Cameron Duncan, Holli Rockwell Trubinsky Eminent Dean of Florida Atlantic University Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing

Cameron Duncan, Holli Rockwell Trubinsky Eminent Dean of Florida Atlantic University Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, sat down with Invest: to discuss the importance of accessibility to higher education, partnerships that help enhance the learning and educational experience of students, and how AI and technological advancements are shaping the approach to healthcare education. “It is inevitable that students will use AI throughout their career, so the earlier that we can introduce these technologies to them, the better,” Duncan said.

Having taken office in January 2025, what are your immediate priorities as the new dean of Florida Atlantic University Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing? 

My biggest priority is that we continue to move forward. The college and university are already doing really great things and I would like to double down on those initiatives to help strengthen the experience and quality of education we provide for our students. We have both undergraduate and graduate programs in the College of Nursing grounded in caring science and we want to ensure that our community members know that becoming a nurse and advancing your degree is accessible. The door is always open for them here.

Another major priority I would like to focus on is research. There has been a lot of change happening as it relates to research, but research guides everything we do in healthcare. It guides what we do as nurses and how we work interprofessionally with one another within the healthcare system. Without new and advancing research, we will never advance in the healthcare that we provide. I want to ensure that all our students and faculty have the opportunity to do research, but to also understand it’s importance, and be able to disseminate that information throughout the community to those who need it.

How is the college working to enhance academic programs, research, and clinical practice opportunities? 

One unique aspect of Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is that we have two different clinics that are managed by the college. Typically, clinics within hospital systems are managed by Colleges of Medicine; however, these clinics are housed within the College of Nursing. Here on our Boca Campus, we have the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center, which focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias, providing care to individuals with the diagnosis and their families. We also have two community health centers in West Palm Beach that are nurse-operated and led. These community agencies allow our students to learn through hands-on experience, and a great deal of research takes place in these clinics. Many of our faculty members are renowned researchers. For example, we have one faculty member who is doing work studying air quality and its impact on health. There are fascinating things happening and it is important for our students to be able to be involved with the research early on in their education because it may inspire them to become a researcher themselves.

What partnerships does the college have with regional healthcare facilities and community organizations?

We have relationships with hundreds of healthcare organizations in the region, including large hospitals, all the way down to private clinics and medical offices. We rely on partners like home health, skilled nursing facilities, and hospice agencies for our students to get hands-on training and experience in those settings. We do our best to support our community partners because they do a lot to support us. Helping with staff development and providing education for some of those employees are just some of the ways we offer support. Finding challenges within the healthcare system and organization, and helping to implement quality improvement changes has been key to the success of these organizations.

Has there been an increase in enrollment in recent years? If so, how is the college attracting a new student population to drive growth?

There is always a demand for nursing. It is an honorable profession and students often want to come into nursing. Over the years, we have been gradually increasing enrollment at the college. One of our limitations to increasing enrollment is the number of practicum sites that we have for our students to do their hands-on training. Recruiting nursing faculty members with a master’s or doctoral degree to come and teach has also been challenging. Coming from the private sector into the public sector, the differences in expectations of salary are tough to navigate. Despite that, we still have had success recruiting qualified faculty, which has enabled us to continue to increase enrollment.

What are the primary challenges facing the higher education landscape, and how is the college navigating these?

The biggest challenge is that there is constant pressure on schools to produce more nurses. There has been a nursing shortage for a long time. We have a wait list of students who want to come into the college, but we cannot compromise the rigor and quality of preparation that they need to have by the time they graduate, to be safe and competent nurses. Our nurses go out and work all around the globe and we have to train them to be able to jump into any sort of environment the day that they graduate to be successful. With technology advancing, and policies and procedures changing, it is important that we teach our students how to adapt and learn to be the best nurses that they can be. While this is a challenge, it also keeps us nimble and ready for whatever challenge we are faced with.

How is the college leveraging technology and innovation, and more specifically AI tools, in preparing students? 

One thing that is specific to healthcare colleges is the use of simulation labs. We just launched a new advanced nursing simulation lab on our Davie campus, and are opening another new simulation lab on the Boca Raton campus. This allows students to train using highly technical mannequins and have patient experiences where they feel safe. Environments like this give students both the confidence and competence for when they do enter the nursing workforce. It is inevitable that students will have to use AI throughout their career, so the earlier that we can introduce these technologies to them, the better.

How is the College of Nursing providing financial aid and promoting affordable and accessible education for students who need it the most?

We are able to offer many scholarships and endowments to our students. Almost every semester, nearly 100% of our students receive some kind of scholarship to help offset their tuition costs. Florida has one of the lowest in-state tuition and typically our students graduate with little to no debt. About 28% of our students are Pell-eligible. We are an Opportunity Institution and one of our main goals is to ensure that higher education is accessible to all.

From your perspective, what should be the value proposition of higher education? 

All students from elementary through high school should know that college is an option and that we are waiting with open arms for all of them. The value of that education can go in many different directions, but it will be there for you throughout your entire life. Through the pursuit of higher education, my hope is that students instill in themselves that they are going to be lifelong learners.

What is your overview of the higher education landscape when it comes to the nursing profession in terms of trends or market dynamics? 

There has been quite a bit of change since the pandemic. It really shined a light on how important accessibility to nursing education needs to be. We need to continue to find ways to help increase enrollment and make up the nursing supply shortage by providing quality, competent, and confident nurses.

What is your outlook for the nursing education segment over the next two to three years? What will be the college’s goals and priorities in that time?

In terms of nursing education, the future looks very positive. Nursing as a profession has strengthened year after year, and I only see that continuing. My hope is that there are continued resources, support, and importance put into higher education, despite the fluctuations and challenges we may face.