AUGUST
NEWS WATCH
1.
New Grant Funds Available for Geriatric Education Programs
2. Call for Abstracts Announced for State
of the Science Congress
3. Discover New Opportunity Alerts Online
4. AACN Presents Final Report on Women's
Health Survey
5. Pre-Conference Workshop Focuses on Community-Based
Education
6. Annual Survey of Nursing Schools Coming
in September
7. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson Triples NELRP
Funding for FY 2001
8. Nursing Overseas Seeks Volunteers for
Cambodia and Uganda
9. New Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet Posted
on the Web
10. Submissions Needed for the Journal of
Professional Nursing
11. Health Resources and Services Administration
Announces Restructuring
12. Indian University Seeks Academic Partner
in the U.S.
13. AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
14. Member News, Appointments & Awards
1. New Grant Funds Available for Geriatric
Education Programs
AACN
has issued a Request
for Proposals to schools of nursing looking for
grant funding under the new Geriatric Nursing Education
Project. Funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation of New
York, grant monies are available to all baccalaureate and
graduate schools of nursing to develop geriatric curriculum
and clinical innovations to improve nursing care to older
adults. Awards will be provided to up to 20 baccalaureate
nursing programs and 10 advanced practice nursing programs.
2.
Call for Abstracts Announced for State of the Science Congress
Sponsored
by a coalition of 22 nursing organizations, the State of
the Science Congress will be held in Washington D.C. on
September 25-28, 2002. The Congress provides a national
forum to communicate emerging scientific discoveries related
to nursing practice and creates a platform to influence
the nursing research agenda of the future. A Call for Abstracts
has been issued to those in the nursing research community
who wish to present papers, posters, and symposia at this
event. All abstracts must be submitted electronically through
Sigma Theta Tau International's Web site by February 1,
2002. For more information, visit the What's New section
of Sigma's Web site, http://www.nursingsociety.org,
or contact Tara Bateman at tara@stti.iupui.edu
or (888)634-7575.
3.
Discover New Opportunity Alerts Online
AACN
strives to keep our members informed about new sources of
grant funding, scholarships, and fellowships. New Opportunity
Alerts have just been added to our Web site including
information on Robert Wood Johnson and Norman Cousins scholarships,
grants on rural health and children's health, and nursing
research awards.
4.
AACN Presents Final Report on Women's Health Survey
On August
15, AACN presented its final report on Women's Health in
Baccalaureate Nursing School Curriculum to representatives
of the Health Resources and Services Administration and
other federal agencies. Based on a 1999 AACN survey of schools
of nursing with entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs,
the report describes the women's health content included
in entry-level baccalaureate nursing curricula. Some of
the key findings of the report include:
*Of
the 334 schools responding to the survey, all schools
included the "impact
of race/ethnicity/culture on health status, health beliefs
and behaviors, and
health care utilization" somewhere in the curriculum;
*95%
of all responding schools included "health consequences
of domestic
violence" in the required curriculum content; and
*92%
of all responding schools included "health consequences
of rape" in the
required course content.
The
final report was published by the Government Printing Office
last month with copies sent to AACN members. Up to 10 additional
copies can be obtained free by calling 1-888-ASK-HRSA. For
more information, click
here.
5.
Pre-Conference Workshop Focuses on Community-Based Education
On December
6-8, AACN will present its fourth annual conference devoted
solely to baccalaureate education issues. The pre-conference
session, entitled "Moving to the Next Level: Building
on Success in Community-Based Education," will be held
on December 5-6. Geared for educators who have some experience
with community-based education, the pre-conference will
focus on the innovative use
of community-based education and transitioning faculty from
traditional pedagogy to this educational approach. Participants
will be asked to share their insights and experiences with
colleagues. Space is limited and an application process
is required. Those selected to attend will receive a modest
stipend.
Application deadline for the pre-conference is September
17. Click here
for more information and an application form.
6.
Annual Survey of Nursing Schools Coming in September
In early
September, AACN will distribute the 2001 Annual Survey of
Institutions with Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Nursing
Programs. Information from the survey forms the basis for
the nation's premier database on trends in enrollments and
graduations; student and faculty demographics; and faculty
and
deans' salaries. AACN encourages schools to complete the
survey online which brings many benefits: security of your
school's data through a password protected site; reduced
errors due to on-screen validation of data entry; and the
ease of paperless reporting. Technical assistance will be
available at any time during the survey cycle.
AACN
is grateful for the tremendous response received last month
to our request for each school to designate a survey coordinator.
The coordinator is the contact person responsible for ensuring
that the survey is completed in a timely, accurate manner.
For those schools who have yet to respond, please
forward the name, address, phone number, fax number, and
e-mail for your institution's survey coordinator to jstennet@aacn.nche.edu.
7.
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson Triples NELRP Funding for FY
2001
HHS
Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has added $5 million in funding
to the FY 2001 budget for the Nurse Education Loan Repayment
Program (NELRP) which gives the program over $7 million
to operate in this fiscal year. Registered nurses, nurse
anesthetists, and nurse practitioners are eligible for loan
forgiveness
through the program in exchange for practicing in designated
nursing shortage counties. The funding increase should allow
all eligible nurses who met the May 2001 application deadline
to participate in the NELRP. Previously administered by
the Bureau of Primary Health Care, the NELRP is now under
the Bureau of Health Professions. Click
here for more details on this program.
8.
Nursing Overseas Seeks Volunteers for Two New Programs
AACN
is a founding sponsor of Nursing Overseas, the newest division
of Health Volunteers Overseas, which is dedicated to advancing
professional nursing education around the world. Nursing
Overseas is currently soliciting volunteers for two new
projects that were developed to meet the unique needs of
the nurses at each site:
*In
Cambodia, volunteers are needed to assist in improving
the education of nurses at the Sihanouk Hospital Center
of Hope in Phnom Penh through lectures and clinical instruction.
Assignments will be two weeks in length, although one
week assignments will be considered. Volunteers need to
have a master's degree in nursing, three years teaching
experience, and expertise in a specific nursing area.
Nurse practitioners are also needed for this program.
*In
Uganda, volunteers are needed for short term assignments
(3-4 weeks) to support clinician-educators at Mulago Hospital
in Kampala to establish a model program for clinically
based pediatric nurse specialists and to develop teaching
modules for pediatric nursing. Requirements include a
master's degree and/or suitable experience in pediatrics.
Although
short-term volunteers for both projects are responsible
for their own expenses, there is funding support for a nurse
educator to serve 3-6 months in Uganda. This nurse will
be instrumental in the initiation of the project. To find
out more about these opportunities, please contact Kate
Fincham at
k.fincham@hvousa.org,
(202) 296-0928.
9.
New Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet Posted on the Web
AACN
is actively directing its efforts toward enacting legislation,
identifying strategies, and forming collaborations to address
the nursing shortage. To keep members, the media, and other
stakeholders abreast of current statistics related to the
shortage, a new fact sheet has been developed and will be
updated on a regular basis. The fact sheet, along with other
resources which frame the nursing shortage issue, may be
accessed at AACN's Nursing
Shortage Resource section.
10.
Submissions Needed for the Journal of Professional Nursing
The
Journal of Professional
Nursing (JPN) is AACN's scholarly journal produced
to help members keep pace with continuing changes in legislative,
regulatory, ethical, and professional standards that affect
the nursing profession. Published bimonthly, JPN
accepts articles concerned with the practice, research,
and policy roles of nurses with baccalaureate and graduate
degrees, as well as the concerns of the universities in
which they are educated. Reports of original work, research,
reviews, insightful descriptions, and policy papers focusing
on professional nursing are also published. Original contributions
not under
simultaneous consideration by another publication may be
submitted to: Eleanor J. Sullivan, Editor, Journal of
Professional Nursing, American Association of Colleges
of Nursing, One Dupont Circle, NW Suite 530, Washington,
DC 20036.
11.
Health Resources and Services Administration Announces Restructuring
Elizabeth
James Duke, PhD, Acting Administrator of the Health Resources
and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department
of Health and Human Services, recently announced plans to
streamline the agency's structure and function. Changes
include moving the National Health Service Corps, Division
of Scholarship and Loan Repayment, and the Division of Shortage
Designation from the Bureau of Primary Care to the Bureau
of Health Professions. Dr. Duke commented that this change
would promote a "one stop shopping concept for the
health professions." Click
here for a fact sheet on HRSA restructuring.
12.
Indian University Seeks Academic Partner in the US
Dr.
Mohan Thomas, Director of Lakeshore Hospital in Cochin,
India is seeking a school of nursing in the US to serve
as an academic partner in the creation of a new four-year
BSN program. Dr. Thomas and his investors have been granted
permission by an Indian university to start various paramedical
courses in that
country. The group is looking to develop nursing courses
that meet American standards and quality requirements. Schools
interested in pursuing this partnership should contact (974)
552-9898 or drmt@qatar.net.qa.
13.
AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
Below
is a roundup of recent outreach and advocacy efforts undertaken
by AACN members, leadership, and staff:
**Janet
D. Allan, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean of the School of Nursing
at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center San
Antonio, represented AACN at the National Association
of Hispanic Nurses' 26th Annual Conference on July 18-20
in San Antonio. Dr. Allan presented data on enrollments/graduations
related to Hispanic students and discussed what AACN and
other national organizations are doing to increase enrollments
within this population.
**Alexia
Green, PhD, RN, Dean of the School of Nursing at Texas
Tech University Health Sciences Center, made a presentation
on the nursing shortage at the National Conference of
State Legislatures held in San Antonio on August 12-15.
**AACN
signed on to a letter by the Friends of Indian Health
requesting that Congress support a bill to increase funding
for the Indian Health Service. The full text of the bill,
H.R. 2217, may be viewed at http://thomas.loc.gov.
14.
Member News, Appointments & Awards
**Elaine
Sorensen Marshall, PhD, RN, Dean of the College of Nursing
at Brigham Young University, was nominated to the federal
Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines.
**Jerry
D. Durham, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean of the Barnes College of
Nursing, was appointed as Vice Chancellor for Academic
Affairs at the University of Missouri St. Louis. He will
retain the title of Dean of Nursing at that institution
until an interim dean is named.
**Effective
August 1, Maureen R. Keefe, PhD, RN, FAAN, was appointed
as Dean and Professor and Holder of the Louis H. Peery
Presidential Endowed Chair in the College of Nursing at
the University of Utah Health Sciences Center.
