Phd Nursing Program

CWRU Dean May Wykle to Join Nurse Researchers in International Hall of Fame

"My own personal mission is to advance human health across the lifespan," Wykle has said.  This has become a professional mission as well.

Wykle served as the 24th president of Sigma Theta Tau International, the nursing profession's honor society.  The leadership role is among many honors and accomplishments in her nursing career that spans nearly 60 years.

As a prominent researcher in the field of aging, Wykle is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the Gerontological Society of America.  She is among the participants of a 1986 Congress-commissioned study on nursing homes, directed a five-year Robert Wood Johnson Foundation teaching nursing home project, and in 1993 was called to serve on the White House Conference on Aging.  She has been a Pope Eminent Scholar at the Rosalynn Carter Institute of Human Development at and later an member of the Institute's board.

After she steps down this month from being dean of the nursing school for the past decade, Wykle plans to return to teaching.  Under her leadership, the nursing school has made significant academic strides, established a flight nurse program and post-doctoral program, and developed several international nursing programs. 

But her contributions to the field go beyond shaping a new generation of nurses through their education.  Her research efforts have impacted the lives of countless patients, who have benefited from her research on geriatric mental health, minority disparities in health care, dementia and family caregiving.

After suffering from discrimination when denied entrance to several nursing schools, Wykle has never forgotten her past but worked towards advancing the future of nursing as a career path for minority students at the school and integrating minority health issues in the school's research.  In 2007, donors contributed to have a special chair named in her honor, and it is the first endowed chair named for an African American at the university.

Wykle received recognition with the 2010 American Nurses Associations Mary Mahoney Award, given for significant contributions for the racial integration of the nursing profession.

A three-time alumna of , she received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2009.  

She joined the faculty in 1969 and has held numerous roles at the university as well as serving as director of nursing at Hanna Pavilion, an 86-bed psychiatric hospital within University Hospitals.  She has also served as director of the University Center on Aging and Health, a campus-wide organization that focuses on issues related to people in their older years.

Accelerated Nursing Programs | Nursing Information

If you’re looking to get into the nursing field, but feel that you need to get it done as quickly as possible, try checking into accelerated nursing programs online . Due to technology as well as cultural changes, more and more colleges and universities are expanding their nursing departments to include distance learning. So much so that it’s no longer unusual to find PhD nursing online programs as well. One of the most impressive is the Duquesne University School of Nursing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So, without having to leave your home, with the exception of one week per year just prior to Thanksgiving, you may attend this Ivy League university.

When searching for a school, especially one that’s accelerated, don’t assume that all programs online are fast track , because many aren’t. Many distance courses take an entire semester to complete – just as if you were attending a traditional campus. One of the benefits to distance learning is the convenience of being able to work from home and usually on your own time. Some courses do require live online participation, but that’s not the case with all classes all of the time. In other cases, online education affords a student the ability to attend a school that might be very far away without leaving their home, such as in the case of Duquesne.

Nonetheless, not all accelerated programs are offered online, as in the case of Columbia University. Never the less, if you’re looking towards earning an advanced degree, their program may be exactly the kind for which you’re looking. Also, if you’re already working as a nurse, but only hold an Associate’s Degree, there is an option available at Columbia, which gives students the opportunity to simultaneously earn both a bachelors as well as a Master’s Degree. Their accelerated program is called the BS/MS Entry to Practice (ETP) program and is part of the Columbia University School of Nursing, whose faculty is comprised of internationally renowned teachers, scholars, and researchers.

Applicants may only file their application online for the Combined BS/MS Program (ETP) program. All supporting documents and financial aid applications must be received by November seventeen (check website for current year’s deadlines). The program begins in the summer semester – late May/early June. You may also wish to contact the director, Karen Desjardins, MS, MPH, DrNP, with questions relating to the Combined Entry to Practice program.

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