Sean Menaghan
With Southern’s nursing program already well established, the school might soon introduce a new Educational Doctorate that will make it a leader in the state, according to Provost Selase Williams.
Williams said the ED.D, a collaboration between SCSU and Western, will be one of the few doctoral degrees offered, and will primarily focus on the educational aspect of nursing.
“Both Southern and Western wanted to offer a doctoral program in Nursing,” said Williams, “neither of us had the resources to start one alone.”
Williams hopes the new program will attract nurses who want to step away from the day-to-day occurrences of life and death situations that take place in hospitals.
“There is a shortage of nurses not just in Connecticut, but throughout the nation,” said Williams. “We don’t have enough nursing faculty.”
Williams said Southern receives 300 applications from students who plan on going into nursing each year
but can only accept 80 students.
“We could admit more students if we had more faculty,” said Williams. “ We want our nurse faculty to have clinical and practical experience from working at a hospital or doctors office.”
Williams said Southern has already produced the largest number of certified teachers and with this program and hopes it will enhance Southern’s reputation for helping the work force shortage.
Lisa Rebeschi, chairperson of nursing, said the ED.D is an added benefit for the department.
“It will expand on what we do well,” said Rebeschi. “We hope it will attract new faculty and students.”
Rebeschi said Dr. Cesarina Thompson was one of the key figures in introducing the idea of the program.
“She started a relationship with Western,” said Rebeschi. “ She really helped get the program off the ground.”
Rebeschi said professors in nursing education are getting older and retiring, but with the program, hopes a new generation of nursing educators will emerge.
Jarrett Lautier, a sophomore nursing major, said he is excited about the new ED.D program.
“It opens new doors for me,” said Lautier. “It gives me more options to consider in my field of nursing.”
Lautier said the program brings a high level of prestige to Southern.
“The ability to major in nursing isn’t available at other schools in the area,” said Lautier. “ It puts Southern on higher ground.”
Greg Dagada, a sophomore nursing major, said Southern’s nursing program was the main reason he applied.
“This makes Southern’s nursing program even more effective than it already is,” said Dagada. “A school with more options, in my opinion, makes it more impressive and worth exploring.”
Dagada said he believes the new program will certainly increase a person’s attraction to the nursing program.
“One of the main reasons why people decide to enter the medical field,” said Dagada, “is because there are so many opportunities to choose from. It is only a matter of finding the perfect fit.”
Dagada also said the great thing about the medical field is that people can branch off to different things.
“If someone does not like the stress of being a registered nurse,” said Dagada, “they can be a nursing educator or another position, while still pursuing their love of science and helping others.”
Williams said based on GPA’s, clinical experiences and purpose statement, they hope to select 25 students for the program by fall of 2011.
