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Nursing School Expands Emphasis on Nursing Practice
Thomas A. Mackey, Ph.D., who has directed the innovative nurse-managed UT Health Services since its inception in 1991, has been appointed associate dean for practice at The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston.
Succeeding him as the new executive clinical director of UT Health Services is Elizabeth Fuselier, D.N.P., who arrived in December.
UT School of Nursing Dean Patricia L. Starck, D.S.N., right, and
Associate Dean Thomas A. Mackey,
Ph.D., welcome Elizabeth
Fuselier, D.N.P., as the new executive clinical director of UT
Health
Services. Photo by Erika E. Hargrove
Mackey now will focus on the growth of clinical practices at the School of Nursing. He said he hopes to have at least two additional clinics up and running in the next two years. Mackey also continues to practice at the UT Health Services main office in the University Center Tower.
“The growth of the clinical practice is important in the future of our students, faculty and patients,” Mackey said. He added that there is no better successor than Fuselier.
Fuselier comes to Houston from New Orleans, where she worked as the lead nurse practitioner at Ochsner Clinic Foundation. There, she was responsible for the administrative and professional operations of 120 advanced practice nurses.
“This position will allow me to use a variety of the skills I have learned throughout my career to benefit the students and patients of the School of Nursing,” she said. “I am also looking forward to working with so many talented individuals here at UT Health Services.”
Patricia Starck, D.S.N., dean of the School of Nursing and the John P. McGovern, M.D., Distinguished Professor in Nursing, said, “Dr. Fuselier is equipped with the education and practical experience that is important in this position. We also value her experience in academic, administrative and clinical aspects of the field."
“She is our first faculty member to hold the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. We have been approved by the UT Board of Regents to start such a program – it would be the first in Texas,” Starck said.
Fuselier graduated from William Woods University for Women in Fulton, Mo., with a major in business administration. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in nursing and later earned her master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner and then her doctorate from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center-Memphis.
UT Health Services provides high quality, costeffective ambulatory health care services, which include: comprehensive primary care, occupational medicine, health education, and radiological and laboratory services. UTHS is the provider for all employee health care for the health science center, as well as for Texas Woman’s University. Graduate students from the schools of nursing and public health use the clinic as a clinical practice site.
For information call (713) 500-3267.
By Erika E. Hargrove, Public Affairs