A Message from Dean Katharyn May

Recently, I was drawn to a television commercial that centered on the properties of the term with. As soon as the term is used, the ad noted, a bond is established. With conveys promise—the strength of partnership, the power of involvement, the vitality in connection..

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing, my colleagues and I know that the core of our mission is to serve the people of Wisconsin and beyond by educating nurse clinicians, nurse educators, and future nurse scholars and researchers. Of course, we do not do this alone. We do this with the help of those we serve. We do this through partnerships.

In this issue of Nursing Dimensions, you will read about the school’s initiatives intended to foster both a learning environment and an organizational structure where diversity of cultures and perspectives is not only valued, but is seen as something that makes us stronger and better as a school. Dr. Louise Root-Robbins, the school’s director of diversity and community outreach initiatives, is working with other leaders on campus, with nursing students, and with leaders in some of Madison’s most diverse communities to secure partnerships that promote health and quality of life in our city.

You will also read about our participation in a nurse residency program through our strong alliance with the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics (UWHC). This national program provides our graduates with confidence-building opportunities and guidance throughout their first challenging year as professional nurses at the UWHC. This program has already demonstrated that it can play an important role in managing today’s health care goals: patient safety, nurse retention, and quality care.

And we continue our commitment to excellence and innovation in our academic programs. In this issue, our readers will learn about the efforts of School of Nursing recruiters who work to bring UW-Madison’s educational opportunities to those living miles away through online access to nursing programs. It’s truly the Wisconsin Idea in action: connecting with nurses across the state who want to advance their education while remaining and practicing in their home communities.

As a school, we are also moving forward in our efforts to implement the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), perhaps as early as 2009. This program will support the profession of nursing and the health care system by preparing advanced practice nurses to take on broader leadership roles in clinical practice. These new clinician-scholars will have the clinical expertise as well as the “system savvy” to tackle critical issues in health care today and tomorrow.

Our mission is to develop nurses who adeptly fuse science with the art of humane care and who work in partnership with other professionals and with those whom we serve to improve health and quality of life for all. There is so much power in such a small word.

Katharyn A. May, DNSc, RN, FAAN
Dean and Professor