The First Four Years of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Graduate School of Nursing

Abstract

The Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) was established at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1993 to prepare advanced practice nurses, namely family nurse practitioners (FNPs) and nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), for the uniformed services. A study of needs for nurses in the uniformed services in these specialties indicated that by the year 2000 there would be a need requiring a total enrollment in educational programs of 268 CRNAs and 100 FNPs over a 5-year period. Offering the master of science in nursing degree, the GSN has enrolled 61 students in its two programs, and by the end of the 1997 academic year, it will have graduated 19 FNPs and 19 CRNAs. The GSN was authorized by the Department of Defense, Office of Health Affairs, in February 1996. Federal nursing chiefs serve as advisors to the GSN. The GSN received full accreditation from the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs in 1994 and from the National League for Nursing in December 1996. All students who have graduated have successfully passed their certification examinations. Supplementing other educational resources, the GSN is helping to meet the educational needs of the uniformed nursing services by introducing pilot programs specifically designed to meet these needs.