SAN ANTONIO (Aug. 2, 2018) ― The School of Nursing at UT Health San Antonio has received a $2.5 million grant to initiate a specialized nursing bachelor’s program in primary care. The four-year grant funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration began July 1, with classes starting in summer 2019.
The program, within the traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) track, includes a new curriculum emphasizing primary care in a clinical care setting, as well as team-based, primary care clinical training in locations that serve primarily at-risk, underserved populations.
The grant also will support revisions to the School of Nursing’s overall curricula to include more emphasis on primary care nursing, and the development of an annual interprofessional workshop focused on primary care for practicing registered nurses (RNs), clinical supervisors of nursing students and nursing faculty members.
“There is a critical need to increase the delivery of high-quality, primary health care by baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses practicing in community clinics. However, of the 3.3 million professionally active RNs in the U.S., about 61 percent practice in hospitals and only 18 percent practice in clinics,” said Norma Martinez Rogers, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, principal investigator of the grant and a professor of nursing at UT Health San Antonio. “These figures show the alarming need to increase the number of RNs who practice in community-based primary care clinics to provide for the basic health care needs of patients,” she said.
Students in the primary care nursing program will learn about population health; preventing and managing chronic diseases, including mental health and substance use disorders; participating on interprofessional teams; providing care for patients from a variety of cultures; and addressing the needs of patients who are dealing with barriers to health care.
Five students will be enrolled in the program the first year, six the second year, seven the third year and eight the fourth year. The deadline to apply for the first-year cohort is fall of 2018.
“There are many places in San Antonio and South Texas where health care providers are in short supply, making it difficult for patients with basic and chronic health needs to access care,” Dr. Martinez Rogers explained. “These patients may face poverty, lack of reliable transportation, food or housing insecurity, chronic illness in the family that disrupts or limits work schedules, no insurance, hours of driving from rural areas or multiple transfers using public transportation to access a health provider. Part of the mission of our School of Nursing is to serve the needs of patients who are at a disadvantage due to these social determinants of health.”
The basis for this type of program was outlined in 2016 by The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, which produced a report emphasizing the importance of increasing the number of primary care health professionals to meet America’s health care needs. The report recommended the development and expansion of nursing education and training programs that prepare RNs for leadership roles to aid in reforming health care systems. The report also calls for maximizing the scope of practice for RNs in primary care to ultimately improve the health and health outcomes of the American public.
“With our School of Nursing being part of an academic health institution, it is important for us to understand and fulfill national health care recommendations that are based on scientific evidence and advocated for by national health care thought leaders,” Dr. Martinez Rogers said.
Others involved in developing the program are Herlinda Zamora, M.S.N., RN, partnership liaison, and Daisy Ornelas, program coordinator. The seven faculty advisors include Adelita Cantu, Ph.D., RN; Tracey Page, D.N.P., RN, FNP-BC; Laura Sisk, D.N.P., M.S.N., RN; Martha Martinez, M.S.N., RN, CNS, WHNCP; Peter Guarnero, RN, Ph.D., M.Sc.; Marissa Molina, M.S.N., RN; and Jolly Punchamannil, D.N.P., RN, CMSRN.
For more information about the program call (210) 450-8662 or email ornelasd@uthscsa.edu.
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, now called UT Health San Antonio®, is one of the country’s leading health sciences universities. With missions of teaching, research, healing and community engagement, its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced 35,850 alumni who are leading change, advancing their fields and renewing hope for patients and their families throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.