Dean’s Message  February 11, 2008 

Greetings from the College of Nursing!  The semester is underway and several students are off campus in a variety of learning experiences.  Dr. Linda Kropenske, Paula Goddard, and Cathie Calhoon are guiding 16 students from the Rapid City Campus in the Community Assessment and Interventions within the Hispanic culture in South Texas.  Cheryl Sieverson, Rebecca Mauer, Rebecca Randall, and Dr. Paula Carson accompanied 16 students from the Brookings Campus to Biloxi, MS for their Community Health Experience.  The students are learning the principles of Community Health with the people who are still struggling to recover from the Katrina Hurricane.  These “away” experiences for students and faculty provide a brief immersion into a totally different culture and community.  The remaining Community Health Students in their final semester of the nursing major are assigned to communities in rural South Dakota.  I appreciate the efforts of the faculty to arrange for these experiences and the students who were willing to travel to these sites to learn about cultural diversity in new communities.  Three students will travel to Jonkoping Sweden in May for a five week, three credit elective in Maternal/Child Global Nursing practices.

At the graduate level, the focus is on the completion of the new program approval for the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP). The goal is to gain final approval from the Board of Regents and admit the first cohort of 20 post-master’s Family Nurse Practitioner students in fall 2008.  The second cohort (Fall 2007 admission) of 10 PhD students have quickly become engaged in the theoretical and philosophical foundation of nursing.  They are progressing through the research courses and narrowing their focus of research for the dissertation work.  The first cohort (Fall 2005 cohort) is completing coursework and moving into the dissertation phase.  These 10 individuals have selected a variety of research topics that apply to rural and Native American populations.

It is a distinct pleasure to work with the competent faculty, students, and staff at the College of Nursing.  The level of professionalism of the teaching and learning is exemplary.  Dr. Hobbs, Dr. Hegge, or I spend time with each baccalaureate graduate in an “exit interview.”  The purpose of the interview is to understand the strengths and any areas to improve the curriculum and clinical experiences.  In addition, it is an opportunity to learn about future work and graduate school plans.  The common themes that continue to emerge are the:  quality of the faculty with clinical and teaching expertise, quality of the clinical sites and support from the staff at these agencies; and logical progression of the curriculum.  Each student shares two examples of being challenged to use his or her highest level of critical thinking.  The examples are valuable for the transition into their first position and then career trajectory in nursing.  I am very pleased with the sustained efforts of the faculty to facilitate the learning process for undergraduate and graduate students.  I am also proud of the high caliber of students coming into nursing and graduating from SDSU.  These individuals provide leadership and contribute to excellence in nursing care in a variety of settings.

Statistics for 2007:  Undergraduate BS in Nursing 214 graduates, 92% pass rate; National pass rate 85%; South Dakota pass rate 81%.                         

Roberta K. Olson, Dean