The professional nurse of today faces many exciting challenges and opportunities. In a society of rapid technological change, nurses must be clinically proficient in both technological skills and humanistic concerns. More than ever, nurses are being recognized for the crucial roles they play in comprehensive care during illness. In the early stages, health teaching is important. In the critical care stage, close supervision and rapid clinical judgments can mean life or death after complex surgery or severe illness. And throughout the rehabilitative stage, a caring and informed nurse can assist the patient toward improvement of functional abilities and his or her return to family and community.

Furthermore, nursing’s social responsibilities contribute to fiscal responsibility in delivering quality health care for all citizens. These attributes are highly valued in a health science center dedicated to exemplary care as new trends are being established. Current trends in health care offer an important and expanding role in delivering care outside hospital walls. Nurses in the home and community bring competencies needed to en-courage prevention, health promotion
and rehabilitation.

Nursing practice is kept current by research of clinical problems. Such nursing research can be applied to practice in the continual quest for excellence. Faculty and students who approach nursing as a learned discipline seek to develop and refine a body of knowledge that can contribute to the profession and to society.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston exists to provide the highest quality of health professionals. The UT School of Nursing contributes to this mission by providing the opportunity for students to prepare as nursing generalists at the baccalaureate level and nursing specialists at the master’s and doctoral levels. Our rich clinical resources in the Texas Medical Center offer an abundance of learning opportunities.