1. Can you briefly introduce yourself and your role within the school?
My name is Britton Dunnavant, and I’m the Director of Admissions at UVA’s School of Nursing. I manage all the undergraduate transfer admissions processes at the School of Nursing including the recruitment and evaluation of applicants to our three undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) transfer programs. Our team helps advise students throughout the entire admissions and transfer process until they arrive on Grounds. I’m a double Hoo and love to help students figure out which path into nursing they want to take through our programs.
2. What makes this program unique compared to similar programs at other institutions?
There are several aspects of our programs that are unique, but I think the most noticeable thing for new students is the preparation that our students obtain. A Virginia RN license requires around 500 hours of clinical experience. Our students obtain close to 800 hours in our BSN programs. Similarly, our clinical simulation lab creates opportunities to practice scenarios that nurses often see in their clinical and professional settings on high fidelity mannequins. They then get to pair that practice with exposure to five different areas of nursing in their clinical placements along with a one-on-one preceptorship in their final semester in the program. As a result of this preparation, our students graduate and pass the NCLEX licensure exam at over 90%. Simulation • UVA School of Nursing
3. How would you describe the program's culture and learning environment?
The learning environment at the School of Nursing is quite collaborative. The curriculum is set up in such a way that you are progressing consistently from classroom fundamentals to simulation lab scenarios to clinical opportunities on the hospital floor. The sequential nature of our programs ensures that students are given the opportunity to make mistakes and learn in controlled environments and benefit from partnering with other students. Each clinical group is broken into groups of 8 students and many of the simulation elements are collaborative by nature. You will get a chance to bounce ideas off classmates in this environment and debrief with them as you enter the clinical space. Finally, many of our faculty members are still actively working in the nursing field or have moved into leadership roles. They are a wealth of information to guide students as they learn the specifics of the nursing role as well as mentors on how to progress professionally or grow educationally after obtaining the BSN.
4. What types of students tend to thrive in this program?
Students who thrive in our transfer programs are passionate about the field of nursing. We want to see that students have taken the time to perform well on all prerequisite or general education coursework but also that they have explored healthcare as a field. Whether that is shadowing on a hospital unit or engaging in a healthcare-related service or volunteer opportunity, we want students who know that nursing is the field in which they want to grow. While healthcare experience is not a requirement to be a competitive applicant for our transfer BSN programs, it does show that nursing is the area of healthcare that you’d like to pursue. Similarly, healthcare experience comes in handy on your application as it provides some great examples for the essay section!
5. What are some common misconceptions prospective transfer students have about the program?
A common misconception for prospective transfer students is that there is only one way to transfer into our programs. I always tell prospective students that whenever they decide they want to pivot to nursing as a career, there is a program at the UVA School of Nursing for their circumstances. We offer two pre-licensure programs for students to obtain a nursing license and their BSN: the 3-year Transfer BSN and the 2-year Accelerated BSN program. We also offer a post-licensure RN to BSN program for students who have already received their nursing license along with an associate’s degree but want to obtain their bachelor’s degree. Often, the trick is finding the program and application timeline that allows each student to put their best foot forward both on the application and while taking courses in their program of choice. Along those same lines, I think some students are unaware of the number of resources available to them as they are looking for the program that is the right fit for them within UVA’s School of Nursing. The admissions team attends numerous events across Virginia and out of state. We also offer advising appointments and information sessions so prospective students can receive the best information before they apply.
6. What is one thing you wish transfer students knew about your school before they started?
I wish transfer students knew about the level of support available to them once they have been admitted to their program. Whether that is our fantastic student success team, student representatives, or members of our Compassionate Care Initiative, there are multiple groups here to make sure that you transition to Charlottesville and to the School of Nursing well. Many of these groups know the common pain points for students and have specific resources that address these issues. For instance, our student success team offers tutoring and academic seminars for courses that have been difficult for students in past years. Current transfer students also put together resources on how to obtain housing, complete all your new student steps along with questions that they had while transferring to help students smoothly transition to their program.
7. What is your go-to Bodo's order, and where on Grounds would you eat it?
My go-to Bodo’s order is an everything bagel with sausage, egg and American cheese. I would absolutely bring that bagel to the Amphitheatre to enjoy. There’s not much better than a meal on the Amphitheatre steps on a perfect spring day. It was also a common meeting spot for my wife and I when we were undergraduate students.
8. Is there anything else you’d like prospective students to know?
We always have ongoing resources for prospective transfer students at the UVA School of Nursing. Whether that is scheduling a virtual advising appointment, reaching out for a transcript review to ensure you have all prerequisite coursework completed, or attending an information session, we are here to help you! So much of the transfer process is making sure that the program and institution that you choose is a strong fit and works with your academic timeline and preferences. We have so many different ways to make that happen.
Nursing-admissions@virginia.edu
britton@virginia.edu
UVA School of Nursing Admissions Advising Appointment Scheduler
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