Listening.
That’s how Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD ’11, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), has spent her first year in the role.
Whether it has been listening to students, staff, faculty, or alumni — in Baltimore and at the Universities at Shady Grove — Ogbolu has spent the last 10 months engrossed in what she’s dubbed “thought-provoking conversations.” But even a year later, one conversation still sticks out to her.
“I vividly remember one unforgettable conversation. It was a student who came to my candidate interview,” Ogbolu said in her first State of the School Address, which was held April 23, 2024. “He gave me a glimpse of what it means to be a student here in the School of Nursing.
“He and his peers arrived very early in the morning. They had to get here about 8 o’clock in the morning to have an opportunity to be here for the interview. And he was well prepared,” she said, adding that the student came in with a long list of questions as well as potential solutions he had for how the school can better support students. “This early conversation really helped to prepare me for what was coming and left me with a sense of hope and optimism for the future.”
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That concept of leading with hope remained a constant through her nearly hourlong address. In that time, she highlighted successes over the last year — from improvements made in community and global health to continued leadership in nursing education and research, especially focused on the importance of cross-campus collaboration.
“For this year, our School of Nursing has been in both a year of transition, and, what I say, is a year of hope,” said Ogbolu, who was appointed dean in July 2023. “Most of you know that hope is my mantra, and I believe in hope as an action word.”
In this role, Ogbolu has been focused on what the future of nursing looks like. UMSON students know what they want to be taught, Ogbolu said, adding they expect an education that keeps pace with a changing society.
“They want to receive an education that’s relevant to real-world settings and to be offered opportunities to learn in ways that leverage the metaverse and artificial intelligence to help them learn faster and be prepared for the realities that they will face and practice,” she added.
UMSON is delivering many of those learning concepts, such as through virtual reality simulations and working with Special Olympic athletes in a recently created partnership to learn about treating individuals with disabilities.
For University of Maryland, Baltimore President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, Ogbolu is the right person to usher in a new realm of nursing.
Ogbolu’s role as dean comes as a major redesign in nursing curriculum, to align with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s new Essentials, is underway, one that impacts all nursing schools across the country. The new curriculum, Ogbolu said, is focused on preparing practice-ready nurses.
“It’s no longer about what students know and can check off on an exam,” she added. “But it’s all about: Can they apply what they know? I’m proud to say that the School of Nursing was among the first schools in the nation to complete our revision for our entry-into-practice baccalaureate curriculum.”
As of fall 2023, all BSN students are now being taught the new curriculum, Ogbolu added. And, this semester, UMSON will graduate the first cohort that completed the new courses.
“For more than 135 years, the School of Nursing has always responded to opportunities and challenges that are presented to us. With the national and international trends and health care in the nursing profession, our work of leading change is again in front of us,” Ogbolu said. “Our remarkable heritage and resilience are reminders of our capability and our capacity. But what makes me even more hopeful is the new leadership that arises with every single generation.”