In August 2024, the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Nursing was redesignated as a National League for Nursing Center of Excellence™ for promoting the pedagogical expertise of faculty.

Since 2004, the NLN has encouraged nursing programs to apply to become a COE based on their ability to demonstrate in concrete, measurable terms sustained excellence in faculty development, nursing education research, student learning and professional development, and academic progression in nursing.

First recognized as a COE in 2015, the School of Nursing has continued its tradition of excellence, earning redesignations in both 2019 and 2024.

“Being named a COE brings more visibility to the school and carries a certain level of prestige, but most importantly, it’s a validation of everything we’re doing well, especially when it comes to the pedagogical expertise of our faculty,” says COE self-study coauthor Jennifer Martin, DNP, CRNA, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing, Nurse Anesthesia. “That means staying abreast of all the latest, most innovative things we can do for our students and continuously striving for excellence in the way we deliver material in class, clinicals, simulations and the lab. It tells everyone that at the School of Nursing we’re not OK with the status quo – we’re always looking for ways to improve as instructors and pushing the limits of what we can do to ensure students get the most out of their educational experience.”

The designation of a school or health care organization as an NLN Center of Excellence in Nursing Education is a voluntary process that involves the preparation of material by the organization itself and peer review. Recognizing the uniqueness of each organization relative to its mission, the Centers of Excellence Program sets high standards and serves to truly distinguish and publicly recognize those organizations that excel in a particular area. You can view the School of Nursing’s comprehensive COE application here.

The School of Nursing was only one of three schools awarded this particular COE designation.

“We do all the initiatives to enhance student learning and professional development, which include encouraging research in nursing education and innovative strategies to take academic-practice partnerships to the next level,” says self-study coauthor Marie Adorno, PhD, APRN, CNS, RNC-MNN, CNE, Interim Director of the PhD in Nursing Program and Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing.

A Self-Study That Tells the School’s Story

The high visibility an NLN COE designation brings helps the school recruit faculty and staff, especially for upper-level administrative positions.

“It lets someone looking at our school know about our commitment and the level of dedication our faculty has for putting in the work for their students and each other,” Dr. Martin says. “It’s evident by how well our faculty works together on research projects, as advisors on student projects, on grants – it shows a certain level of teamwork, organizational culture and engagement that indicates if you work here, you never work alone.”

The school had to demonstrate excellence across all programs to fulfill the criteria for “promoting the pedagogical expertise of faculty.”

“There’s a rigorous scoring rubric, and you have to provide both qualitative and quantitative data to validate initiatives and outcomes,” Dr. Martin says. “The NLN wants a comprehensive look at what the whole School of Nursing is doing. We’re really proud of what we put together in the self-study. We wanted it to be the story of us.”

Dr. Adorno says some of the self-study highlights come in the form of student quotes and statements from course evaluations.

Examples include:

• “Dr. Adorno is always a positive light and makes individuals feel safe even when facing adversity such as hearing difficult feedback where further explanation or clarity is needed. Dr. Adorno is extremely knowledgeable and professional, and these qualities help induce a comfortable learning environment where she is able to disseminate and translate key points and course objectives into deducible and manageable portions of information for students who are learning new and unfamiliar concepts.”
• “Dr. Barras is the best. He is genuinely concerned about the success of his students, and he always goes out of his way to clarify concepts and ensure his students are prepared. He is a valuable resource to his students and an asset to the NAP faculty.”
• “Mrs. Alleyne is an outstanding lecturer who creates an engaging, stress-free learning environment. Her well-structured PowerPoint [presentations] and ability to lecture at an approachable pace greatly enhance our learning experience. She skillfully emphasizes key points, giving us ample time to take notes and absorb the material.”

The full application describes the School of Nursing’s history, campus, notable achievements and programs offered in alignment with six criteria associated with its category of designation. It highlights the evidence of sustained excellence, outcomes and impact of the school’s initiatives across all programs.

Dr. Martin says writing the COE self-study was very different from creating accreditation or grant reports.

“It allowed us to get into the more personal side of being a part of this school,” she says. “Dr. Adorno and I are very proud of the work we did, leading our team in providing exemplars and outcomes. We wanted to have a cohesive voice throughout, and I think we achieved that. We appreciate our dean, Dr. Porche, for all that he’s done for our school as well. As we went through these initiatives, it was clear that his vision was behind so much of what we do here.”