U Magazine, Fall 1987

ALCALA PARK

New dean eager to tackle nursing challenges D r . J anet Rodgers, the li vely and ener– getic new dean of the Hahn School of Nursing , minces no words when she's asked to name the biggest challenge facing the nursing profession today. "Clearly our biggest problem - and one we need to deal with - is the enroll– ment and recruitment and retention of people in the fi eld . Nurses make up the largest segment of the hea lth care professions, but there is a tremendous nursing shortage in our country," says the Pennsylvania-born and N ew York-educated admini strator. She attr ibutes the shortage to a percepti on that there are few advancement oppor– tuniti es in nursing, to pay inequities, and to the lack of a major voice for nurses on most hospital and health care institutions' poli cy– making boards. "If we work to respond to those issues," she says, "I think nursing will rega in its popularity. " She also rega rds the current situati on as an opportunity. "Nursing today probably offers the most promi sing window of opportunity for anyone considering a profession than at any other time in our hi story." Dr . Rodgers assumed her USDdut ies inJuly. She was hired after a year-long nati onwide search to replace Dr . Irene Palmer, dean of the nursing school since its fo unding in 1974. Dr. Palmer will continue to teach full-time at the school. Most recentl y professo r and fo unding chair of the

nursing department at L ycoming College in Williamsport , Pa. ,

Dr. Rodgers also has taught at the Uni ve rsity ofPenn syl– vania , Old Dominion University, City University of New York and Wagner College in N ew York . She holds two degrees from N ew York Uni versity - a doctorate in nursing research and a master's in psychiatric-mental health nursing-and a bachelor's in nursi ng from Wagner . She also has wr itten numerous articles and books on nursing , and lectured extensively. Among her several professional affili a– ti ons is the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, on whose board of di rectors she serves . After li ving and working for her entire life on the East Coast, Dr. Rodgers admits it was difficult to move west. But she was impressed during her intervi ews with the quality of USD's faculty and intri g ued with the idea of running a school with three levels of degree programs. "The school also has a very good reputation, " she adds. With the rapidl y evolving role of nurses in today's health ca re scene, Dr. Rodge rs says nursing schools must constantly update their class offerings to reflect developments in the profession. "Nurses must understand the latest technology, " for exampl e, she says , "and along with that comes all the ethi cal and moral questi ons that arise because of hi gh technology. So learning mate ri al that addresses values and ethi cs clearly must be incorporated into students' studi es." That is especially true at a Catholi c instituti on , she stresses, where there is an

l,t D r. Janet Rodgers

ago, has exploded to in excess of 70 full - and part– time students, a develop– ment the dean traces to the desire of many nurses to reach leadership positions in the profession . "We need doctorally-pre– pared nurses for executi ve leve l pos iti ons in hosp itals, health ca re agencies and schoo ls," she points out. "We also need nurses to ca rry out resea rch in the clinical area . There is a tremendous need for both master's and particularl y, doctorall y-prepared people , in the profession today." A little more than two months into her USD tenure, Dr . Rodge rs says the physical beauty of the campus and the g rac iousness of the University commu– nity have conv inced her she made a wise move in coming to USD. She's also look ing for– ward, she adds, to a winter without snow. D

emphasis placed on values and deci sion-making. "It becomes even more impor– tant that we help students to expl ore what the issues are , to think them through, and to exami ne what the conse– quences are of some of the technolog ical advances ." All deans have wish li sts. At the top ofDr. Rodgers' is an endowed chair in nursing. Such a chair would enable the school to bring a someone who would se rve as a catalyst and role model for other faculty and student researchers . Among her other pri oriti es are to invo lve nursing alumni more close ly nati onally-known nurse resea rcher to campus, faculty, primarily to prov ide more support to the popular doctoral program . E nrollment in the doc– toral prog ram, which was inaug urated just two yea rs with the school and to increase the size of the