LHSON Celebrates 15th Anniversary of FastBacc Program Track
The Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (LHSON) celebrated the 15th anniversary of FastBacc®, a 12-month accelerated track for a post-baccalaureate Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Commemorating the milestone moment, a reception was held after the FastBacc® Summer 2024 White Coat Ceremony on Monday, July 8, 2024. The festivities, attended by many alumni and faculty, included recognition of key donors and past FastBacc coordinators.
In 2009, a gift from Deerbrook Charitable Trust of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Harris and Anne Clark of Dallas helped to establish the intensive, full-time program named FastBacc in which students who already hold a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing discipline complete 62 hours of nursing coursework at LHSON’s Dallas campus. The full-time program begins each summer with a combination of teaching methodologies, including traditional classroom, online courses, clinical and lab experiences and hybrid interactive learning courses. The first cohort of 16 students graduated in 2010. The FastBacc program has shown significant growth in the last 15 years.
Springboarding FastBacc ahead, on December 9, 2021 Baylor University announced a gift of $1.5 million from the Deerbrook Charitable Trust of Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Harris and Anne Clark of Dallas to establish the LHSON’s first endowed faculty position. The Harris and Anne Clark FastBacc Endowed Professorship provides permanent, enduring support for the FastBacc program track.
“We are continually blessed by Harris and Anne’s incredible support of the FastBacc program and our nursing students,” said LHSON Dean Linda Plank, Ph.D. “Our Baylor nurses have been called to learn, lead and serve in their communities, and I am grateful for those who are helping them answer that call.”
Setting the pace, LHSON Clinical Associate Professor Beth Hultquist Ph.D., was the inaugural holder of The Harris and Anne Clark FastBacc Endowed Professorship and served as FastBacc program coordinator from 2014-2022. Currently, Dr. Adrianne Duvall-Ingram serves at the FastBacc program coordinator.
Harris and Anne Clark previously supported the FastBacc program and LHSON through the establishment of several endowed scholarships. Knowing that FastBacc students have access to fewer financial assistance opportunities due to the nature of their status as degree-holding students, the Clarks also created an emergency fund to support them during their time at Baylor.
Accentuating the special occasion was the FastBacc White Coat Ceremony. The White Coat Ceremony was initiated in 1993 at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons by Arnold P. Gold, MD, who was a professor and pediatric neurologist. Dr. Gold, a passionate advocate for humanistic healthcare, believed that the oath taken by new physicians at the end of medical school came too late. Through the nonprofit organization that he and his wife, Dr. Sandra Gold, started, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation has expanded the White Coat Ceremony around the globe. In 2014, recognizing the vital role nurses play in the healthcare team, the Gold Foundation partnered with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to adapt a similar ceremony for nursing. The ceremony coincides when nursing students enter their clinical training and includes reciting a nursing oath, a Blessing of the Hands and receiving a lapel pin for their white coat. Students come forward during the ceremony to be cloaked by faculty in front of family and friends. They also receive a special lapel pin from The Gold Foundation. This pin serves as a visible reminder of their pledge and commitment to the nursing profession to provide high quality compassionate care referred to by The Gold Foundation as humanism in healthcare. To learn more about the FastBacc program, click here.
To watch a video of the 15th FastBacc Celebration, click here.