Welcome to UTMB's School of Nursing

History of the School of Nursing

The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing, established in 1890 as the John Sealy Hospital Training School for Nurses, is the oldest school of nursing in the Southwest. It was organized originally as an independent school under a Board of Lady Managers. In 1896, it was transferred to The University of Texas and became the School of Nursing, one of the divisions of the Medical Branch, with diplomas granted by the University. In 1923, in addition to the diploma program, and in the cooperation with the College of Arts and Sciences of The University of Texas at Austin, a curriculum was established leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In 1932, the name of the school was changed to the John Sealy College of Nursing, in recognition of the Sealy family's generosity to the university.

Through the financial assistance of the Texas Graduate Nurses Association, courses for graduate nurses were first offered in 1936 in the Department of Physical and Health Education of the School of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. A complete curriculum was established leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education in 1937, and in 1944 for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In 1945, the curriculum for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education was transferred to the Medical Branch administration, bringing both the John Sealy College of Nursing and the newly created Department of Nursing Education together to form the School of Nursing under Dean Marjorie Bartholf. In September 1949, a curriculum leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing for graduates of diploma programs was established. Through the generosity of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, a program leading to the Master of Science in Nursing, with a major in nursing service administration was offered in 1952. This program prepared nurses as educators and administration in maternal/child health, medical, surgical, and psychiatric nursing.

1957, the School of Nursing admitted the last class to the diploma program. Since that time, it has offered one basic program leading to Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In the fall of 1960, Austin became an extension campus of the School of Nursing, which was still headquartered in Galveston, and nursing courses were offered on the Austin campus for the first time.

The School of Nursing was reorganized in 1967 as The University of Texas Nursing School (System-wide) and administrative offices were moved to Austin. The School was renamed The University of Texas System School of Nursing in 1972. Junior and senior level nursing courses were offered in six locations: Austin, El Paso, Arlington, Galveston, Houston, and San Antonio. A program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in nursing was initiated in 1974 at the Austin campus.

On March 26, 1976, The Board of Regents of The University of Texas System voted to reorganize the Schools of Nursing in the System and to place each school under the administration of the president of the health science center or academic institution nearest its location. On September 1, 1976, the School of Nursing again became a school of The University of Texas Medical Branch.

As the first university affiliated school of nursing west of the Mississippi, the School of Nursing has set the standard for progressive nursing education for more than a century and continues to be a leader in scientific and humanistic nursing education in both the Baccalaureate and Master’s Nursing Programs. The Baccalaureate Nursing Program offers the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and has two (2) tracks, the BSN track and RN-BSN Track. Students who enter either track are required to have 60 semester hours of basic sciences and liberal arts courses. Upon completion of all program requirements, graduates in the BSN track take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for Registered Nurses. Two sequences are available for the BSN, the traditional 2 year progression, and the Accelerated 1 year progression called the BACC2. The RN-BSN track is specifically designed for the Registered Nurse who is seeking a baccalaureate in nursing and offers an alternative to the traditional educational approach.

The School of Nursing 's Master's of Science in Nursing program offers diverse specialty areas: family nurse practitioner, pediatric nurse practitioner, gerontological nurse practitioner, adult acute care nurse practitioner, neonatal nurse practitioner, nursing leadership and nursing education. All majors in master’s program specialties are available to master’s or doctorally prepared nurses as a post-master’s certificate program.

The Doctor of Philosophy program in nursing was approved by The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) in 1996 and the first class of students was admitted in the Fall of 1997. The program is designed to prepare scholars and researchers capable of advancing nursing practice and education. Three focus areas, health promotion, human response, and healing, characterize the conceptual base of the program and define the program’s parameters of scholarly inquiry. These three interrelated areas provide the structure necessary to develop knowledge that will extend the understanding of the promotion of physical, mental and social well-being within the context of illness prevention and the maintenance or restoration of health; provide the understanding of requisite conditions for human response to actual or potential health problems; and expand upon the understanding of the connectedness among the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health of individuals, families, groups and communities.

Health is a resource for everyday life and enables people of all ages to realize aspirations, satisfy needs, and cope with challenges to well being. The unique function of nursing includes caring for individuals, sick or well, assessing their responses and health status, and assisting them with the performance of activities they would perform unaided if they had the necessary strength, will, or knowledge as they move toward wholeness. The realization of these health goals and nursing functions must be based on the systematic development of knowledge about humans in interaction with their life situations. The doctoral program addresses these goals through knowledge development that incorporates the testing of interventions, and the development and testing of theories, for the purpose of expanding nursing science and nursing practice.

In a ceremony held May 2002 our first four graduates received the doctor of philosophy degree from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Three of these students have taken positions in schools of nursing as faculty members and one of our graduates accepted a postdoctoral position in Women's Health. The faculty is very proud of our first graduates and looks forward to their continued success.