Deans Message Nursing Fall 2024
College of Nursing Dean Leslie K. Robbins, Ph.D., APRN, PMHCNS-BC, PMHNP-BC (NM), FAANP, ANEF
Hello, and welcome to our newsletter!
We had a great start to the fall semester, and we are excited to bring you the latest updates in the College of Nursing.
This fall, we transitioned our traditional undergraduate nursing program to a new curriculum. UTEP is one of the first in the nation to eliminate the student ranking process that determined which students moved from one phase of the program to the next. Now, students who complete the required prerequisites are eligible to continue in the program.
This groundbreaking method allows students to collaborate rather than compete with each other while maintaining the current rigor and standards of the program. We’re proud of our faculty and students who are working together in this new paradigm to create the future generation of healthcare professionals.
On the graduate side, we’re happy to share that we now have over 500 students enrolled in our Master of Science degree in Nursing (MSN) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs – a new post-pandemic record! We’re grateful for the leaders of those programs for their hard work to attract students, including Roberta A. Durk-Gomez, the new coordinator of the DNP program, who is featured in this issue and will help develop our doctoral students as leaders in community care.
Speaking of the DNP program, we are very excited to welcome our DNP alumni back to a special reunion dinner during Homecoming this year. It’s hard to believe that the program is now in its 12th year! We also hope that you join us for Homecoming events Nov. 3-9. Learn more about Homecoming at www.utep.edu/homecoming.
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Go, Miners
Leslie K. Robbins, Ph.D., APRN, PMHCNS-BC, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, ANEF
Dean, UTEP College of Nursing
