History of the Nursing Department at OMU Faculty of Health Sciences
Nursing education at Ondokuz Mayıs University has a 39-year-long history. Nursing education began just four years after the university's founding in 1975 (in 1979) and continues to develop today. The history of nursing education at our university is significant because it encompasses many stages of development in nursing education in our country. Writing the history of the Nursing Department is not only an important responsibility but also an opportunity to honor all our colleagues, administrators, and administrative staff who have contributed to the development of the profession. We are grateful to all our colleagues who have contributed to this effort, and as we celebrate our past, we look to the future with hope.
Ondokuz Mayıs University Health Vocational High School
Nursing education at our university first began at the high school level. At the opening of the school, headed by Nurşen Gökalp, four nurses with bachelor's degrees served as vocational course instructors. Education at the Health Vocational High School, conducted in classes of 30 students, continued for 11 years, during which time over 300 nurses graduated with a high school diploma. These graduates formed a significant part of the nursing staff required for the development of Ondokuz Mayıs University Hospital.
Ondokuz Mayıs University School of Health Services
The transition to a two-year associate degree program in nursing, which would last for seven years, took place in 1990. With the transition to university-level education, the administration at the time supported the postgraduate education of SML teachers and licensed nurses working in hospitals in order to establish a teaching staff. These 12 teaching staff members structured and implemented the associate degree program in nursing and continued to educate high school students until they all graduated.
Ondokuz Mayıs University Samsun School of Health Sciences
Samsun School of Health Sciences was established by the Council of Ministers' decision dated October 10, 1996, and numbered 96/8665, and within the framework of the Cooperation Protocol signed between the Ministry of Health and the Higher Education Institution on November 22, 1996, published in the Official Gazette dated November 2, 1996, and numbered 22805, was established on March 20, 1997, after the necessary legal procedures were completed. In fact, this decision can be considered a turning point in the history of nursing education. With this decision, it was accepted that nursing education should be based on a bachelor's degree, and it was indicated that nursing education at the high school level would be phased out over time. On February 14, 2014, eight (8) departments were established under the Nursing Department. These departments are Fundamentals of Nursing, Internal Medicine Nursing, Surgical Nursing, Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing, Child Health and Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, Public Health Nursing, and Nursing Management.
The Nursing Department of Samsun Health College, along with the Midwifery Department, was one of the first two departments established when the college opened. The college initially opened in a building located in the city center, which was transferred by the Ministry of Health for Nursing and Midwifery Education. Fourteen years after its opening, in 2011, it moved to its new building located on our university's Kurupelit campus. Nursing education continued within the college until 2016, when the Samsun Health College became the Faculty of Health Sciences. During this period, the faculty members who served as department chairs were, in order, Birsen Altay, Perihan Keskin, Emine Güdek, İlknur Aydın Avci, and Özen Kulakaç. Over the course of these 19 years, the department's academic staff and student capacity continued to grow. In 2016, when our health college became a faculty, the nursing department had a staff of 7 faculty members, 4 instructors, and 4 research assistants, providing education to 527 undergraduate students.
Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Health Sciences
Samsun Health College was converted into the Faculty of Health Sciences by Decision No. 2016/8562, published in the Official Gazette dated 08/04/2016 and numbered 29678. Nursing education continues under the umbrella of the Faculty of Health Sciences as a department. With the transfer of nursing academics to our department, our teaching staff (2 professors, 1 associate professor, 6 assistant professors, 7 lecturers, and 25 research assistants) has been further strengthened. Prof. Özen Kulakaç is the first department chair serving within the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Launch of Graduate Nursing Programs**
*The Nursing Department's first Master's program was launched within the Institute of Health Sciences in the field of Public Health Nursing and began graduate education in the Fall Semester of the 2006-2007 Academic Year with 3 (three) students.
*In 2008, the Master's program in Mental Health Nursing was launched.
*In 2011-2012, the Master's program in Home Care Nursing was launched by faculty members of the Public Health Nursing department.
*In the Spring semester of the 2015-2016 academic year, the Nursing Department was established and began accepting students for doctoral, thesis-based, and thesis-free master's degree programs. Thus, our Department now contributes to nursing education at three levels (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctoral).
*In the 2016-2017 academic year, thesis-based and non-thesis-based master's and doctoral programs in Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing were launched under the Department of Nursing.
The main goal going forward is to open and activate graduate programs for all departments included in the undergraduate education within the Department of Nursing.
Text: Prof. Özen KULAKAÇ