UC Davis Health System hosted the first systemwide event highilghting nursing education.
Posted March 16, 2011
More than 45 nursing faculty from throughout the University of California took part in the first-ever UC Systemwide Nursing Faculty Development Event March 13 and 14 at UC Davis Health System in Sacramento.
“This event represents a much-needed opportunity to invest strategically in the future of our UC nursing faculty,” said UC Senior Vice President of Health Sciences and Services John D. Stobo. “As the demand for health care in California continues to grow, systemwide initiatives, such as this one, enable us to recognize and support the contributions of our extraordinary faculty and their dedication to teaching and student success.”
Faculty from each of the University of California’s four nursing programs worked together, along with University of California Office of the President Division of Health Sciences and Services representatives, to plan the day-and-a-half-long workshop.
“Never before have nursing faculty from UCLA, UC San Francisco, UC Irvine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis met together to discuss teaching and learning,” said UC Davis Associate Dean Deborah Ward, one of the event planners. “This is the first such systemwide faculty event across all our health science programs. We’re excited to work with our colleagues throughout the University of California to grow collaborative partnerships and leverage resources, ensuring the UC system continues to offer innovative education programs.”
“Never before have nursing faculty from UCLA, UC San Francisco, UC Irvine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis met together to discuss teaching and learning.”
— Deborah Ward, UC Davis associate dean
The event opened March 13 with a dinner and reception, a discussion on teaching social justice and an opportunity for faculty to get to know one another.
“Nursing faculty can be a model for UC,” said Ellen Olshansky, director of nursing science at UC Irvine. “We’re working together to find innovative ways of educating our students.”
Faculty participated in a number of workshops Monday, including hands-on activities at the UC Davis Center for Virtual Care, where the educators used an array of sophisticated teaching aids such as patient simulators who breathe and respond to treatment as humans. Workshop topics covered a range of areas, including clinical education, learning and teaching styles, interprofessional teaching, as well as non-traditional teaching methods. The event concluded with a discussion on student assessment and clinical competency.
“This was a tremendous opportunity for nursing faculty throughout UC to support and learn from each other,” said Judy Martin-Holland, associate dean of academic programs and diversity integration at the UC San Francisco School of Nursing. “We must continue to find ways to work collaboratively in this budget-restricted era for the UC system. Together, we can ensure innovative educational programs so our graduates can lead changes in health care.”