Dr. Eileen T. Breslin began her career as a Registered Nurse in the obstetrics and gynecology unit at Flagstaff Community Hospital in Arizona. Before entering academia as an Assistant Professor at Northern Arizona University, she worked with Planned Parenthood throughout Arizona as a Clinic Director, Director of Client Services, and Ob-Gyn Nurse Practitioner. She rose through the ranks at Northern Arizona University becoming a full tenured Professor and Chair of the Department of Nursing from 1989 through 1998 before moving to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to serve as Dean of the School of Nursing. While at UMass, Dr. Breslin also held the position of Interim Dean for the School of Public Health & Health Sciences for three years. She joined UT Health San Antonio as Dean of the School of Nursing in April 2008.
Dr. Breslin, whose personal career interests include women's health and public health nursing, led a number of major initiatives during her nine years as Dean at UMass. She instituted a doctoral degree in nursing practice, a clinical nurse leader program, and a Master of Science/Master of Public Health dual degree program – all firsts in the state of Massachusetts.
Among her professional activities, Dr. Breslin is a fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and served as treasurer on the board of directors of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Among many recognitions and awards, she has been recognized as a Distinguished Practitioner in Nursing by the National Academies of Practice in 2000, inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in 2009, a recipient of Sigma Theta Tau International, Delta Alpha Chapter-at-Large South Texas Nurse Imagemaker Award in 2010, and received the National Association of Hispanic Nurses Presidential Award in 2010. She has served on the National Advisory Council for Nursing Education and Practice, as President and Board Chair of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and currently serves on the Veteran's Affairs Federal Advisory Council-National Academic Affairs.
Dr. Breslin is co-editor of “Obstetric & Neonatal Nurses, Women's Health Nursing-Toward Evidence-Based Practice,” a book published in 2003 by the Association of Women's Health. She has conducted research on a variety of topics including women's reproductive issues, nursing clinical practice, violence as it is presented in nursing curricula, and drug addiction in the nursing profession.
Dr. Breslin’s tenure as Dean of the School of Nursing at UT Health San Antonio is the capstone to a distinguished and highly productive career in academic nursing. Under her leadership, the School of Nursing has made significant advances in all mission areas of education, research and scholarship, clinical practice, and community service. The Student Success Center and Center for Simulation Innovation were created during her 14-year tenure. During this time, the school increased its research portfolio from $2.4 million to $21.9 million, the School of Nursing’s clinical enterprise underwent a major expansion, and student enrollment increased by 33 percent. Since 2017, the school’s student passing rate of 95 percent on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s licensing exam (NCLEX) consistently exceeded the national average and the Texas Board of Nursing average pass rate of first-time test-takers.
Dean Breslin also led a robust fundraising effort for the school, raising a total of almost $40 million and increasing the school’s endowment total by 59 percent and establishing 46 new endowments. Under her leadership, the School of Nursing established both an MSN to DNP degree pathway, as well as direct entry for BSN graduates to pursue advanced training and education. Launched in 2012, the DNP program ranks in the top 16 percent of DNP programs nationally – an outstanding achievement that speaks to the quality of the faculty and the students. The BSN program also was ranked in the top 6 percent of BSN programs nationally and was ranked third in the state of Texas.
The Eileen T. Breslin, PhD, RN, FAAN Doctoral Education Endowment for Leadership and Innovation shall be held in perpetuity for the benefit of the School of Nursing. Funds distributed from the endowment shall be used to support doctoral education with an emphasis on experiential learning opportunities and research in the areas of leadership development, innovation in health care and higher education, nurse-driven policy development, nurse-driven community education, and/or innovative models of care.