Page 42 - May 2019 with HCHeroes

Nursing Education ... Nursing Education ... Nursing Education ...

Coming
next month in It Is Time for Florida to Consider a BSN-in-10 Law

South Florida
Hospital News As Floridians celebrate Nurses Week, May 6- tive for ASN nurses to pursue their BSN
12, it is an opportune time to consider BSN-in- degree. A BSN degree opens the door to
and Healthcare 10 Law for the state of Florida. It took 14 years better salaries, marketability, profession-
Report... of lobbying for New York to pass this law on al advancement, and greater job satisfac-
December 20, 2017. The BSN-in-10 New York
tion.
statute requires all nurses to obtain a Bachelor Professional nursing organizations

•Annual Healthcare of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree within 10 such as the American Nurses Association
years of receiving their initial RN license. (ANA) and the American Association of
Hurricane
Although New York may be the first state to Colleges of Nursing (AACN), are push-
Planning Guide pass the law, many other states have plans to ing for the BSN degree. They view nurses
• Emergency enact similar legislation. as the heart of professional collaborative
In 2010, the Institute of Medicine reported practice, maintaining 24/7 continuity in
Department Trends
on the future of nursing, making a strong rec- the day-to-day care of patients.
• Healthcare Real ommendation that 80 percent of the nursing BY LINDA SIMUNEK, Nurses are not only direct care givers
Estate Update workforce have a BSN by 2020. Currently, the RN, PHD, JD but are managers and coordinators of
Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that nurs- care. In these roles, nurses work with
• Eldercare Update ing is among the top occupations in terms of physicians, pharmacists, social workers,
in South Florida job growth. The nursing workforce is expected to grow from physical therapists, diet therapists, spiritual advisers, and
2.71 million in 2014 to 3.24 million in 2024, an increase of other members of the health care team, most of whom are
•Disaster Planning: 439,000 or 16%. Approximately 60% of U.S. nurses have required to have educational credentials that go beyond the
Preparedness & BSN degrees. bachelor’s degree. Thus, the call for nurses to have a mini-
Trauma Medicine Florida has the educational infrastructure to support a mum of a BSN degree for nursing licensure in Florida, is a
BSN-in-10 legislative initiative. Many Florida schools offer- fitting salute not only to Florida nurses but to the 3.6 mil-
•EMR Update ing ASN programs also offer BSN programs. These schools lion nurses in the U.S.

are re-designing their ASN to BSN programs in order to facil- A member of the Broward County Bar Association, Dr.
For more information itate the academic progression of ASN students who wish to Linda Simunek is Associate Dean and Professor of Nursing
on advertising and earn a BSN degree. Florida schools offer RN to BSN pro- at Broward College and has served in the Florida Board of
editorial opportunities, call grams specially designed for working nurses through online Nursing
(561) 368-6950 today! programs. Most of these online programs can be completed
in about a year of full-time study to two years of part-time She may be reached at lsimunek@broward.edu
study. Employers offer tuition reimbursement as an incen- and at (954) 201-4880.

FAU Appoints Safiya George,

Ph.D., as Dean of the Christine E.

Lynn College of Nursing

Florida Atlantic University has named Safiya
George, Ph.D., as the new dean of the Christine E.
Lynn College of Nursing. She is only the third
dean to be appointed in the college’s 40-year his-
tory. George previously served as a member of the
faculty at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson
Woodruff School of Nursing until she was recruit-
ed in 2015 to the Capstone College of Nursing at
the University of Alabama, where she has served
as assistant dean for research, director of the
Office of Scholarly Affairs, and a member of the
advisory board of the Alabama Life Research
Institute. She also has served as faculty in the
Honors College and faculty-in-residence for resi- Dr. Safiya George
dential honors students at the University of
Alabama.
George will assume her role as dean effective July 8, where she will spearhead
FAU’s College of Nursing, which is nationally and internationally known for its
excellence and philosophy of caring science.
George earned her Ph.D. and MSN degrees from Emory University and complet-
ed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University in religion and health. Since 2015,
under her leadership, Capstone College of Nursing has experienced tremendous
growth in scholarly activities, including significant increases in extramural fund-
ing. She is described as a great mentor, role model and colleague by executive lead-
ership, faculty, staff and students at the Capstone College of Nursing.
In 2017, George was elected to serve on the international board of directors for
Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society for Nursing, where she also has
held numerous leadership roles, including chair of the International Service
Taskforce, elected member of the Leadership Succession Committee and vice pres-
ident of the Epsilon Omega Chapter.
George is a board certified adult nurse practitioner (ANP). In 2018, she was
inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

42 May 2019 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News