Professorship

Nursing New Ideas

NURSING ENTREPRENEUR: Patricia Chiverton, dean of the School of Nursing, has launched several programs that emphasize the entrepreneurial possibilities in nursing.

A walk through the first floor of the School of Nursing’s Helen Wood Hall is a walk through the evolution of nursing education at Rochester. In one hallway are photos of smiling graduates along with tributes to pioneers in the field. In another are doctoral student study rooms and a simulation lab where nursing students hone their clinical skills.

Step into the new Loretta C. Ford Education Wing and you will find state-of-the-art classrooms outfitted with smart classroom technology and videoconferencing capabilities as well as a new auditorium. The building also houses the Center for Nursing Entrepreneurship and a handful of the for-profit companies it has generated.

The changes represent decades of dedicated leadership and curricular advances, but the innovations implemented during the eight-year tenure of Patricia Chiverton have taken the school from an institution struggling to survive to a national leader in nursing education.

As dean, Chiverton has spearheaded the launch of new and improved programs, including a one-year accelerated program for non-nurses, integrated accelerated M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs, and an M.S. degree in leadership in health care systems. The school’s total enrollment has increased by more than 100 students, 43 new faculty members have been hired, and the school’s budget has nearly doubled. In addition, last year the school completed an $8.1 million renovation and expansion project—the first in its history.

During Chiverton’s deanship, the school has climbed in the national ranks from 28th to 12th among nursing schools receiving National Institutes of Health grants.

“Pat’s vision for nursing education is helping shape the future of health care in western New York and beyond,” says Bradford Berk, CEO of the Medical Center. “Her creative approaches to improving nursing practice, dedication to supporting entrepreneurship in the field, and keen ability to spot emerging trends and opportunities for growth have put the nursing school on the map as a national model for success.”

While implementing programmatic and physical change, Chiverton has also emphasized the University’s mission to foster research.

“Research is one of our strategic directions,” says Chiverton. “It is also tremendously expensive. We had to take a hard look at how we could start programs we believed in and continue to recruit and support the best research faculty.”

Chiverton’s solution was to generate revenue by starting and running businesses within the practice mission of the school. The Center for Nursing Entrepreneurship, the first of its kind in the nation, has had a significant impact on the school’s success.

In recognition for her work, this spring Chiverton was named the University’s first Pamela York Klainer Endowed Chair in Nursing Entrepreneurship (see story, page 6).

“Pat combines a very innovative way of thinking with a tremendous ability to move things through the system,“ says York Klainer ’80W (EdD). “The school and its students over the years have benefited greatly from her talents.”

“I always believed that you could do anything you want to do,” says Chiverton. “Whether you have the resources or not, if you believe in the idea, there are creative ways to make it happen.”

—Ryan McGinn