NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Richard and Lucille DeWitt School of Nursing at Stephen F. Austin State University has been recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as a Program of Excellence in Nursing Education.
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DeWitt School of Nursing clinical instructor Laura Logan, left, consults with Shelby Mitchell, an SFA senior nursing student from Shepherd, in the Ed and Gwen Cole Simulation Lab. The DeWitt School of Nursing has been recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as a Program of Excellence in Nursing Education.
Enrollment in the nursing school is on the rise. More than 250 nursing students currently are enrolled in the SFA program, along with more than 1,050 pre-nursing students.
Dr. Glenda Walker, director of the DeWitt School of Nursing, attributes the increase in applications and pre-nursing majors to statewide recognition of the nursing program for its excellence in curriculum, facilities and faculty.
“The nursing program has always excelled in committed, dedicated faculty who use state-of-the-art teaching strategies to produce graduates that are recognized as exceptional nurses,” Walker said. “With the addition of a new facility in 2010, the nursing school now has a facility that also is recognized as a national leader in simulation as a teaching/learning strategy for students.”
The Ed and Gwen Cole Simulation Lab has been named a Laerdal Center of Excellence, and more 16,000 hours of simulation clinical experiences are conducted in the facility each year.