JULY
NEWS WATCH
1.
AACN Looking to Link with Your Government Affairs Staff
2. New Opportunity Alerts Posted on the Web
3. Apply Now for the Baccalaureate Education
Pre-Conference
4. Time to Designate Your School's Survey
Coordinator
5. Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship
Grants Now Available
6. Benchmarking Survey Nearing Completion
7. ELNEC Sponsors Free Training for CE/Staff
Educators
8. Senate Holds Fourth Hearing this Year
on the Nursing Shortage
9. New Bill Introduced with GME Support for
Nursing Education
10. NINR to Host 15th Anniversary Symposium
in September
11. Health Volunteers Overseas Launches
New Program in Cambodia
12. Issue Bulletin Focuses on Student Recruitment
Strategies
13. Results of Joint AACN/NONPF Curriculum
Survey Due this Fall
14. Recent AACN Nominations
15. AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
1. AACN Looking to Link with Your Government
Affairs Staff
AACN
would like to extend our grassroots lobbying and educational
efforts to your school's Washington, DC-based lobbyists
or government affairs representatives. We are looking to
coordinate initiatives and open new lines of communication.
AACN wants to ensure that your local representatives receive
our print and electronic newsletters by adding them to our
distribution lists. We would also like to double our effectiveness
by sending them our Action Alerts and supporting information
on AACN's solutions to resolve the nursing shortage. Please
send contact information for your local government affairs
staff to Gene Throwe at gthrowe@aacn.nche.edu.
2. New Opportunity Alerts Posted on the
Web
Opportunity
Alerts are announcements of grants, fellowships, scholarships,
and other funding sources for nursing programs, students,
and research that are routinely updated on AACN's Web site.
Seven new Opportunity Alerts have been posted including
information on fellowships, scholarships for disadvantaged
students, and grants on aging issues, asthma case management,
and HIV prevention. Click here for more information on funding
and educational opportunities: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/fedopps.htm.
3. Apply Now for the Baccalaureate Education
Pre-Conference
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 14. More information
and an application form will be available on the Web by
August 1 at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/conferences/fuld.htm.
4. Time to Designate Your School's Survey
Coordinator
September
2001 will mark the 24th AACN 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.
In order to communicate effectively about the survey, AACN
needs each school of nursing to designate a survey coordinator.
The coordinator will be the contact person responsible for
ensuring that the survey is completed in a timely, accurate
manner. Deans are requested to forward the name, address,
phone number, fax number, and email for their institution's
survey coordinator to jstennet@aacn.nche.edu
by August 15, 2001.
5. Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship
Grants Now Available
Administered
by the HRSA Division of Nursing, Advanced Education Nursing
Traineeship grant applications will be available "any
day now" on the HRSA Web site at: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/dn/dn.htm.
For more information, contact Marjorie Hamilton at mhamilton@hrsa.gov
or (301) 443-6193.
6. Benchmarking Survey Nearing Completion
AACN's
Fifth Annual Financial Benchmarking Survey was conducted
this summer. The Benchmarking Project is the central resource
for standardized information about financial performance
measures and best practices in nursing higher education.
This year's survey, which covered Fiscal Year 2000, had
a response rate of 33.2 percent. Customized benchmarking
reports will be available to the membership in September.
An aggregated data report will be published this fall. In
addition to financial information, the report will include
faculty productivity measures and selected faculty ratios
such as dollars generated per full-time faculty member for
research grants and practice income. If you would still
like to submit your survey data, please contact Janis Stennett
at jstennet@aacn.nche.edu.
7. ELNEC Sponsors Free Training for CE/Staff
Educators
The
End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) is a national
education program to improve end-of-life care by nurses
administered through a partnership between AACN and the
City of Hope. Furthering its efforts to develop a core of
expert nurse educators in end-of-life care, ELNEC is offering
the first course
for continuing education/staff development educators on
November 15-17 in Pasadena, CA. Application deadline for
this free training session is August 20. Applications will
be accepted after this date if space is available. Participants
will receive extensive resources and a $100 stipend. More
details may be found at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/elnec.
8. Senate Holds Fourth Hearing This Year
on the Nursing Shortage
On June
27, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee
on Oversight of Government Management, Restructuring and
the District of Columbia held a hearing to investigate the
impact of nursing shortages on federal health programs.
The hearing was entitled, "Finding a Cure to Keep Nurses
on the Job: The Federal Government's Role in Retaining Nurses
for Delivery of Federally Funded Health Care Services."
This is the fourth hearing on nursing shortages sponsored
by the Senate in 2001. Click here for more information:
http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/062701_witness.htm.
9. New Bill Introduced with GME Support
for Nursing Education
On June
14, Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced the All-Payer Graduate
Medical Education Act of 2001 (H.R. 2178). Almost identical
to the version that was introduced in the 106th Congress,
this bill provides a stable and comprehensive financing
plan for graduate medical education (GME). It includes provisions
for
an additional $300 million for nursing and allied health
graduate education in addition to current GME funding that
supports hospital-based nursing programs. The bill establishes
an all-payer fund by assessing private health plans a 1%
premium tax while continuing GME funding streams through
Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans' health care programs.
AACN supports this funding mechanism for graduate nursing
education. Click here for more information: http://www.house.gov/cardin/hr_2178_bsum.htm.
10. NINR to Host 15th Anniversary Symposium
in September
Mark
your calendars now for the National Institute of Nursing
Research's 15th Anniversary Symposium on September 20 and
21, 2001. Hosted at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland,
the theme of this year's event is "Advancing Health
Through Science: Building Knowledge for Patient Care."
For more information, see http://www.nih.gov/ninr/news-info/15anniversary.html.
11. Health Volunteers Overseas Launches
New Nursing Program in Cambodia
Through
its Nursing Overseas division, Health Volunteers Overseas
(HVO) has initiated a new nursing education program in Cambodia
at the Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope. The goal of this
program is to improve the education of the 66 Cambodian
nurses working at this facility through lectures, clinical
instruction, and nursing rounds. Dr. Jill Derstine, EdD,
RN, Professor and Chair of Nursing at the School of Allied
Professions at Temple University, is the Program Director.
Nursing Overseas, HVO's newest division, is sponsored by
AACN. To find out more about Health Volunteers Overseas
and this new program, visit http://www.hvousa.org/.
12. Issue Bulletin Focuses on Student
Recruitment Strategies
In an
effort to reach policy makers and assist schools of nursing
in bringing diversity into their programs, AACN is preparing
an Issue Bulletin on "Effective Strategies for Recruiting
Nontraditional Students into Nursing Programs." This
bulletin will spotlight recruitment efforts that have been
effective in attracting men, minorities, career changers,
and other nontraditional students into baccalaureate and
graduate nursing programs. The bulletin will showcase successful
recruitment strategies at large and small institutions across
the country and feature a resource section with useful Web
links. Schools wishing to share their success stories, future
plans, and perspectives regarding this issue are invited
to email your interest to participate in this project to
rrossete@aacn.nche.edu.
13. Results of Joint AACN/NONPF Curriculum
Survey Due This Fall
Data
from the collaborative AACN/NONPF Survey of Master's-Level
Nurse Practitioner Educational Programs are currently being
analyzed and will be published in early fall. This survey
has produced a wealth of data on NP program characteristics,
credit hour and clock hour requirements, faculty
workload, core and clinical course content, and Web-based
curricula. Data are being analyzed by role preparation and
by type of clinical track. For further information, contact
Dr. Linda Berlin at lberlin@aacn.nche.edu.
14. Recent AACN Nominations
**Linda
Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN, Director of the Center for
Health Outcomes
and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania,
was nominated for the
National Center for Health Workforce Information and Analysis
Award on Workforce
Research Impacting State Health Workforce Planning Efforts.
**Cheryl
Easley, PhD, RN, Dean at the Crystal M. Lange College
of Nursing at
Saginaw Valley State University, was nominated to the
newly created National
Advisory Council for the National Center for Minority
Health and Health
Disparities.
**Carole
Green-Hernandez, PhD, ANP/FNP-C, professor at the University
of
Vermont, was nominated to the National Advisory Council
to the National Health
Service Corps.
**Julie
Sebastian, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor at the University
of Kentucky, was
nominated to the National Advisory Council for Healthcare
Research and Quality.
**Julie
Sochalski, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Director of the Center
for Health
Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania,
was nominated
for the National Center for Health Workforce Information
and Analysis Award on
Workforce Research Impacting Access to Health Care.
15. AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
Below
is a roundup of recent outreach and advocacy efforts undertaken
by AACN
leadership and staff:
**On
July 9, AACN participated in a meeting hosted by the Department
of
Veterans' Affairs, Nursing Strategic Healthcare Group.
Also in attendance were
representatives from the American Association of Community
Colleges and the
National Organization of Associate Degree Nursing. The
purpose of the meeting
was to address the VA's workforce issues as they review
the recommendations from
their National Nursing Strategic Plan.
**On
July 12, AACN participated in a meeting with the Coalition
for Health
Funding featuring guest speaker Craig Caplan, C-SPAN's
congressional editor
covering Capitol Hill. Mr. Caplan shared insights into
the network's House and
Senate floor coverage as well as his perspective on the
FY 2002 congressional
budget process.
**On
July 16, AACN attended the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research
Funding
briefing on the human genome project. Francis Collins,
MD, PhD, director of the
National Human Genome Research Institute, discussed the
process of mapping the
human genome and the potential effects that this NIH sponsored
project will have
on health care delivery over the next 30 years. For more
information, vist
http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/.
**On
July 23, AACN participated in a luncheon briefing sponsored
by the Health
Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC). The
goal was to educate
Hill staff on the impact of Title VII and VIII programs
on health professions
education. One of the featured speakers was Nancy Hayes,
BSN, a graduate of
Howard University Division of Nursing's Careers for Homeless
People Project, who
is funded by a three-year grant through Title VIII programs.
Click here for
more information on HPNEC or the Hill briefing:
http://www.aamc.org/advocacy/hpnec/.
