November
2001 News Watch
1.
AACN Membership Approves New Position Statement
2. Applications Due for Fuld Academic Leadership
Grant
3. Apply for Hartford Scholarship Grants
Beginning December 14
4. AACN Joins Bioterrorism Education Effort
5. Nursing Shortage Legislation Moves Forward
6. Complete the Member Expertise Survey Today
7. Two Fellowship Programs Among Current
Opportunity Alerts
8. Expert Panel Addresses Title VIII Funding
Methodology
9. Register Now for the Baccalaureate Conference
in December
10. Submit Abstracts Online for State of
the Science Congress
11. Last Chance to Register for ELNEC Course
in January
12. AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
13. Member News, Conferences, and Awards
1.
AACN Membership Approves New Position Statement
At the
Fall Semiannual Meeting last month, AACN members approved
a new position statement on the "Indicators of Quality
in Research-Focused Doctoral Programs in Nursing."
AACN first developed a set of indicators for quality doctoral
education in 1986, which were later revised in 1993. In
order to remain current and in response to concerns over
the shortage of doctorally prepared faculty, a rapid growth
in the number and types of doctoral nursing programs, and
concern regarding resources available to support the increased
number of programs, the AACN Board of Directors appointed
a task force in 1999 to revise the quality indicators and
address differences among PhD, DNSc/DNS/DSN, and ND degrees.
The task force found that even though there was general
satisfaction with the 1993 indicators, nurse educators wanted
greater specificity, more emphasis on outcomes, and recognition
of all types of doctoral programs. AACN members were sent
a copy of the new position statement which is also available
online.
2.
Applications Due for Fuld Academic Leadership Grant
Supported
by the Helene Fuld Health Trust, AACN's Leadership for Academic
Nursing Program is designed to enhance the capabilities
of individuals aspiring to lead academic nursing organizations
and those new to the role of chief academic administrator
of baccalaureate or graduate nursing programs. The year-long
program will provide participants with a focused assessment
experience, a range of content and case studies related
to successful leadership, and the opportunity to establish
networks of mentors and peers for the development of lasting
partnerships. A selection committee of senior nurse leaders
will choose program participants with a priority given to
those who have the potential for a long-term commitment
to the role of a chief academic administrator. Applications
must be received by December 14, 2001. For eligibility and
selection criteria, timeline information, and an application,
click here.
AACN is seeking deans with at least four years experience
who are interested in serving as mentors for the grant awardees.
Those interested are encouraged to contact Emily Schmid
at eschmid@aacn.nche.edu.
3.
Apply for Hartford Scholarship Grants Beginning December
14
Through
a grant funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation of New
York, competitive scholarship funds will soon be available
to nursing schools looking to expand capacity in their existing
geriatric advanced practice nursing programs. Funds will
be awarded over a three-year period to schools providing
1-to-1 matching funds. Schools must to able to recruit new
students nationally with geographic, cultural, and ethnic
diversity, and prepare graduates with skills to sustain
careers in geriatric nursing. All graduates of geriatric
advanced practice nursing programs who receive scholarships
must be eligible to sit for ANCC or other nationally recognized
certifications in geriatric advanced practice nursing. The
Request for Proposals (RFP) will be issued on December 14,
2001 and posted on AACN's Web site. Applications will be
due by February 15, 2002. To sign up to receive the RFP
as soon as it is available, contact Sara Gore at sgore@aacn.nche.edu
or (202) 463-6930, ext. 248.
4.
AACN Joins Bioterrorism Education Effort
On November
1, 2001, AACN participated in a press event on Capitol Hill
focused on improving the national response to bioterrorism.
The event was sponsored by Senators Bill Frist (R-TN) and
Edward Kennedy (D-MA). In a press statement, AACN announced
that it is leading the effort to develop competencies to
prepare nurses to respond effectively to bioterrorism and
other threats in its work with the International Nursing
Coalition on Mass Casualty Events. The association will
also be participating with the Association of American Medical
Colleges and other organizations in the Health Education
Coalition on Bioterrorism on November 28, 2001 to develop
a collective educational response to biological, radiation,
and chemical terrorism. Click
here to read the news release that summarizes AACN's
efforts in the area of nursing education related to bioterrorism.
5.
Nursing Shortage Legislation Moves Forward
On November
1, 2001, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee (HELP) marked up the Kerry bill, the Nurse Reinvestment
Act (S. 706), and the Hutchinson bill, the Nurse Employment
and Education Development Act (S. 721). The bills were passed
out of that committee, with the Kerry bill being offered
as a substitute amendment (S. 1597) when its Medicare nursing
education, Medicaid, and other tax provisions were dropped.
This occurred so that the HELP Committee would have jurisdiction
over the legislation, not the Finance Committee, which increases
the legislation's chance for passage. It was numbered S.1597
at that time. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) requested that
Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA) encourage his colleagues
and staff to work to merge the two bills (now S. 1597 and
S. 721) into one nursing shortage bill.
In the
House, Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY) introduced the Nurse Employment
and Education Development Act (H.R. 3020) on October 4,
2001 as a companion bill to Sen. Tim Hutchinson's (R-AR)
bill in the Senate. The Kelly bill also includes language
that creates grants for educating RNs on current trends
in nursing. For more information on the bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas2.html
and search by bill number. Meanwhile, House Energy and Commerce
Committee staff are negotiating nursing shortage legislation
based on Rep. Lois Capps' (D-CA) bill, the Nurse Reinvestment
Act (H.R. 1436), in hopes of including it in a larger health
care bill.
6.
Complete The Member Expertise Survey Today
AACN's
Member Expertise Survey is now being conducted online to
assess deans' areas of expertise and interest in participating
in AACN activities. The information collected in this very
brief survey is vital to assisting us in identifying individuals
to serve on committees and task forces, give congressional
testimony, handle media inquiries, and serve on national
panels. Help us magnify your expertise within the larger
nursing community while making the most of your AACN membership.
We encourage all members to participate. If you completed
the survey last year, you are not required to re-enter your
information unless your interests/expertise has changed.
Please go to Members
Only and login with your school code. If you have
any questions or have misplaced your school code, contact
Jamie Martin at jmartin@aacn.nche.edu.
7.
Two Fellowship Programs among Current Opportunity Alerts
AACN
strives to share information with our members about new
sources of grant funding, scholarships, and fellowships.
Below are two fellowship programs for nurse leaders that
are currently seeking applications:
**The
Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program is an
advanced leadership program for nurses in senior executive
roles in health services, public health, and nursing education.
The three-year fellowships offer participating nurses the
experiences, insights, and skills necessary to advance in
executive leadership positions in a health care system undergoing
unprecedented change. Approximately 20 Executive Nurse Fellows
are selected each year. See the Call
for Application on the Web. Application deadline
in February 1, 2002.
**Funded
by a grant from the Helene Fuld Health Trust, scholarships
are available to graduate nurses who wish to attend the
Helene Fuld Health Policy Leadership Program. Scheduled
for June 2-7, 2002 at the George Mason University School
of Law in Arlington, VA, this program will help participants
develop leadership skills and take an active role in health
policymaking. Thirty competitive scholarships will be awarded
to post-baccalaureate nurses who exhibit the qualities of
potential nurse leaders and wish to become active in the
health policymaking process. The deadline for applications
is December 21, 2001. To request a fellowship application,
contact Teri Fede at (703) 993-1959 or tfede@gmu.edu.
Applications are also available at http://hpi.gmu.edu/.
Other
new Opportunity Alerts
have just been added to our Web site including ones from
NIH and the AARP Andrus Foundation.
8.
Expert Panel Addresses Title VIII Funding Methodology
The
Center for Health Policy, Research and Ethics at George
Mason University in Fairfax, VA is convening a series of
expert panel meetings to test a funding methodology for
Title VIII programs. This initiative is undertaken at the
direction of Congress and is funded by the Division of Nursing.
Public comment on the initial recommendations of the expert
panel is being solicited through November 29, 2001. To learn
more about the project or to submit public comment on the
recommendations, see http://chpre.gmu.edu.
To make comments, click "Funding Allocation Project"
and then "Public Comment."
9.
Register Now for the Baccalaureate Conference in December
Faculty
members from baccalaureate nursing programs across the country
are invited to join AACN for the Fourth Annual Baccalaureate
Education Conference coming to The Ritz Carlton in Washington,
D.C. on December 6-8, 2001. Focused on the theme "Building
on Success," the conference will feature abstract presentations,
interest forums, task force updates, poster presentations,
and networking opportunities. General sessions will showcase
a range of hot topics for today's nurse educator including
"Spotlight on Nursing: Big Picture Issues Facing the
Profession," "Career Fitness: Prepping Students
for Job Seeking in Today's Work World," "NCLEX
Issues, Challenges, and Successes," and "Post-Baccalaureate
Residencies: Models for Professional Success." Click
here for complete program details and to register
online.
10.
Submit Abstracts Online 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 at http://stti.confex.com/stti/sos13/index.html.
Abstracts must be transmitted by February 1, 2002. For more
information, contact Tara Bateman at tara@stti.iupui.edu
or (888)634-7575.
11.
Last Chance to Register for ELNEC Course in January
The
registration deadline has been extended for the next faculty
development course offered as part of the End-of-Life Nursing
Education Consortium (ELNEC) project. This course for baccalaureate
and associate degree faculty will assist participants in
teaching and integrating end-of-life care into nursing education
programs. A few seats are still left for the ELNEC course
scheduled for January 10-12, 2002 in Pasadena, CA. Applications
will be accepted on a space available basis. For details,
click here.
12.
AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
**AACN
President Carolyn A. Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN; Executive
Director Polly Bednash, PhD, RN, FAAN; and Director of Research
and Data Services Linda Berlin, DrPH, RN, represented AACN
at the Sigma Theta Tau International's 36th biennial convention
in Indianapolis on November 12-13, 2001. Drs. Williams and
Bednash led two focus group discussions on the Vision 2020
position statement of the Nursing Practice and Education
Consortium (NPEC) which may be found online at http://www.nursingsociety.org/stratplan/npec_intro.html.
**On
November 13-15, 2001, Drs. Williams and Bednash represented
AACN at the John A. Hartford Foundation-sponsored leadership
program for the pre- and postdoctoral scholars who have
been selected through Hartford's program on Building Academic
Geriatric Leaders. This project is directed by Claire Fagin,
PhD, RN, FAAN, and administered through the American Academy
of Nursing. Seventeen pre- and postdoctoral scholars have
been chosen to receive support for their academic work in
gerontology and nursing. Directors of the multiple Hartford
Foundation sponsored programs also met in Chicago to discuss
program evaluation and coordination. Gerontologic nursing
is benefiting greatly from the more than $30 million that
the Hartford Foundation has invested in nursing to improve
the care of the aged.
**On
November 15-17, 2001, AACN and the City of Hope National
Medical Center, partners in the End-of-Life Nursing Education
Consortium (ELNEC), sponsored a training session in Pasadena,
CA for 85 continuing education/staff development nurse educators.
Funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, ELNEC is a
national education program to improve end-of-life care by
nurses.
**On
November 19, 2001, Dr. Bednash spoke to the Association
of American Medical Colleges' Health Care Advisory Panel
about the current nursing shortage and how it affects health
care delivery. The presentation included discussion of AACN
priorities for dramatically restructuring the education,
licensure, and practice for nursing personnel at the baccalaureate
or higher degree level. In addition, the panel, comprised
of representatives of medical education and teaching hospital
administrators, discussed ways they can support AACN's goals
to increase the number of faculty and the resources available
for nursing research.
**Are
you planning a trip with your nursing students to Washington,
DC? Then come to AACN for a government affairs briefing
to learn more about what Congress is doing to address the
nursing shortage. This is a membership benefit, and the
staff loves to meet nursing students! For more information,
contact Gene Throwe by email at gthrowe@aacn.nche.edu.
13. Member News, Conferences, and Awards
**Zane
Robinson Wolf, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the School of Nursing
at LaSalle University, recently received the Nursing Research
Award from the Pennsylvania State Nursing Association in
honor of her lifetime contribution to nursing research.
Dr. Wolf is a nationally recognized expert in the field
of medication errors and other risks to patient safety.
**AACN
President Carolyn A. Williams, dean and professor of the
University of Kentucky College of Nursing, received the
Mary Tolle Wright Award for Excellence in Leadership from
The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International,
at their biennial convention held earlier this month.
**New
York University is hosting a conference on "Spearheading
Nursing Practice for Older Adults" for nursing faculty,
clinicians, managers, and staff developers on January 30,
2002 in New York City. The session will focus on cutting-edge,
research-based best nursing practice from leaders in the
field, covering elder mistreatment, institutional culture,
and ethics in patient care. The $100 fee will be waived
for Hartford Institute Partners and NYC-employed nurses.
Funded by the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and
NYC Council Grant, this program is administered by the NYC
Department for the Aging. For more information, contact
Hartford.ign@nyu.edu
or (212) 998-5355; or visit www.hartfordign.org.
AACN NEWS WATCH will return in early January 2002.
The staff at AACN wish our members and colleagues a happy
holiday season.
