Each year, the UTMB School of Nursing hosts a ceremony to welcome new and returning students to campus and the academic year. More than 300 students and faculty were in attendance for the event at Levin Hall, including Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Danny O. Jacobs and Vice President for Education and Dean of the School of Nursing, Dr. Pamela G. Watson.
The School of Nursing will admit nearly 500 students in the 2013-2014 Academic year and more than 700 students are continuing their studies from previous semesters. Students come from across Texas and the nation as well as Nigeria, Pakistan, Mexico, India and the Philippines.
These students are continuing in a rich tradition of nursing education that began on the school’s opening day on March 10, 1890 as the John Sealy Training School for Nurses. It was the first school of nursing west of the Mississippi and one of the first in the country to become part of a university.
The School’s first curriculum reflected Florence Nightingale’s views about the importance of nursing in promoting the patient’s natural healing power, an idea that is still central to nursing practice. The School of Nursing is strongly committed to the pursuit of excellence in education, research and clinical practice.