Our Commitment to Excellence

The following is an edited version of the address made by Dean Bobbie Berkowitz at Alumni Reunion on May 2, 2014.

When I’m asked to speak about Columbia Nursing and what makes it so special, it’s a challenge to know exactly where to start because there are so many special achievements and wonderful people associated with the school. But in my opinion the best place to begin is with our most cherished asset – our students.  I think it goes without saying that Columbia Nursing is among the most desirable nursing schools in the country, attracting the very brightest candidates to our educational programs. The grades and test scores of these amazing young people are sky high. But numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Our students come to us with a strong, deep desire to make a difference in people’s lives. Before they apply to Columbia Nursing, many have already made substantial contributions to community service, everything from serving in the Peace Corps to serving in the military. Some have had health care experiences working in community clinics, at birthing centers and as EMS volunteers.  After doing this kind of work, they realized they had even more to give. So they came to Columbia Nursing to acquire the knowledge and skills that give shape and form to their passion.

We are fortunate that our reputation attracts such dedicated students, ones who already possess the “right stuff”. What we provide is the competency to get the job done and done right. We supply the critical knowledge and clinical foundation to transform their desire to serve others into the meaningful, rewarding, and often life-saving practice of nursing.

Let me give you one example of what is possible when nursing knowledge is integrated with passion.

One of our students was recently rotating on a psychiatric ward. It was her first visit to the bedside of a 10-year-old patient who had a fear of swallowing and thus refused to eat.  The situation was all the more serious because the patient kept pulling out his feeding tube. After a few minutes of orienting herself to the situation, our student noticed that the patient was totally absorbed in watching a basketball game on television. So the student devised a game in which the child agreed to take as many bites of food as the number of points per basket. The nurse preceptor who told us about this event remarked that our student was “100 percent successful” and credits her “creativity and ability to gain the trust of a psychiatric patient on the first day of meeting him.”

This story illustrates that nurses can be amazingly resourceful when necessary. And it’s often necessary when you are delivering compassionate care.

Now let me turn to some of the developments that have occurred here at the school over this past year.

In 2013 we had a record number of applications for our BS/MS program. This is a strong indication of the appeal of a Columbia Nursing degree. While our academic program is strong, we’ve taken steps to make it even stronger. Since last June, we have added seven new faculty members, five assistant professors of nursing, one professor of nursing, and one associate research scientist. Each is a superb addition to our teaching and research faculty and will greatly benefit our students and school as a whole.

As you know, the US health care system is in the midst of historic changes, some the result of health care reform, others because of an aging population. Add to these the fact that nurses will be increasingly asked to provide care not only in hospitals, but also in community clinics, the home, and other non-traditional healthcare settings.

In light of these dynamic shifts, we have reviewed our curriculum to ensure that it meets the changing needs of our students. As a result, beginning in 2015 our Master of Science degree will serve as the entry point to professional nursing practice, and all advanced practice programs will transition to the DNP educational level beginning in 2016.

Four years of full time study will be required to achieve the MS and DNP degrees. The MS will be conferred after four semesters, at which time graduates will be eligible to sit for the nurse licensing examination. This will be followed by eight semesters of graduate education, culminating with the DNP degree and eligibility for APRN certification and licensure. These changes will ensure that Columbia Nursing continues to produce skillful, compassionate clinicians who lead the delivery of care wherever they practice.

Another sign of our school’s strength is the many contributions made by our faculty and students to nursing science.

In an intensely competitive environment for government-funded research grants, the school saw a significant increase in newly sponsored projects for the same period.

Our faculty and students have had their work published in some of the most prestigious publications in our profession. Columbia Nursing is a leader in nursing informatics and our researchers use informatics to investigate how to better prevent and manage illness as well as promote health and improve health systems.

We excel in research related to infectious disease. Recent studies by our faculty and students have investigated infection rates in non-traditional health care settings, such as nursing homes, pediatric long-term acute care facilities, and even prisons, where infections can pose a significant health hazard and generate substantial costs.

Another research specialty is health policy, particularly comparative effectiveness research. This type of inquiry generates knowledge that asks the question: “Does the intervention work under a controlled environment?” For example, researchers at our Center for Health Policy examined whether state-mandated reporting of health care associated infections reduces these preventable conditions and the costs they incur. It turns out that stronger steps at the local hospital level are needed.

I am pleased to report that this year Columbia Nursing reinforced our longstanding commitment to global health through our Office of Global Initiatives, which has intensified its work of fostering strategic partnerships to advance the practice of nursing throughout the world.

We are designated a Collaborating Center for Advanced Practice Nursing by the World Health Organization and we have been active in the Pan American Nursing and Midwifery Collaborating Centers. Our Office of Global Initiatives is establishing linkages with the Columbia Global Centers in Amman, Jordan; Nairobi, Kenya; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Santiago, Chile. In the Dominican Republic, our students and faculty continue a longstanding relationship to provide care at the Clinica de la Familia in La Romana to adults and children with HIV. Through these and other activities, Columbia Nursing is fulfilling our commitment to address population health needs on an international scale through nursing.

We recently established an Office of Diversity and Cultural Affairs and have made great strides in this area during the past year. We held our first school-wide diversity retreat to sensitize our faculty and staff to the differences that help unite us all. We conducted our first-ever cultural awareness session at our orientation for new students. We have made the development of partnerships a high priority and have held events at area high schools where our students and faculty convey the many rewards of the nursing profession. While more remains to be done to increase underrepresented groups at Colombia Nursing, we’ve made progress. From 2012-2013 there was a 24 percent increase in the number of students from such groups in our post-baccalaureate ETP program. From 2011 to 2013, the number of our tenure-track faculty members from under-represented groups doubled. And there has been an increase in the amount of diversity-focused endowed funds and funds earmarked to help recruit underrepresented minority students.

In closing, I’d like to say that it is a privilege to serve as the dean of this remarkable school of nursing. There is no greater honor than preparing the next generation of nurses for what I believe is the finest, most rewarding, most worthwhile profession open to anyone with a desire to improve the lives of their fellow human beings.

What makes this place special is the people. The faculty, students, and staff possess a level of commitment, enthusiasm, and commitment to excellence that truly distinguishes Columbia Nursing from its sister schools. I would add to this mix you, our graduates, who deliver an incredibly high standard of care that touches the lives of patients, families, and communities everywhere.