WSSU’s master’s in nursing program begins in January

Classes for WSSU’s latest master’s degree program, the master’s in nursing program in the School of Health Sciences will begin Jan. 13. “This program is the first for an historically black college and university [HBCU] in the University of North Carolina system and is the first primary care program to be taught at WSSU,” said Dr. Sylvia Flack, WSSU’s dean of the School of Health Sciences. “Not only is this program significant for the region and the state but it has national significance as well.” Including WSSU’s program, only 12 HBCUs in the nation offer graduate studies in nursing. This program of study is a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) with an emphasis on minority health and psychology/mental health. Flack said the features of the program once again set WSSU apart as a unique entity in producing health care providers. “No other FNP program within the system or nation offers these emphases,” Flack said. “Another unique function of this program is its collaborative relationships. Faculty from North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and UNC-Chapel Hill collaborated with WSSU’s Dr. Carol Lundrigan, associate professor of nursing, to develop the program.” It also offers to faculty from WSSU, A&T and NCCU opportunities to develop teaching and mentoring skills at the graduate level. Lundrigan credited the Northwest Area Health Educational Center’s (AHEC) role in the program’s development through AHEC grants, which provided clinical educational and lab resources. “This program has major implications for our efforts to provide health care in the region and conducting health care research at Winston-Salem State University,” said WSSU Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. Courtesy of WSSU Web site