UT School of Nursing and Memorial Hermann Hospital
creating New TMC partnership with Chief of Advanced Practice position
HOUSTON—(Jan. 25, 2007)—Elizabeth Fuselier, D.N.P., assistant professor of clinical nursing at The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston, has been named to a newly created position at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center as Chief of Advanced Practice.
While continuing as a UT School of Nursing faculty member, Fuselier will work to establish a cutting-edge advanced practice model for nurse practitioners and physicians assistants while expanding the number and types of advanced practice healthcare providers within the hospital. She will oversee all elements of the advanced practice program and collaborate with hospital administrators and staff.
Elizabeth Fuselier (left), D.N.P., new Chief of
Advanced Practice at Memorial Hermann-Texas
Medical Center, with UT School of Nursing Dean
Patricia Starck, D.S.N.
Photo by Erika Durham Hargrove
“Having a Chief of Advanced Practice position is, to my knowledge, a first in the nation,” said UT School of Nursing Dean Patricia L. Starck, D.S.N. “This signifies that nursing care will be at the highest level for patients at Memorial Hermann, and it also will create an ideal learning environment for students in our doctoral and masters’ programs.”
An agreement between the hospital and the UT-Houston nursing school, ranked in the top eight percent of U.S. graduate nursing programs by U.S. News and World Report, runs through at least Aug. 2009.
“I am thrilled that our two institutions share a vision for this program,” said Juanita Romans, CEO of Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. “Our partnership is an innovative approach for Memorial Hermann to improve patient safety and provide the best possible clinical outcomes with exceptional patient care experiences. I look forward to Dr. Fuselier working closely with Sarah Sinclair, our system Chief Patient Care Officer, to develop an Advanced Practice program throughout the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center system.”
In Sept. 2006, the UT School of Nursing admitted 16 candidates for the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) degree as the Class of 2009. Only the 12th program of its kind in the nation, UT-Houston’s was the first in Texas to offer the new doctoral program for the nursing career.
“The UT School of Nursing intends to be the national leader in developing the role of D.N.P,” said Thomas A. Mackey, Ph.D., the school’s associate dean for practice. “This new partnership with Memorial Hermann will provide us the opportunity to develop innovative collaborative models of care, educate our D.N.P students and advance our clinical research agenda.”
Registered nurses become nurse practitioners after receiving a masters’ degree in clinical practice. They are able to diagnose, treat and manage acute and chronic illnesses. A doctor of nursing practice, which the nursing school added to its curriculum in April 2006, includes courses in ethics, informatics, emerging science, evidence-based practice and patient management. The goal is to allow nurses to have the highest level of education possible as they work with inter-collaborative healthcare teams in addressing complex disease processes in a diverse population.
“I’m looking forward to having UT physicians work with Dr. Fuselier in developing new models of patient care at Memorial Hermann Hospital,” said Bruce C. Kone, M.D., the James T. and Nancy B. Willerson Chair and Chairman of Internal Medicine and of Integrative Biology & Pharmacology at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. “This opportunity will enhance the integration of advanced practice nurses into our health care team, enhance patient care and decrease stress on physicians.”
Before joining UT-Houston’s faculty in Dec. 2005, she worked as the lead nurse practitioner at Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, where she was responsible for the administrative and professional operations of 120 advanced practice nurses.
“We expect to be creating a new frontier in nursing by merging dynamic relationships in patient care, education and research,” said Fuselier, who will be leaving her role as executive clinical director of UT Health Services for the new position. “Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, the nursing school and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are on the forefront of healthcare and making nursing history by placing a nurse with a D.N.P. in this creative position.”
Fuselier officially started her new position Jan. 15.
The school of nursing is one of six schools making up The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, which is part of the University of Texas System. It is a state-supported health institution whose state funding is supplemented by competitive research grants, patient fees and private philanthropy.