University of Louisiana, Lafayette Recognized for Innovative Programs

 The University of Louisiana at Lafayette College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions provides a variety of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including one that offers students the opportunity to achieve the bachelor's of science in nursing (BSN) degree and to begin the master's of science in nursing (MSN) program at the same time through the process of articulation. The college, which offers one of the largest undergraduate nursing programs in the country, has been recognized with state and national awards. In this interview, Melinda G. Oberleitner, RN, DNS, APRN, CNS, associate dean and oncology clinical nurse specialist, Theresa Frederick, RN, MSN, APRN, nursing faculty, Rebecca Donohue, MSN, FNPBC, AOCN, APNG, oncology nurse practitioner, and Beth Harris, RN, MSN, ACNS-BC, nursing faculty discuss the nursing curriculum as well as the trends in oncology nursing.

Does the University of Louisiana at Lafayette have nursing programs at both the bachelor's and master's levels?

Melinda Oberleitner (MO): We have one of the largest undergraduate nursing programs in the country. We have about 1500 undergraduates; we had record enrollment for the fall term. The master's program is part of a three-university consortium that offers the MSN degree. Our other two consortium partners are McNeese State University in Lake Charles and Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. The three universities come together to offer a unified curriculum, which leads to the MSN degree. Between the three universities, we have about 300 graduate students.

At the master's level, we offer the nurse practitioner track in adult health and adult psychiatric/mental health nursing as well as clinical nurse specialist tracks in those areas. We also have nursing education and nursing leadership and administration tracks. We don't offer a specific track in oncology, but graduate students can plan their clinical practicum experiences to be in the oncology specialty.

Beth Harris (BH): I was awarded my degree in 1996, and at the time, I was working as a breast cancer clinician. They allowed me to tailor my clinical experience to my own particular interests.

Rebecca Donohue (RD): As an undergraduate, I took the oncology elective and was able to go with my preceptor and experience the oncology floor. As a graduate student, I was encouraged to participate in different specialty clinic experiences.

Do you notice a trend among current nursing students to specialize in certain areas just as medical students are doing?
MO: The trend is rather than working on just a general medical/surgical unit, most students want to work on a unit with a specific clinical identity. Those of us who are in oncology tend to steer some of our students who seem to have affinity for that area into that specialty. Other students want to work in the critical care area, and others are interested in the maternal/child health area.

Have you noticed any effects from the economy on nursing students, perhaps more men going into the field or more people with previous experience in other fields?
MO: We have an accelerated-option degree program in which we have people with a previous degree in another field come into the nursing program at the undergraduate level and then progress through the program in an accelerated fashion. We have always had a high percentage of male students and minority students. So we track above the national average for enrollment of male students and minority students.

We find that more people are going on to graduate school. The trend we're seeing is that they are doing it at a younger age and that they are going right from the bachelor's to the master's degree program.

How are career opportunities for recent graduates? Are they having any trouble getting jobs?
MO: Not in our area, although we do hear that is happening across the country. The dean and I met with our major clinical affiliates over the summer and talked about employment prospects for our students; all of them said they are in growth phases. A report by Louisiana Works, which is part of our Department of Labor, shows that nursing is the top employment prospect in our state.

Melinda, since you have been an oncology nurse for quite a while, have you noticed any different trends in nursing or in the opportunities and challenges for nurses today?
MO: Patient education has always been crucial in oncology and even more so today, with so many options available to patients for treatment. And with so much information on the Internet, patients need to know what's reliable, what isn't reliable, and what applies to their particular situation. Education is absolutely critical for the nursing staff as well as for patients and family.

Communication is one of our major competencies at both the undergraduate and graduate levels along with the responsibility as a professional to remain educated and the responsibility for educating the patient. Large areas of our curriculum are devoted to excellence in those competencies.

What are some of the honors the college has received over the years?
MO:We were recognized as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League of Nursing from 2005 to 2008. We were one of only eight colleges of nursing in the country to receive that designation. The college was also honored with the 2009 Nightingale Nursing School of the Year award by the Louisiana State Nurses Association and the Louisiana Nurses Foundation.

We are also well known for having one of the most technologically advanced simulation facilities. We were one of the first colleges of nursing in the country to establish a simulated maternal-child/neo natal simulation laboratory. In addition, we have taken a leading role in the South in offering faculty development opportunities for nursing faculty. Faculty from many programs have toured our simulation laboratories and received assistance from our faculty in establishing their own.

Although our program is extremely large, it is a high-quality program. We don't just rest on our laurel of size; we want to produce a quality practitioner, at either the graduate or undergraduate level. We have a 25-year history of a 98% first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination.

Do your students have an opportunity to gain experience in the community?

Theresa Frederick: In my oncology elective, I encourage the students to join the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and to subscribe to the ONS e-newsletter for students. We also started an oncampus chapter of Colleges Against Cancer, which has become a university-wide program. Colleges Against Cancer is a part of the American Cancer Society focused on fund-raising and awareness.

BH: I teach the palliative care elective at the university, and I had the opportunity to bring our students to our state prison. One of the things that we talk about in our electives is the barriers to the delivery of care, and prisoners are a vulnerable population. The Louisiana State Penitentiary has a model prison hospice. With the help of an instructional teaching grant, I had the opportunity to bring the students there to meet with the patients. It was a very powerful experience for them.