Dean and professor of the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing, Dr. Nina Ouimette, is one of only 37 nurses from across the United States selected to participate in the first American Association of Colleges of Nursing Leadership program. Ouimette is one of only two from Texas selected to attend.
The selected nursing deans and senior faculty leaders will participate in the new AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program scheduled for August 14-17, 2012, at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The world-class enrichment program is designed exclusively for top academic leaders in nursing.
The 37 selected cohorts represent a broad, geographically diverse mix of educational programs, including large academic health centers, public and private institutions, and small specialized schools of nursing,” said AACN president, Jane Kirschling. “Fortified with a new layer of leadership expertise, those completing the program will be well-prepared to make a lasting impact on how nurses are educated and how they practice.”
Ouimette is an experienced pediatric nurse and has been with the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing for 12 years. This will be her fourth year as dean of PHSSN.
The nursing school is in a unique position, serving students from Hardin-Simmons University, as well as McMurry University, and Abilene Christian University. Ouimette says she is especially proud of the school’s high-tech assimilation learning lab, housing simulation manikins where much of the hands-on learning takes place for the students.
Sitting directly across Ambler from HSU, the facility houses five large classrooms and a computer lab, as well as 15 full-time faculty members.
When college students finish the first two years of their undergraduate work at one of the four-year universities in town, they are eligible for admission to the nursing school. Ouimette says they currently are serving about 200 undergrads and about 20 students looking to obtain a master’s degree.
The veteran pediatric nurse first served as an adjunct faculty member at Hardin-Simmons for the nursing school. She was named director of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program after spending a year as interim director, and then appointed as dean in 2009. She is married to Dr. Mark Ouimette, head of the HSU Geology Department and professor of geology.
37 nurse educators from 25 states comprise the 2012 cohort for the AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program:
Lazelle Benefield, Dean, College of Nursing, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Audrey Berman, Dean, School of Nursing, Samuel Merritt University (CA)
Devon Berry, Director of Innovations and Community Partnerships, Wright State University (OH)
Lenora Campbell, Associate Dean, Winston Salem State University (NC)
Ann Cary, Director, School of Nursing, Loyola University New Orleans (LA)
Daisy Cruz-Richman, Dean, College of Nursing, SUNY Downstate Medical Center (NY)
Debra Davis, Dean, College of Nursing, University of South Alabama
Judy Didion, Dean, College of Nursing, Lourdes University (OH)
Dorrie Fontaine, Dean, School of Nursing, University of Virginia
Rita Frantz, Dean, College of Nursing, The University of Iowa
Lorraine Frazier, Dean, College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Carla Gross, Department Chair, Nursing, North Dakota State University
Phyllis S. Hansell, Dean, College of Nursing, Seton Hall University (NJ)
Marcia Hern, Dean, School of Nursing, University of Louisville (KY)
Karen Karlowicz, Chairperson, College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University (VA)
Judith F. Karshmer, Dean, School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of San Francisco (CA)
Marsha Lewis, Dean, School of Nursing, University at Buffalo (NY)
Krista M. Meinersmann, Director, School of Nursing, University of Southern Maine
Helen Melland, Dean, College of Nursing, Montana State University
Pamela Mitchell, Interim Dean, School of Nursing, University of Washington
Dianne Morrison-Beedy, Dean, College of Nursing, University of South Florida
Nina Ouimette, Dean, Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing (TX)
Demetrius James Porche, Dean, School of Nursing, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
Rosanne Pruitt, Director, School of Nursing, Clemson University (SC)
Sharon Radzyminski, Chair, School of Nursing, Georgia Southern University
Joanne Robinson, Dean, School of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-Camden
Nena F. Sanders, Dean, School of Nursing, Samford University (AL)
Kerri Schuiling, Dean, School of Nursing, Oakland University (MI)
Juliann Sebastian, Dean, College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Sandie Soldwisch, Dean, College of Nursing, Resurrection University (IL)
Mary C. Sullivan, Interim Dean, College of Nursing, University of Rhode Island
Beth Ann Swan, Dean, School of Nursing, Thomas Jefferson University (PA)
Kristen M. Swanson, Dean, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
David Vlahov, Dean, School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco
Pamela G. Watson, Dean, School of Nursing, University of Texas Medical Branch
Susan Wilkinson, Department Head, Department of Nursing and Rehabilitation Sciences, Angelo State University (TX)
Barbara Williams, Chairperson, Department of Nursing, University of Central Arkansas
“Though many executive leadership programs are available at top schools like Wharton, none focus exclusively on the needs of nursing deans,” says Kirschling. “AACN is hopeful that this innovative program will help to amplify nursing’s voice in national conversations about healthcare reform and enhancing patient care.”
About The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN):
AACN is the national voice for university and four-year college education programs in nursing. Representing more than 700 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide, AACN’s educational, research, governmental advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs work to establish quality standards for bachelor’s- and graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research, and practice. www.aacn.nche.edu