The Harris College Magazine
- Winter 2008 ·
7
6
· Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences
School of Nurse Anesthesia achieves national accreditation on its frst try
Program is one of the largest in the nation
T
CU’s School of Nurse Anesthesia
exceeded national accreditation standards
on the frst try and received 10 years of
accreditation, themaximumamount of years
a program can be accredited.
“We have been very excited about our
accredited nurse anesthesia program at TCU,
with its strong history of nursing education,”
said Kay Sanders, director of the School
of Nurse Anesthesia. “This program was
desperately neededbecause there is a critical
shortage of nurse anesthetists, especially in
rural areas where hospitals depend on nurse
anesthetists for surgery and obstetrics.”
“It is my pleasure to congratulate
the School of Nurse Anesthesia on the
outstanding accomplishment,” said Paulette
Burns, dean of the Harris College of Nursing
& Health Sciences.
When a school for nurse anesthesia is created, it must
receive permission from the Council on Accreditation to
be temporarily accredited in order to accept students. The
temporary accreditation lasts for one year after the frst class
graduates. The frst class of 53 students graduated in December
2005, and the council sent on-site reviewers
to look at the school in April 2006. The
schoolwas required to submit awritten self-
study addressing the required examples
for accreditation with specifc examples of
how the school had met them.
The standards addressed included how
the school fts with the vision and goals of
TCU, the quality of faculty and students
and the demographics of the clinical sites
where students are registered nurses.
“I’m proud of the school’s accreditation
and it will helpme in the professional world
after graduation,” said Bryan Keller, a frst-
year graduate student of nurse anesthesia.
“Truthfully, we weren’t surprised when
we found out they got 10 years of
accreditation.”
Brian Aydell, also a frst-year graduate
student in the school, said he came to TCU because of the
reputation of Sanders and the school’s faculty. “That’s just
telling you that they’ve put something together that’s really
strong and is going to be productive and successful,” he
said. - SK
T
he nation’s health care system
— as we know it — is in a state
of crisis. Delivery is fragmented,
communication is often lacking, and
limited resources can’t meet increasing
needs. The most viable solutions may
come from nursing.
“I truly believe that nurses as the
health care professionals most closely
linked to the point of care hold the
answers to many health care issues,”
said Susan Mace Weeks, MS, RN, an instructor in TCU’s Harris
College of Nursing & Health Sciences. “We need to create an
atmosphere where practicing nurses have the ability to seek out
and/or create the answers to everyday care dilemmas.”
In June 2006, Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences
established theCenter for Evidence BasedPractice andResearch.
Initially funded by a TCU Vision in Action grant, the program is
now supported by Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences.
“The CEBPR is committed to helping address the numerous
challenges in our health care system,”Weeks said.
In addition to EBPR consultation with several area hospitals,
the center is working on a variety of projects for schools and
communityagencies.ThisApril, thecenterhosted internationally
recognized evidence-based practice and research expert Dr.
Alyce Schultz, who spoke on campus
and at fve Dallas-Fort Worth area
hospitals — presenting to more than
500 nurses.
In June, the CEBPR expanded
its reach by establishing the TCU
Evidence-Based Practice & Research
Collaborative, bringing together nurse
leaders engaged in evidence-based
practice from area hospitals.
“That collaborative has now grown
to include more than 25 hospitals and three area universities,”
Weeks said. The collaborative is also planning an education and
mentoring program to help direct-care nurses implement EBPR
in their practice settings. The national health care system needs
fresh answers to continuing problems.
The work of the center to create and share nursing best
practices across health care settings is a signifcant step forward
in improving the system,” said Paulette Burns, dean of Harris
College of Nursing & Health Sciences. “Nursing is the backbone
of the health care industry with over 2.2million registered nurses
in the national workforce. Innovations such as the center will
have a major impact on patient care. That is good news for all as
we search for new ways to transform the current system.” - RSM
Searching for
health care
solutions
Fresh answers to continuing problems are sought
Dr. William Ryan:
A r e f l ec t i on o f a qu i e t l eade r
F
or 10 years, Dr. William Ryan has quietly and unassumingly
presided over the Miller Speech and Hearing Clinic at TCU. In
addition to overseeing the clinic, Ryan is an associate professor
and chair of TCU’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
(COSD). Under Ryan’s direction, the clinic and the department have made
huge strides in keeping up with the advances in technology and in the
feld.
Ryan began at TCU in the COSD department in 1996 and at the end
of this academic year, Ryan plans to retire. “It’s time for the department to
have someone else step in,” Ryan explained. “A new and younger person
can bring new ideas and energize the faculty and students to new levels.”
Ever since Ryan earned his doctorate degree from Purdue University
in 1971, there have been great changes in the feld of speech-language
pathology. Sophisticated technology and advancement in knowledge of
the human throat and mouth have led the way to a huge expansion in
specializations and treatment options.
In fact, medical advancements in prolonging life after strokes and
accidents have increased the need for rehabilitating those patients either
to speak or make use of an alternative communication device. The Clinic’s
other areas of specialization include childhood language disorders and
speech sound disorders.
The Miller Speech and Hearing Clinic, under the direction of Ryan,
provides such bilingual services to many children and families, but also
provides experience for its undergraduate and graduate students who
are supervised by certifed clinical instructors and faculty.
The unique therapy sessions that serve approximately 100 clients
each semester are possible because of the department’s bilingual-
emphasis master’s program in speech-language pathology. The bilingual
graduate programofered at TCU is one of approximately 15 at universities
nationwide. Roughly 30 percent of TCU graduate students working in the
clinic are bilingual. Thanks to Ryan’s expertise, the COSD program, with
help from the clinic, helps train a substantial number of the bilingual
speech-language pathologists in Tarrant County.
In 2007, Ryanwas recognized as a FortWorth Business Press Healthcare
Hero, an honor that recognizes his expertise in the healthcare community
as well as his commitment to research and education in Tarrant County.
Jokingly, Ryan believes his greatest accomplishment throughout his
career is “surviving this long,” but his truly outstanding achievement is
facilitating the progression of students throughout the COSD program
that leads them to success. After all, graduate students of theTCUprogram
have an exceptionally high pass rate of approximately 96 percent on
the national examination required for all certifed speech-language
pathologists. The national average pass rate for all students is roughly 78
percent.
Ryan said that the program’s excellence could be attributed to TCU’s
commitment to a low faculty/student ratio as well as the accessibility of
faculty to students. In his time at TCU, Ryan felt it has been easy to excel
because of the highly motivated faculty, staf and students who unite for
a common purpose of achieving excellence. Ryan’s fondest memories
of TCU include seeing his students walk across the stage to receive their
diplomas at commencement.
When asked what Ryan is planning to do in retirement, he replied,
“I’m not sure. When you have been helping people all of your career it’s
hard to just stop.” - HM