The Oklahoma Baptist University College of Nursing boasts a long and storied history. Its reputation is known far and wide for educating nursing graduates who are skilled and in-demand. Yet, the College of Nursing is known not only for its high standards of excellence, but also for being a trailblazer in Oklahoma nursing education, leading from the front in its earliest days, and continuing that tradition today.
In the fall of 1952, the Oklahoma State Board of Nursing granted approval to OBU for Oklahoma’s first baccalaureate nursing program. This degree was the first four year baccalaureate program for nursing in the state among all universities.
The first class of eleven students graduated in 1956 and the OBU nursing program was accredited by the National League for Nursing in 1960. This accreditation continued without interruption until the School of Nursing affiliated with American Association of Colleges of Nursing, its current accrediting body.
The College of Nursing now offers a Bachelor of Science degree with a strong liberal arts foundation, a BSN completion degree for nurses with an Associate Degree, an LPN to BSN degree, and a Master of Science in Nursing.
OBU nursing alumnus Travis DeWall, ‘16, offered his perspective on why he chose to study nursing at OBU.
“I felt compelled to use my talents and efforts in a field that would allow me to directly serve others. Nursing met this goal and is a career with the opportunity to expand my scope of practice in the future if I decide to. I chose the OBU College of Nursing because I felt the appeal of both rigorous academics and the valuable focused interaction with professors that only a school of this size can provide.”
The Future…Leading the Way Again
The OBU College of Nursing is housed in a state-of-the-art nursing education facility, Jane E. and Nick K. Stavros Hall. Opening in 2016, Stavros Hall delivers cutting-edge nursing education for both undergraduate and graduate-level students. It includes five classrooms, a 109-seat lecture hall and a computer lab as well as spaces for students to study, meet and interact with faculty. The facility features six state-of-the-art, high-fidelity skills simulation labs, a medium skills lab, a health assessment skills lab, and a home health and bathing training room, totaling 24 beds.
The facility is unrivaled in the state of Oklahoma, its attention to detail and inclusion of real-world medical technology allowing OBU nursing students to be ultimately prepared to enter the nursing workforce.
Nursing Simulation Technology
The crown jewels of Stavros Hall are its simulation labs. Their technology, design and cutting-edge practices are second to none. These labs bridge the gap between learning and practice, placing students at the front lines of patient care, all while under the watchful eye of their professors.
The high-tech simulation labs are equipped with the industry’s most advanced medical simulation solutions. The lifelike patient simulators are used to train students in various medical emergencies, allowing learners to acquire the clinical skills necessary to improve patient safety. Students have the opportunity to acquire hands-on practice using a birthing simulator, pediatric simulator and adult patient simulators.
All simulation scenarios are recorded, allowing instructors to conduct debriefing sessions with students in which video recordings are reviewed so that students can receive necessary feedback for improving their skills. The training curriculum consists of single- and multi-patient scenarios that include respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, maternal-child, trauma, mass casualty and disaster situations.
Patient simulators significantly enhance realism, as they can breathe, bleed, speak and even give birth to a lifelike baby that cries upon delivery. The lifelike devices also simulate complications and various life-threatening scenarios while allowing students to monitor vital signs and administer treatment.
With this facility, OBU is poised to once again take the lead in nursing higher education in the state of Oklahoma, a position familiar to the College since its earliest days.
visit: www.okbu.edu for more information.
