To become a leader in nursing education, a school must provide faculty and staff with resources to stay on the cutting edge. At the Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON), we know what it takes. We’ve worked hard to become a top school and our strategic plan will keep us on a path of excellence in education.

Nursing Education is always evolving, and to ensure that leaders and educators have the tools they need, DUSON provides the Institute for Educational Excellence (IEE). The IEE aims to sustain a culture of excellence and innovation. It prepares educators to design academic programs that prepare graduates for roles as outstanding clinicians, scholars and leaders in their fields of nursing.  

The focus the IEE puts on education has paid off at DUSON. In 2017, DUSON earned its third designation as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education from the National League for Nursing (NLN). In fact, DUSON is the only school in the nation to currently hold all three designations from the NLN. DUSON was recognized at the NLN’s 2017 Education Summit in the categories “Advancing the Science of Nursing Education” (2017-2021) and “Promoting the Pedagogical Expertise of Faculty” (renewed 2017-2022). In 2015, DUSON was one of only two schools to receive two consecutive designations adding the category “Creating Environments that Enhance Student Learning and Professional Development (2015-2019).”

“We have worked hard at DUSON to create an environment of excellence in all we do as educators. In an ever-changing healthcare environment, and an unknown future, we recognize our work is never finished” said Beth Cusatis Phillips, PhD, RN, CNE, Associate Professor, Interim Director for the Institute for Educational Excellence, Duke University School of Nursing. “The IEE is a place for nurse educators to grow and learn, think and explore new ways of teaching while being challenged by the dynamic environments around us.”

There are various programs offered to help the IEE achieve its goals including monthly Teaching Conversations, an annual Clinical Instructor Intensive, a competitive Teaching Fellowship Program and an annual national conference on Pursuing Radical Transformation in Health Professions Education.

Pursuing Radical Transformation in Health Professions Education is an annual conference that is designed to challenge educators to think differently about how we design and do the work of educating the next generation of nurses, other health professionals and leaders. Year after year, the conference features internationally-known experts in education, as well as educators from nursing as well as from disciplines other than nursing, and provides for extended opportunities for learning and dialogue about emerging issues and innovations in education. It is an opportunity for those teaching in all types of nursing education programs—practical nurse, associate degree, diploma, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral—to learn, grow and innovate. In addition, faculty and instructors from other health programs benefit greatly from attending to the conference.

The Teaching Conversations series are informal sessions facilitated by DUSON faculty and other experts from Duke that share education innovations, strengthen teaching strategies and address common issues that may be experienced by faculty. These Teaching Conversations are made available via livestream to those who may not physically be at DUSON and are available for viewing on the School’s website.

The group's Clinical Instructor Intensive is an annual live conference and provides in-depth training and teaching skills for CIs. It has incorporated formal presentations by experts in undergraduate teaching, case studies of challenging situations, new policies and practices that exist, dialogue about role conflicts and other hot topics about clinical education. This year, the focus will expand to include clinical instructors and preceptors from MSN programs.

The Teaching Fellowship Program recognizes the importance of education and is designed to advance the educational expertise of faculty and provide opportunities to continually develop in ways that will have a significant impact on the science and practice of nursing education. The fellowships are awarded for a two-year period and supports all fellows with monthly meetings, a stipend and requires a final project or publication.

In conjunction with the DUSON 2016-2020 strategic plan’s focus on education, the IEE aims to prepare DUSON’s nursing leaders who will shape the future by creating an engaging student-centered learning environment that facilitates quality of teaching and learning in the nursing profession.