The college’s longstanding innovative education practices create professionals who advocate for optimal patient care and outcomes

By Lynn Anderson Davy | Iowa Now | 10/10/2018

On one of the busiest patient floors at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Dan Lose, a 2016 doctor of nursing practice graduate of the UI College of Nursing, oversees a staff of 140, an annual budget of $10 million, and a daily churn of patients that puts his medical and management skills to the test.

In many ways, Lose is the embodiment of a new generation of nurses: health care professionals who are extremely skilled at patient care, but also key health care leaders and innovators who play a pivotal role in advancing health care, research, and technology.

“Health care is changing and nurses are at the forefront of that change,” says Lose, a native of Rochester, Minnesota, who also completed his BS in nursing at the UI College of Nursing. “Nurse leaders bring the perspective of patients and front-line staff to the decision-making table, and I believe that our input is imperative.”

Since its inception in 1898, the UI College of Nursing has been focused on educating the next generation of nurses. Today, as the profession regionally and nationally struggles to meet the needs of a growing patient population with more complex health needs, college leaders say they are at the forefront of creating new programs and conducting meaningful research that will empower nurses to take on new management and leadership roles in hospitals and clinics.

“The University of Iowa College of Nursing has an impressive history of leadership in nursing education and research,” says Julie Zerwic, the eighth dean of the college. “As we move forward, we constantly seek out new education methods that will ensure that our students have the skills they need to lead interdisciplinary health care teams to tackle future health challenges.”

Zerwic and others familiar with the college’s history say that it has long been a place where innovation has been emphasized—both in research and in teaching that improves student success.

Click here to read the full article as it appeared in Iowa Now

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