about the benefits and challenges to
retention in the nursing fieldthese days.
Are they the same that they'vealways been, or are there
mitigating factors now that makeit tougher?
HAAS (06:24):
Wow, that is a great question.
Retention has always been anissue.
I think it's probably.
LANDESS (06:29):
Is it because of burnout?
HAAS (06:31):
It is because of burnout and interestingly, everyone
assumes that it is salaries, andcertainly salaries play a part
of it than the salaries, it'swhether the nurses who are
employed are feeling valued andheard and respected and engaged,
that they're a part ofsomething, and so a lot of the
(06:53):
organizations are doing thingsto acknowledge the importance of
nurses.
You know, nurses have been themost trusted profession for over
20 years now, so they'rerespected and trusted and yet
they don't get the sameaccolades as some of the other
health professions, and it isn'tthat we expect them to be.
(07:17):
Oh, there goes our heroes again, which happened during the
pandemic.
LANDESS (07:19):
Absolutely.
They were heroes and they wereheroes.
HAAS (07:22):
They were, and now they're still doing that same work, but
no one looks at them as heroesanymore, so it's just kind of an
expectation.
So I think it's a difficult,very complex problem and I wish
I had an answer, because if Idid I'd probably be a really
wealthy woman.
Yes, you would.
But I guess I'll say thisEveryone is working on trying to
(07:47):
solve that problem, to makeworkloads more reasonable, to
make that life-work balance morereasonable, to give people more
autonomy.
That's an important part ofwhat nurses value in their work
life, because they are highlyeducated and they want to be
able to put that education touse.
LANDESS (08:06):
Gosh for a lot of people if they haven't had
someone in the hospital or hadmedical issues in which they
were dealing with the healthprofession on a regular basis.
Most of their information comesfrom TV shows.
I mean, this must be how thatreally works, and there's always
a constant tension, it seemslike, between nurses and doctors
.
Are docs getting the messagethat they need these people and
(08:29):
they need to change theirattitudes?
HAAS (08:31):
Oh, I don't think doctors are the problem.
I really don't.
LANDESS (08:34):
Okay, I think that the— See, I'm getting my information
from TV too, from.
HAAS (08:37):
TV.
No, I think our medicalcolleagues highly respect their
nursing colleagues that theywork with.
Now, maybe not 100%, but noprofession is 100% right.
But I think overall thephysicians recognize the
importance of the nurses andthey value value.
Our own president Calhoun, youknow, has said over and over
again you know, smart physicianwill recognize the good nurses
(09:00):
because the nurses are thoseeyes and ears and you know they
make the decisions up front.
Shall I call a physician orshouldn't I?
Is this something I can handle,or should I get a new order?
Or do I need a new order?
And I know I was in theteaching hospital many, many
years ago and I remember havingto call those residents and
they'd say, well, what should Ido?
(09:20):
And I'd have to tell them well,I really need an order for XYZ,
because I'd been in practice along time and I knew what was
needed.
But they had the authority todo that.
So they work side by side andit's an important relationship.
But I don't feel like for themost part, physicians don't
recognize that.
So I don't see that that isreally the issue.
LANDESS (09:44):
Is it a cultural issue?
HAAS (09:47):
Well, as you pointed out, I think there's a lot of
misunderstanding about what isit that nurses do, and
television shows do not help,because it is not accurate, it
just isn't.
LANDESS (09:57):
There's no TV show called the Nurses, it's the
Doctors.
HAAS (10:01):
Exactly, and the nurses are kind of in the background.
LANDESS (10:08):
I mean it's unrealistic for everybody.
HAAS (10:10):
I mean the physicians, the way they're portrayed.
That is not how a physicianspends his or her day
transporting patients to x-ray.
LANDESS (10:23):
It's just so not real.
Tell me what STAT stands for.
I've always wondered that whensomebody yells STAT, what does
that mean?
S-t-a-t, I guess that's what itis.
HAAS (10:29):
Great question.
I don't know.
LANDESS (10:33):
You need to watch more television.
It means right away.
HAAS (10:35):
But whether it's an acronym, I don't know.
LANDESS (10:38):
I don't know either.
HAAS (10:40):
It means immediately.
LANDESS (10:42):
I got that part of it.
I was pretty sure that was trueCode blue.
There we go, all right.
So how many nurses are expectedto graduate this year from this
facility here on the UT Tylercampus and how many do you hope
to graduate in the coming years?
HAAS (10:56):
Well, what I'd like to say ?
We'd hope to graduate about 600undergraduates a year, because
that's about how many we admitevery year.
Now they don't all make it andwe would like them to, and
that's why a lot of effort hasbeen put into retention, because
if they're good enough to getin, we would think they'd be
good enough to finish.
But life gets in the way.
(11:17):
Maybe sometimes they see thereal world oh, it's not like it
is on TV, so they change theirmind.
So we'd like to see at least600 undergraduates and then,
with a graduate program,probably another 200 to 300
graduates.
Now we are really growing ourgraduate programs, although
those numbers are decliningacross the country.
(11:38):
At UT Tyler our numbers ofgraduate students are increasing
.
LANDESS (11:42):
Oh, that's nice it is.
That's good to hear.
Yes, what's the best keptsecret about the UT Tyler School
of Nursing?
What don't people know thatyou'd like for them to know?
HAAS (11:51):
Well, I think there's a lot of things that people don't
know about us, mike to know.
Well, I think there's a lot ofthings that people don't know
about us, mike.
But one of the things they maynot realize is how highly
respected this program is acrossthe state and the nation.
We have a very high pass rateon our NCLEX scores.
That's for the undergraduatesto become registered nurses.
So our most recent class issomewhere between 97 and 98%
(12:13):
pass rate, well above thenational average and well above
the state average as well.
Our advanced practice nursestheir pass rates on their
certification exams is 100%.
LANDESS (12:24):
Wow.
HAAS (12:24):
And that includes both the family nurse practitioner and
the psychiatric mental healthnurse practitioners.
So our programs are excellent.
So that's one thing.
We are also very innovative.
We're the first in the countrynot the first in the country,
I'm sorry the first in the stateto offer the preceptor program.
That was many years ago andthat spread throughout the state
(12:45):
.
We were the first.
LANDESS (12:46):
What is a preceptor?
HAAS (12:47):
program, addition to having the faculty making rounds
with the students and spendingthe day with them, and the
facilities that currentlylicensed registered nurses serve
as their mentor, their coach,while they're in the hospital.
So they pair up and have aclose relationship built.
So we were the first in thestate to do that.
(13:11):
We were the third program inthe country to do an online PhD
program in nursing, and now thathas spread and most programs
have gone online.
There are still some that aresolely face-to-face, but even
those that have a face-to-facecomponent are often a hybrid
where they have some online,some face-to-face.
We were one of the first to goyear-round face-to-face.
(13:38):
We were one of the first to goyear-round, and now several
programs in the state areswitching to a year-round
nursing program because we canadmit more students that way and
we can get them out faster,both of which will help address
that nursing shortage.
So we've been innovative inthat way.
We've been innovative in thetypes of programs we offer.
I'd love to talk to you aboutour critical care pathway
sometime because we're doingsome real exciting things there.
So we're innovative in that weare a strengths-based program.
(14:02):
What that means is everystudent who comes into our
program.
They are evaluated for theirstrengths, their natural talents
, and we like to build upon thatand recognize that, although
people have different talents,they're all important, they all
contribute to the team, they'reall important and not just point
out like, oh, you need to fixthis, do this better.
But you know, you've got thisreal skill set at XYZ, so let's
(14:26):
invest in that and make it evenbetter because you can shine in
this area.
So we have that kind of a focusarea.
So we have that kind of a focus.
Our newest thing this is hot offthe press starting this fall,
we are going to be admittingstudents directly to the BSN
program, and most places youhave to go to what's called a
pre-nursing program where you'readmitted, you have to do all
(14:47):
these prerequisites and then youmay or may not get into the
program.
Well, what that does is it setsstudents up to spend two years
of their life taking all thecourses they need to get into
nursing, and then maybe there'snot room and they don't get in.
And now what do they do?
So instead, what we're doing iswe're going to say, from the
minute you walk in as a freshmanat UT Tyler, you are already in
the nursing program and we aregoing to have courses that start
(15:10):
at the end of the freshman yearand throughout the sophomore
year, that are more introductorycourses, so they can start
learning about what is nursinglike because it's not like TV
and so make sure that this isreally the career they want and
then give them that a little bitof exposure and then have
milestones along the way.
So before they can startclinicals they have to maintain
(15:31):
these milestones.
They have to maintain a certaingrade point average.
They have to do well in certaincourses, these science courses
that are so foundational to whatwe do.
So that is going to be a gamechanger, I think, for a lot of
students, because we hope thatit would help with retention.
It would help identify thosestudents early who might be
(15:51):
struggling and need moreassistance, identify those
students early who might bestruggling and need more
assistance.
And it would help students whoperhaps really didn't know what
nursing was and it really wasn'tcut out for it, help them
identify early that I'd like togo a different direction.
And maybe what I really wantedto do is get a degree in
business, so I think it's awin-win-win for everybody.
LANDESS (16:13):
Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
HAAS (16:17):
Only that.
I would hope that yourlisteners would remember how
nurses are just really thatbackbone of health care.
And when you think about whenyou're born, who's there?
It's a nurse, right.
And then all through your lifethere's nurses in the school, in
your industries, in thehospitals, of course.
(16:38):
But who's holding your handwhen you die?
It's often a nurse.
So the nurses are there frombirth to death and everywhere in
between.
LANDESS (16:47):
Thanks for listening as UT Tyler Radio connects with Dr
Barbara Haas, Dean of the UTTyler School of Nursing.
For UT Tyler Radio News, I'mMike Landis.
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