Nursing students in Dallas now have access to the
Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing, (GGHSON) at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso – without leaving town. A partnership with Brookhaven College in Dallas, Texas is allowing students to attend the community college while also being enrolled in TTUHSC El Paso’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program.
The program is in response to a shortage of nurses in the U.S. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine issued a report on “The Future of Nursing,” which found only 50 percent of nurses in the U.S. had bachelor’s degrees. A key recommendation to come out of the report was that “nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.”
“We provide a solid nursing education at a relatively low cost to our students while they are earning the Associate Degree Nursing here,” says Dr. Mark Meyer, dean of Nursing at Brookhaven College, “but we know our student could be even more competitive and have better long-term career prospects with a bachelor’s degree.”
Dr. Manny Santa Cruz, assistant dean of the GGHSON says, “Through this dual enrolment program, we want to improve students’ ability to move on to earn their bachelor’s degree and to help meet the growing need within the workforce for nurses with this level of training.”
There are 12 students currently co-enrolled in both the Brookhaven College Nursing Program and the Texas Tech RN-BSN Nursing Program. These students will be able to complete their two degrees without leaving Dallas. They’ll conduct clinical rotations at Dallas-area hospitals, while participating in classroom learning at Brookhaven College and taking online courses through the GGHSON.
Contact:
Mark A. Meyer Ph.D., APRN, FNP-BC
Dean of Nursing
Brookhaven College
maMeyer@dcccd.edu
972-860-4546