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Monday, November 5, 2007

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This presentation is part of : Teaching and Learning Initiatives
Partnership for Funding an Integrated Nursing Program Expansion Project and Development of a Regional Health Simulation Center
Mary Carol G. Pomatto, EdD, ARNP-CNS, Nursing Department, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS, USA
Learning Objective #1: Utilize experiences of a university nursing program's partner-supported expansion of students, faculty, supplies, and scholarship dollars to enhance provision of nursing services.
Learning Objective #2: Apply leadership principles for implementation of vision for transdisciplinary education of students and practitioners in a regional Health Simulation Center within a university nursing program.

As part of a statewide initiative to enhance numbers of registered nurses and nurse educators entering the workforce, nurses and stakeholders across Kansas partnered together to advocate for government funding for increased nursing program capacity. The effort was successful creating the opportunity for individual programs of nursing to articulate their vision of nursing program expansion to the State of Kansas/Kansas Board of Regents for competitively funded grants. Pittsburg State University (PSU) was awarded the largest amount of funding ($502,000 with $350,000 required other source match) for nursing program expansion in the state of Kansas. The articulated goal of the Integrated Nursing Program Expansion Project at PSU is to enhance provision of nursing and health services to Kansans through increased program capacity at undergraduate, graduate, and post-Master's levels. Integral parts of the expansion project included a 40% increase in students, addition of faculty, provision of scholarship dollars, enhanced technology and supplies, and renovation of the nursing program facility to include development of a regional, transdisciplinary Health Simulation Center for students in nursing and health-related sciences with the addition of health care practitioners and K-12 students. The collaborative leadership for articulation of vision, partner formation, shared support and funding, implementation, and evaluation will be presented. Included will be highlights of project accountability including Accountability Committee, Accountability Scorecard, and accountability outcomes. Lessons learned in the first of the ten-year dynamic expansion project will be reported in the context of project successes and challenges.