How do you empower faculty, scientists, and nursing students across the U.S. to lead data-driven health system change in their courses, capstones, and careers? How do you introduce scientists to new ‘omics data and techniques to reveal underlying keys to disease and symptom management? How do you immerse students, nurses at the bedside, and nurse scientists in laboratories in hands-on digital learning so that tools and technologies become second-nature to them?
Emory Nursing’s Center for Data Science™ is answering questions such as these, and bringing the power of data-driven thinking to bear on the greatest challenges in healthcare and scientific discovery today. Founded in 2015 by Dean Linda McCauley, with the hiring of renowned biostatistician Dr. Vicki Hertzberg, Center for Data Science™ was built to “unlock the power of data to help solve nursing’s most urgent problems.”
Since then, the Center has grown into a global hub for nurse-led innovation. Center for Data Science™ knowledge, tools, and resources are helping to digitally enable nurses of every level in preparation for the 21st Century. Emory is training an expanding pipeline of nurse leaders in emerging areas like data science, AI, machine learning, and design thinking. And we are sharing the tools necessary for other nursing schools to implement informatics standards like those laid out in the 2021 AACN Essentials.
Each of the nurse leaders whose professional growth is accelerated by Center for Data Science™ goes on to solve problems, discover knowledge, and change lives. With a reach that crosses borders and disciplines, it can be difficult to quantify this impact. For Emory Nursing, the return on investment has been significant, with more than $26.5 million in external research grants right now supported by the Center (more than $56.1 million since 2016). And that’s to say nothing of the people, communities, nurses, and systems that have been impacted by Center for Data Science™ breakthroughs.