Dr.
Marion chairs nursing education task force
by Jennifer Hilliard
Dr. Lucy Marion, dean of the School of Nursing, has been appointed chair of the new University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ Task Force on Nursing Education.
The 12-member group, which met in September, is charged with increasing the number of registered nurses in Georgia by focusing on the efficiency of the university system’s nursing programs.
The group’s focus also will include boosting the number of students who earn advanced degrees and return to the classroom to teach, increasing the number of university system nursing faculty and promoting cooperation between system schools with nursing degree programs.
“It is widely recognized that we have a significant shortage of nursing professionals at all levels in both Georgia and nationally,” said Dr. Daniel W. Rahn, MCG president and senior vice chancellor for health and medical programs for the university system. “That shortage is projected to worsen unless significant steps are taken to change the current trajectory. Lucy is the perfect person to take the lead in ensuring that Georgia universities are doing their part to address that problem at its foundation – the educational level.”
The state is projected to need at least 20,000 more nurses by 2012 to eliminate the growing shortage. Around 2,000 students graduate from university system schools each year with nursing degrees.
“While our charge is about increasing the number of nurses, it’s also about making sure that, as a system, we are doing all we can to address an impending health crisis,” said Dr. Marion. “This task force is aimed toward making sure that we are fully preparing our students to be the best practicing clinicians.”