Taylor University has known for some time that there was a strong interest among current and prospective students for a nursing program. After all the word nursing was the most searched word on Taylor’s website for years, says Taylor University’s Dean of Nursing, Karen Elsea.
But the road to developing and launching a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at Taylor University was a long one. “Nursing programs are so resource-heavy with instructional costs, the increased numbers of faculty that are needed, and the necessity for partnerships in the community to be able to offer clinical agreements for students to have placements in rotations,” Elsea explained.
The university began in 2016 by creating a 3+1 program, which was an agreement with nearby Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) that allowed students to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from IWU and a Bachelor of Science from Taylor.
Things changed when Taylor University partnered with Fort Wayne-based Parkview Health.
In 2021, under the leadership of university President Dr. Michael Lindsey and Provost Dr. Jewerl Maxwell, Taylor decided to move forward with creating a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and tinkering with the idea of adding both a physician assistant program and a Master’s in Medical Science degree program in the future.
When Taylor leadership reached out to Parkview Health, “there was interest on Parkview’s side to support us. In general, they have a long history of supporting nursing education. Parkview has a great desire to open their doors to students and they were very interested in moving forward to explore how they might partner and support the major Taylor wanted to create,” Elsea says.
Elsea says Parkview provided significant financial support for the nursing program, including support for instructor positions and equipment, such as simulation mannequins. “Three high-fidelity manikins were gifted to facilitate realistic patient care experiences.”
Parkview has also supported Taylor by gifting their time with simulation development, providing extensive training for the program’s simulation and lab coordinator/clinical instructor, and committing to helping with the clinical placement of students across Parkview facilities. In their student placement efforts, Parkview took special care to identify opportunities for Taylor nursing students to experience patient care. Elsea says Taylor could not have done this program without Parkview’s contributions and partnership.
The nursing program will be a traditional four-year Bachelor of Science program. The first three semesters will focus on nursing prerequisites, as well as liberal arts course requirements. Clinical work starts in the second semester of a student’s sophomore year and every semester after that, totaling five clinical semesters. “Semesters build in complexity. We start out with the fundamentals, general assessment skills, and a little bit of patient interaction,” says Elsea. By the spring semester of the junior year, students will be in either a hospital or healthcare setting two days a week, starting with adult care and moving into other specialties, such as pediatrics and labor and delivery, as they gain more experience. Finally, nursing students are exposed to critical care, behavioral health, and public health during their senior year before transitioning to practice through a capstone program.
The Indiana State Board of Nursing (ISBN) approved Taylor’s nursing program on October 17, and the program will start in the spring of 2025.
Ascend Indiana served as project manager and established a mechanism for Taylor and Parkview to identify and track progress to support the success of their partnership. “Parkview and Taylor’s partnership is a prime example of how higher education can effectively collaborate with industry to serve the needs of students while better preparing talent,” said Ascend Consultant Alejandro Reyna. “The positive impact of this partnership will not only be evident in student outcomes, but patient outcomes will also benefit thanks to the robust education and training that this partnership has created. These kinds of intentional partnerships, if replicated across other industries, can better prepare Hoosiers for the workforce.”
Elsea says Taylor’s nursing program has great potential and fits well with Taylor’s mission. “Taylor University’s mission is to develop servant leaders marked with a passion to minister Christ’s redemptive love, grace, and truth to a world in need. The mission aligns perfectly with nursing.”
