1.
Memorial Fund Created at the University of
Arizona
2. Call for Abstracts Issued for Master’s
Conference
3. Winners of the 2002 Hartford Curriculum
Awards Announced
4. ELNEC Reaches over 16,000 Nurses in its
First Year
5. Handouts from the Fall Semiannual Meeting
Posted Online
6. Register Now for the Doctoral Conference
in January
7. AACN Annual Survey Results
8. New Opportunity Alerts Posted Online
9. Nursing Shortage Webcast Available on
Kaisernetwork.org
10. NINR Forms Eight Centers for Health
Disparities Research
11. Study Links Patient Outcomes to Nurse
Staffing Levels
12. Register Online for First Graduate Faculty
ELNEC Course
13. AACN Letter Published in Nursing Economics
14. 107th Congress Adjourns
15. National Health Service Corps Funds
Master’s Education
16. New Reports Released with Implications
for Nursing Education
17. AJN Published Next Article in Palliative
Care Series
18. New Partnerships and Grant-Funded Initiatives
19. Member News, Announcements and Awards
20. AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
1.
MEMORIAL FUND CREATED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
The
University of Arizona and the entire nursing community
suffered a terrible loss on October 28, 2002 when three
faculty members were killed at the College of Nursing.
The devastating loss of professors Cheryl McGaffic, Barbara
Monroe, and Robin Rogers is so very painful and impossible
to understand. AACN extends our heartfelt condolences
to the victim’s families and colleagues at the school
as well as to Dean Marjorie A. Isenberg, DNSc, RN, FAAN.
AACN has made a contribution to the Nursing Faculty Memorial
Fund set up to honor the victims of this terrible tragedy.
Those interested in contributing to this fund are encouraged
to visit http://www.nursing.arizona.edu/coninfo.htm
for more information.
2.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS ISSUED FOR THE MASTER’S CONFERENCE
AACN
has issued a Call for Abstracts for the 2003 Master’s
Education Conference to be held February 27–March
1, 2003 at the Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island,
Florida. The theme is “Focusing the Kaleidoscope
of Master’s Education in Nursing: Valuing the Variety
of Patterns and Colors.” Nationally recognized speaker
and author Dr. Tim Porter-O'Grady will discuss controversial
recommendations for re-thinking master's education. Other
topics include learner-centered program development, online
strategies, and the realities of preparing and utilizing
faculty at the master's level. Special interest groups
will encourage dialogue on topics such as building a new
program, the clinical doctorate, innovative partnerships,
second-degree students, new AACN/CCNE standards for nurse
practitioner education, and how best to incorporate mental
health content. Those interested in submitting an abstract
will find complete details at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences/masters03call.pdf.
Abstracts must be submitted by Thursday, December 5, 2002.
3.
WINNERS OF THE 2002 HARTFORD CURRICULUM AWARDS ANNOUNCED
The
John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing,
in collaboration with AACN, is pleased to announce the
winners of the 2002 Awards for Exceptional Baccalaureate
Curriculum in Gerontologic Nursing. Presented at the fall
meeting, awards were given to three schools of nursing:
first place to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center;
second place to The University of Iowa; and honorable
mention to Southeastern Louisiana University. Now in its
fifth year, this national awards program was created to
recognize model baccalaureate programs in nursing with
a strong focus on geriatric nursing. Awards are presented
to nursing programs that exhibit exceptional, substantive,
and innovative baccalaureate curriculum in this subject
area. Beyond innovation, programs must also demonstrate
relevance in the clinical environment and have the ability
to be replicated at schools of nursing across the country.
Read winning abstracts online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/Hartford.
4.
ELNEC REACHES OVER 16,000 NURSES IN ITS FIRST YEAR
The
End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) is having
a significant impact on nursing education across the U.S.,
according to new data that examined the project’s
preliminary outcomes. Data show that nurse educators who
attended the first two ELNEC training sessions shared
their new expertise with over 16,000 nursing students
and/or clinicians, which greatly magnifies the reach of
this project. Over the next few years, project leaders
estimate that ELNEC-trained educators will touch the lives
of six million patients and their families facing the
end of life. Funded by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, ELNEC is administered by AACN and the City
of Hope National Medical Center of Los Angeles. Read the
press release online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/2002nov13ELNEC.htm.
5.
HANDOUTS FROM THE FALL SEMIANNUAL MEETING POSTED ONLINE
Nearly
four hundred deans and associate deans converged on Washington
last month for AACN’s Fall Semiannual Meeting. The
October program focused on a number of recently released
national reports and hot topics in nursing education,
including presentations on the need for collaboration
between ADN and BSN programs, emerging practice issues,
communication tips for working with the media and strategies
to address the nursing shortage. Meeting handouts are
posted on the Web in the Members Only section along with
task force and committee reports. See http://www.aacn.nche.edu/MembersOnly/index.asp.
6.
REGISTER NOW FOR THE DOCTORAL CONFERENCE IN JANUARY
AACN’s
2003 Doctoral Education Conference will be held January
29–February 1, 2003 at Sundial Beach and Tennis Resort,
Sanibel Island, Florida. The theme “Seeking Clarity
in the Complexities of Doctoral Education” offers
various opportunities for deans, doctoral program directors,
and directors of research to address a variety of topics
including recommendations for the future of doctoral education,
federal funding targeted to doctoral preparation, and
the faculty shortage. Concurrent sessions will focus on
Web-based doctoral education; doctoral program characteristics,
progression markers, and admission requirements; and accelerated
models of BSN to PhD programs. For details, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences/confsche.htm.
7.
AACN ANNUAL SURVEY RESULTS
Please
look for the results of AACN’s 2002 Annual Survey
of Nursing Education Programs coming soon! The enrollment
and graduation report will be available in January 2003,
followed by the faculty salaries and deans' reports in
late February. Thank you to all schools that participated.
We appreciate your time in contributing to this important
national survey effort. If you did not participate but
would like to do so, please contact Dr. Linda Berlin (lberlin@aacn.nche.edu)
or Janis Stennett (jstennet@aacn.nche.edu)
to make arrangements.
8.
NEW OPPORTUNITY ALERTS POSTED ONLINE
Opportunity
Alerts are announcements of grants, fellowships, scholarships,
and other funding sources for nursing programs, students,
and researchers that are routinely updated on AACN's Web
site. Below is a sampling of new alerts. For more details,
see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/opps.htm.
**The
Johnson & Johnson Community Health Care Program supports
community-based health initiatives offering quality health
care services to medically under-served populations. Currently,
a $150,000 grant-funding opportunity is available for
nonprofit community health care organizations in New York;
New Jersey; Pennsylvania; San Angelo, Texas; San Francisco;
and Washington, DC. For details, visit: http://www.jhsph.edu/johnsonandjohnson
**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 allow participants to remain
in their current positions. Approximately 20 Executive
Nurse Fellows are selected each year. Each Fellow is awarded
a $15,000 leadership account to support self-selected
learning activities, independent study, and access to
an electronic communications network. Applications are
due January 31, 2003. See the Call for Applications at
http://www.rwjf.org.
**The
Institute for the Future of Aging Services is pleased
to announce two Calls for Proposals for the Better Jobs
Better Care Program supported by The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies. The $15.5
million program will provide grants to test new approaches
to providing a more stable and qualified long-term care
workforce and evaluate what works to reduce high vacancy
and turnover rates among frontline direct care staff.
For more information, see http://www.futureofaging.org/proposals.shtml.
**The
Health e-Technologies Initiative is a new $10 million
national program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
that supports research to evaluate the effectiveness of
eHealth applications for health behavior change and chronic
disease management. A Call for Proposals has been issued
with an application deadline of January 8, 2003. For complete
details, see http://www.rwjf.org/cfp/hetinitiative
or call (617) 732-9727.
9.
NURSING SHORTAGE WEBCAST AVAILABLE ON KAISERNETWORK.ORG
Kaisernetwork.org,
the health policy news and information Web site of the
Kaiser Family Foundation, recently Webcast an expert panel
discussion on “The Nursing Shortage: Today and Tomorrow.”
Sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform, panelists
included Edward O'Neil, director of the Center for the
Health Professions at University of California, San Francisco;
Kerry P. Nesseler, associate administrator of the Bureau
of Health Professions at HHS; Barbara Blakeney, president,
American Nurses Association; and Maureen White, chief
nurse executive, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health
System. To view the Webcast, see http://www.kaisernetwork.org/healthcast/alliance/17oct02.
10.
NINR FORMS EIGHT NEW CENTERS FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH
The
National Institute of Nursing Research has established
a five-year program that creates eight new centers to
address health disparities research. Each Center involves
a partnership between the schools of nursing of two or
three universities — those with established research
programs that focus on health disparities, and those that
are developing research programs in this area and have
a significant number of minority nursing students. The
centers will focus on influential factors that reduce
health disparities, such as ways to promote healthy behaviors;
reduce risks that contribute to chronic illnesses; stimulate
personal, family and community resources to help manage
disease; and develop ethnically and culturally sensitive
healthcare interventions. See which schools are involved
and read the press release at http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/nov2002/ninr-19.htm.
11.
STUDY LINKS PATIENT OUTCOMES TO NURSE STAFFING LEVELS
According to a study published in the October 23/30, 2002
issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association,
more nurses at the bedside could save thousands of patient
lives each year. University of Pennsylvania researchers
determined that patients who have common surgeries in
hospitals with high nurse-to-patient ratios have an up
to 31% increased chance of dying. Led by Linda Aiken,
PhD, RN, FAAN, the researchers found that every additional
patient in an average hospital nurse’s workload increased
the risk of death in surgical patients by 7%. Nurses in
the study also reported greater job dissatisfaction and
emotional exhaustion when they were responsible for more
patients than they can safely care for. Having too few
nurses may actually cost more because of the high costs
of replacing burnt-out nurses and higher costs of caring
for patients with poor outcomes. Funded by the National
Institute for Nursing Research, a summary of findings
is available at http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/news/detail.asp?t=2&id=23.
12.
REGISTER ONLINE FOR FIRST GRADUATE FACULTY ELNEC COURSE
With
funding provided by the National Cancer Institute, the
End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium will offer the
first training for faculty in graduate nursing programs
on June 19-21, 2003 in Pasadena, CA. Training is available
to full- or part-time graduate faculty with an interest
in end-of-life care and integrating end-of-life care knowledge
and skills within graduate degree nursing education. Applications
are due by January 15, 2003. For complete details, see
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ELNEC/GraduateELNEC.htm.
13.
AACN LETTER PUBLISHED IN NURSING ECONOMICS
Nursing
Economics printed a letter in the September-October 2002
issue from AACN Executive Director Polly Bednash in response
to a recent article on BSN program completion times. In
the May-June 2002 issue of the journal, an article titled
“Registered Nurse Pre-Licensure Education in California”
stated that in California, BSN programs, which typically
take four years to finish, required five to six years
to complete. Dr. Bednash challenged this finding based
on data collected from the state board of nursing which
showed that the overwhelming majority of programs could
be completed in four years. The authors conceded in a
rebuttal letter that the typical BSN completion time in
California was indeed four years, though they did restate
that some programs had waiting lists. See http://www.ajj.com/services/pblshng/nej.
14.
107TH CONGRESS ADJOURNS
The
107th Congress officially adjourned ‘sine die’
on Friday, November 22. During the brief lame duck session,
the Senate completed its homeland security bill and both
chambers cleared the compromise bill (H.R. 5005) for the
President’s signature creating a new Department of
Homeland Security. With only the Defense and Military
Construction bills signed into law, both the House and
Senate passed a continuing resolution (H.J.Res. 124) funding
the remaining 11 outstanding appropriations bills at FY
2002 levels until January 11. For nurse educators, this
means that Title VII and Title VIII programs are at level
funding, and there is no funding for the Nurse Reinvestment
Act programs. This 5th continuing resolution allows Congress
to break for the holidays, but they must return in early
January to complete this year's task.
15.
NATIONAL
HEALTH SERVICE CORPS FUNDS MASTER’S EDUCATION
In
FY 2002, the National Health Service Corps awarded a record
$89.9 million in scholarships and loan repayments to primary
health care professionals who work in frontier, rural
and inner-city areas that lack access to adequate care.
This funding supports 879 new and continuing loan repayment
awards and 405 new and continuing scholarship awards.
To be eligible, awardees agree to provide health care
services for a minimum of two to four years in areas of
the country with the greatest need for health care services.
The loan repayment program is available to primary health
care professionals, including nurse practitioners and
certified nurse midwives. Click to http://newsroom.hrsa.gov
for more information.
16.
NEW REPORTS RELEASED WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING EDUCATION
**On
November 4, the Institute of Medicine released a new report
titled "Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? Educating
Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century."
The report calls for nursing schools and schools of public
health to develop partnerships aimed at increasing effective
public health practice. For more information, see http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10542.html.
**On
November 7, HRSA released a new report, "Expert Panel
on Genetics and Nursing: Implications for Education and
Practice," that calls for expanded genetics education
and training for America's nurses and other health professionals.
The report found that fewer than 10 master’s and
doctoral programs exist to prepare nurses in genetics
and that improved patient care will require that faculty,
students and practitioners are educated in genetics. To
order a free copy, call 1-888-ASK-HRSA. See http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/NewsBriefs/2002/geneticpanel.htm.
**On
November 18, Last Acts, the nation's largest coalition
dedicated to improving care and caring near the end of
life, released the first-ever report card on end-of-life
care in each state and the District of Columbia. The report,
“Means to a Better End: A Report on Dying in America
Today,” examines the availability and use of quality
end-of-life care and calls for specific action steps to
strengthen care for dying Americans. Download the entire
108-page report at http://www.rwjf.org/newsEvents/means.jhtml.
17.
AJN PUBLISHED NEXT ARTICLE IN PALLIATIVE CARE SERIES
The
American Journal of Nursing (AJN), the official journal
of the American Nurses Association, continues its bimonthly
continuing education series on palliative nursing care
in November. The latest issue includes an article on “Managing
Psychological Conditions in Palliative Care” by Judith
A. Paice, PhD, RN, FAAN. See the article online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ELNEC/PalliativeCareAJN4.pdf.
18.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS AND GRANT-FUNDED INITIATIVES
Below
are new partnerships and initiatives launched by members,
corporate citizens, philanthropies, and government sponsors
that effectively increase student capacity, add new nursing
faculty, increase student diversity, address the nursing
shortage, and enhance the way education is delivered.
**Emory
University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing received
a $5 million endowment from the Helene Fuld Health Trust
to provide scholarships to second-degree students entering
the school’s newly launched direct-entry master’s
program. Funds will be distributed over a five-year period
beginning this September. For more details, see http://www.emoryhealthcare.org.
**Jacksonville
University has formed a partnership with Flagler Hospital
in St. Augustine, FL, to address the state's critical
shortage of nurses. The School of Nursing began offering
its BSN-to-MSN program at the hospital this semester and
will begin an RN-to-BSN program in January. The program
is open to Flagler nurses as well as other area nurses,
including those at Putnam Community Medical Center in
Palatka, FL. For more information, go to
http://www.ju.edu/news/press/Nov02/112002.htm.
**Michigan
Governor John Engler signed legislation creating the Michigan
Nursing Scholarship Program and allocating $4 million
to the program for 2003. Scholarships will be available
to students in RN and LPN programs in exchange for a work
commitment in a Michigan health care facility. Students
may apply for up to $4,000 in scholarship money for a
maximum of four years.
**The
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and its
American Education Services division have established
a $13.3 million nursing loan forgiveness program in partnership
with hospitals and other employers. The program is designed
to increase enrollment in the state's undergraduate and
graduate nursing programs and the number of nurses practicing
in the state. Participants must graduate from an approved
nursing education program and work after graduation as
a direct care nurse or nurse educator for a minimum of
one year. See http://www.pheaa.org/News_Media/index.shtml.
19.
MEMBER NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND AWARDS
**Barbara
H. Munro, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean and professor, Boston College
William F. Connell School of Nursing, has been elected
to serve as a member of the Corporation of the Nurses’
Educational Funds, Inc. The corporation provides scholarships
to nursing students.
**The
Midwest Nursing Research Society, a professional organization
of more than 1,200 nurse researchers and academicians,
has completed revisions on its landmark work, “Guidelines
for Scientific Integrity.” First published in 1996,
the guidelines were developed to promote the highest standards
in science and career development. This work helps nurse
researchers and others protect multidisciplinary research
efforts, promote satisfying mentoring opportunities, and
cope with exploding technology. To order the new edition,
which will be available in January 2003, call (720) 898-4831
or e-mail mnrs@resourcenter.com.
**The
Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services, a federal
agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, has created a Web resource for those seeking
information on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (HIPAA). This resource may be accessed at
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa.
20.
AACN OUTREACH AND ADVOCACY UPDATE
**
On October 1, AACN staff attended a briefing hosted by
the Academy Health and Friends of AHRQ titled “Saving
Health Care Dollars: AHRQ Research at Work.” Click
here for information about the impact that AHRQ has on
people’s lives: http://www.chsr.org/friends.htm.
**On
October 9, AACN staff participated in a meeting with Dr.
Patricia A. Grady, Director of the National Institute
for Nursing Research (NINR). Dr. Grady discussed the latest
research and findings from NINR. The meeting was organized
by the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research. Click for information
about the work of NINR, http://www.nih.gov/ninr,
or for information about the Ad Hoc group, http://www.aamc.org/research/adhocgp.
**On
October 17, AACN staff participated in a Capitol Hill
briefing on the nursing shortage that was sponsored by
the Alliance for Health Reform. The briefing was titled
“The Nursing Shortage Today and Tomorrow: Why we
have a problem and how we might solve it.” For transcripts
of the briefing, see http://www.allhealth.org/event_101702.asp.
**On October 18, AACN staff attended a meeting with Dr.
Stephen E. Straus, the Director of the National Center
for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Dr.
Straus discussed the mission, research, and collaboration
efforts of NCCAM. See http://nccam.nih.gov.
**On
October 23, AACN Executive Director Polly Bednash participated
in a panel presentation on diversity in nursing as part
of Kaiser Permanente’s annual conference held in
Oakland, California. Over 500 nurse executives and administrators
attended this discussion that underscored the need to
diversify the nursing workforce.
**On
October 29, AACN President Kathleen Ann Long appeared
on a live broadcast on the Veterans Affairs internal television
network on a program that focused on shared faculty models.
VA program director Charlotte Beason, EdD, RN, invited
Dr. Long to talk about how nursing colleges and practice
setting partners can collaborate to bridge the faculty
shortage gap.
**On November 2-3, AACN attended the annual convention
of the National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing
in Washington, D.C. Staff shared information about RN-to-BSN
and RN-to-MSN programs as well as AACN’s fact sheets
and position statements related to articulation.
**On
November 15, AACN Board Member Eileen Breslin, PhD, RN,
represented the association at a meeting of the Family
Violence Prevention Fund in Boston. Dr. Breslin participated
on a panel with a representative from the AMA Taskforce
on Family Violence and a representative from a School
of Public Health. To read AACN’s position on “Violence
as a Public Health Problem,” see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/positions/violence.htm.
**Sigma
Theta Tau’s latest email newsletter, Excellence in
Nursing Education and Research, includes an article on
the nursing faculty shortage that features AACN data.
Read the newsletter online at http://www.nursingsociety.org/publications/EXCEL_NE4Q02.html.
