About us
Message from the Dean
Welcome to Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing!
I had the privilege of joining the VCU School of Nursing as dean and professor during the planning for the 1993 celebration of our 100th anniversary. In addition to this rich history, below are a few of the reasons VCU has one of the best schools of nursing in the country.
We are leaders in partnerships between schools of nursing and academic health centers. The VCU School of Nursing’s partnership with the VCU Health System was cited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as one of the exemplary aspects of the VCU Health System’s review and re-designation as a Magnet Hospital, the most prestigious honor and level of recognition awarded for nursing excellence in national and international health care.
We are leaders in research. VCU is one of only four research universities in the Commonwealth, and recently was awarded “Very High Research Activity” status from the prestigious Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The VCU School of Nursing has been consistently ranked in the top 25 of schools of nursing in the country for NIH funding for research. Our recent P30 Center for Excellence for Biobehavioral Approaches to Symptom Management grant firmly establishes the VCU School of Nursing as a national leader in biobehavioral clinical research.
We are leaders in education. U.S. News & World Report has ranked twenty-seven of VCU’s graduate programs as among the best nationally, and the VCU School of Nursing ranks 36th among graduate programs for nursing. From our beginnings in the late 1800’s when our program was organized following the Nightingale method to today’s integration of state-of-the-science clinical simulation into the curriculum, the VCU School of Nursing leads the way in nursing education.
We are leaders in service. In addition to garnering “Very High Research Activity” status, VCU also received the Carnegie Foundation’s “Community Engaged” designation, which makes VCU just one of 28 public universities in the country with academic medical centers to achieve both distinctions. Sadie Heath Cabaniss, our founding director and initiator of professional nursing in Virginia, set a high bar for us to follow by establishing the Nurses’ Settlement (now the Instructive Visiting Nurses Association), serving as the first rural public health nurse in Virginia, creating the Virginia State Association of Nurses, and helping pass one of the nation’s first nurse practice acts in Virginia. Today, our Community Nursing Organization is working with community partners to establish health care initiatives such as the Mosby Resource Center for low-income neighborhoods. And our faculty, students and alumni volunteer locally and internationally, providing leadership to address the most important health care issues facing our communities.
The VCU School of Nursing is a dynamic school dedicated to improving health and the human condition through leadership in nursing research, education and service. We offer a wide range of programs with a variety of pathways into and through the nursing profession. I invite you to explore our website, visit the school or talk with one of us to find out for yourself why VCU is one of the best places in the country for leaders in nursing.
