About Our Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) Program

A first for San Antonio, the UTHSCSA School of Nursing, in partnership with the Methodist Healthcare System, the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, the University Health System, and the CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Healthcare System, is implementing the Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) model of clinical teaching. The purpose of the DEU is to optimize learning of undergraduate BSN students through the collaborative efforts of staff nurses, faculty, and administration. Only UTHSCSA nursing students have clinical experiences on the DEU on selected days. This allows development of a close working relationship between nurses, students, and faculty, and avoids potential confusion related to differing expectations/outcomes from other schools of nursing. All staff on the DEU support the nursing students' learning and provide an environment of mutual respect, open communication, and collaboration. Select staff RNs assume the responsibility for clinical teaching, under the guidance of an experienced SON faculty member. 5 North, a general and specialty surgical unit at the Methodist Hospital, is the first unit to embrace this optimum teaching/learning environment. The DEU model will be implemented in other facilities soon.