Dillard University’s School of Nursing received initial approval from the Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN) last week to actualize its pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing programs for the 2018-2019 academic year.
The announcement last week ended a period of inactive admissions at Dillard for the pre-licensure baccalaureate and LPN-BSN nursing programs during the 2017-2018 academic year, following a voluntary comprehensive internal assessment by LSBN. During the hiatus, institutional officials revamped the curriculum, enhanced student support and faculty development, revisited admissions requirements and reaffirmed best practices in nursing education.
“This is our 75th year of nursing education, so we’re really excited about the reimplementation of admission into our restructured programs,” said Dr. Sharon W. Hutchinson, chair of the School of Nursing. “The response from the public and the students who are already here and interested in becoming nurses has been overwhelming.”
Dr. Yolanda W. Page, vice president for academic affairs, called the announcement “a pivotal step in continuing the legacy of the state’s first accredited nursing program right here at Dillard.”
Having worked collaboratively with LSBN throughout the year of voluntary inactivation, nursing administrators assessed their programming structure in students’ plan of study and they “looked at what the data had to say” about student testing outcomes, Hutchinson said.
Previously, nursing students taking clinical courses in their first year had the option to take pharmacology. Now, pharmacology will be a prerequisite to enter the School of Nursing, Hutchinson said.
