“Be Curious” is one of the defining values of the University of North Texas System. The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth is cultivating that curiosity with the launch of its College of Nursing. Starting in fall 2024, students can expect to gain entrepreneurship and innovation skills to bring scalable solutions to the health care market.
HSC has a proud history of providing innovative solutions to pressing health care problems. HSC Next is a unique program at HSC, guiding innovators to develop and scale their health care solutions for the masses. HSC Next also works with the Techstars Physical Health Fort Worth Accelerator to connect entrepreneurs from around the world to revolutionize the physical health industry through new technology.
Nursing professionals coming to HSC will have a solid base of support for developing technologies, ideas and strategies to address health care challenges. Incoming students also will benefit from all that makes HSC a first-class health science center.
From the outset of their experience with the college, HSC nursing students will gain interpersonal connections formed with peers. The connections formed between students in different degree programs serve both patients and the larger community by creating health care teams that have known and learned from each other for years.
Students also will have access to some of the best health education facilities in Texas and the region, including the state-of-the-art Regional Simulation Lab, as well as a team of diverse, field-leading faculty. Associate Dean for Research, Tonychris Nnaka, PhD, MPH, RN, CPH, recently brought his expertise in digital health to the 2024 VIVE Conference, a leading digital health technology meeting. Assistant Dean for Clinical and Outreach Affairs Kate Taylor, DNP, APRN, FNPC, CPPS, FNAP, is bringing innovation to home-based primary care for older adults through her work with HSC’s Center for Older Adults House Calls program.
HSC understands that training the next generation of nurses, physicians and health care professionals must also be financially accessible. The UNT System has kept tuition the same since 2016, and the College of Nursing has awards and scholarships, including a developing mentorship program, to ensure that students’ education and professional development is supported financially.
As it welcomes students for the Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in Nursing Practice Innovation degree programs, HSC’s College of Nursing aims to help professionals not only advance their clinical skills for better patient outcomes, but also use their unique experience to create solutions for the complex health care challenges that face urban, rural and specialized populations.
One innovation for fall 2024 is nursing microcredentials, short, affordable and intensive courses designed to train professionals in an area of acute need. Studies have shown the enormous positive impact of microcredentials on student education and outcomes. The HSC College of Nursing will offer microcredentials for health care management, correctional nursing and substance use disorder nursing, all areas of critical need across the region and state.
With an increasing general population and nurse turnover affecting the nursing gap in Texas, the time is now for an institution to prepare nurses to address society’s most pressing health challenges. As the College of Nursing adds programs, students and faculty, it will continue to be guided by the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that has defined HSC since its beginning in 1970. HSC’s College of Nursing is proud to develop nurse innovators who are ready and willing to bring their experience, leadership and solutions to improve health outcomes in their own communities and throughout Texas.
For more information about the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth visit https://www.unthsc.edu/oklanursing.
