March
2002 News Watch
1. Award
Program Recognizes Innovation in Gerontologic Nursing
Curriculum
2. Join Us for AACN's Annual Meeting and
Development Officers Meeting
3. 2001 Salary Reports for Deans and Nursing
Faculty Now Available
4. Senate Committee on Aging Addresses Need
for Geriatric Education
5. Register for Faculty Practice Conference
and Business Officers Meeting
6. Update on 2002 Secretary's Award for Innovation
in Health Promotion
7. VHA Now Accepting Applications for Ethics
Internships
8. New Funding Opportunities Posted on the
Web
9. ELNEC Sponsors Free Training for Continuing
Education Providers
10. Feedback Needed for Issue Bulletin on
Second Degree Students
11. Bioterrorism Bills Ready for House-Senate
Conference
12. Record Numbers Attend the Master's and
Doctoral Education Conferences
13. Put Your Expertise to Work on an AACN
Committee or Task Force
14. NurseDaily.com Links Students with Hospital
Vacancies Nationwide
15. Division of Nursing Releases National
Sample Survey Report
16. AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
1.
Award Program Recognizes Innovation in Gerontologic Nursing
Curriculum
AACN
and The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing announce
the fourth annual award competition for Exceptional
Baccalaureate Curriculum in Gerontologic Nursing.
The awards recognize baccalaureate nursing programs that
exhibit an exceptional, substantive, and innovative curriculum
in gerontologic nursing education. Award-winning curricula
will be nationally promoted and showcased. In addition,
first and second place recipients will receive a monetary
award of $1,000 and $500, respectively. Applications were
mailed last month to member deans and may also be downloaded
from the Web by clicking on the link above. Applications
must be postmarked by May 1, 2002. Please direct any questions
to Joan Stanley at jstanley@aacn.nche.edu
or 202-463-6930, ext. 254.
2.
Join Us for AACN's Annual Meeting and Development Officers
Meeting
Make
plans to join us next week in Washington, DC for AACN's
Annual Meeting on March 23-26, 2002 at the Washington Monarch
Hotel. Programmed around the theme "Preparedness for
Survival," sessions will focus on issues impacting
nursing education today and the leadership role of the dean.
Click here
for details.
The
Development Officers of Nursing Schools will hold their
annual meeting on March 22-23, 2002, in Washington, DC as
well. Concurrent sessions will focus on survey strategies
for development activities, growing a volunteer board, women
as donors, finding value in events, and stewardship as cultivation.
For details click
here or contact Jennifer Ahearn at jahearn@aacn.nche.edu.
3.
2001 Salary Reports for Deans and Nursing Faculty Now Available
AACN's
Institutional Data Service (IDS) is pleased to announce
that the following data reports are now available: 2001-2002
Salaries of Instructional and Administrative Faculty in
Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing and 2001-2002
Salaries of Deans in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs
in Nursing. IDS would like to thank the 542 schools
who supplied data for the faculty report, and the 504 schools
that contributed to the deans' report. All participating
schools were sent copies of the reports. To order additional
copies, visit AACN's Publication
Catalog.
Other
publications now available include the Commission
on Collegiate Nursing Education's (CCNE) 2001 Annual Report
which may be downloaded from the Web and an updated Nursing
Shortage Fact Sheet that may also be viewed online.
4.
Senate Committee on Aging Addresses Need for Geriatric Education
On February
27, 2002, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing
to focus attention on the need for training in geriatric
care for all health professions. The hearing was chaired
by Sen. John Breaux (D-LA), who discussed the crisis and
shortage of geriatric-trained health professionals. Testimony
was provided by health care providers, patients, and health
care organizations. Nursing was well-represented by Claudia
Beverly, PhD, RN, FAAN, Associate Director of the Donald
W. Reynolds Center on Aging at the University of Arkansas
for Medical Sciences. In her statement Dr. Beverly focused
on the nursing shortage and the collaborative practice model
of care at the Reynolds Center and its positive effect on
patient outcomes. For more information on the Alliance for
Aging Research, the organization that spearheaded this event,
or for a copy of their compelling report "Medical Never-Never
Land: 10 Reasons Why America's Not Ready for the Coming
Age Boom," see http://www.agingresearch.org.
5.
Register for Faculty Practice Conference and Business Officers
Meeting
AACN's
Faculty Practice
Conference will be held April 18-20, 2002 at the
Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago. A new preconference is
scheduled for Thursday, April 18 with the theme Business
Principles for Faculty Practice in Academic Nursing Centers.
The preconference offers practical tips and techniques for
establishing a successful academic nursing center. Beginning
Thursday evening, the conference, Confronting Controversies
in Faculty Practice, will offer plenary, poster, and
abstract sessions that address selected controversial questions.
Spirited audience participation will be encouraged.
The
2002 Business Officers
of Nursing Schools (BONUS) Meeting will be held
May 1-3, 2002 at the Sundial Beach and Tennis Resort on
Sanibel Island, Florida. BONUS is dedicated to facilitating
networking among those who work in the administration of
nursing education and to providing education in areas of
business, technology, and financial and administrative management
of nursing schools. Assistants to the dean, fiscal managers,
business officers, and any personnel involved in the operational
management of a school of nursing will benefit from attending
this conference.
6.
Update on 2002 Secretary's Award for Innovation in Health
Promotion
The
2002 Secretary's Award for Innovations in Health Promotion
competition is well underway. Representatives from the Federation
of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions are
reviewing applications and will select up to ten single
and interdisciplinary awards. Papers that have advanced
to this phase are from the following disciplines: allied
health, dentistry, medical colleges, nursing, optometry,
pharmacy, podiatry, public health and veterinary medicine.
The next and final phase of the review process will involve
senior level U.S. Department of Health and Human Service
(HHS) staff who will select the first, second, and third-prize
winners. The HHS Secretary will present the awards at a
special ceremony in June 2002.
7.
VHA Now Accepting Applications for Ethics Internships
The
National Center for Ethics of the Veterans Health Administration
(VHA) is accepting applications for ethics internships.
Interns will work in collaboration with Center staff at
one of four sites: Washington, DC; New York, NY; White River
Junction, VT; and Seattle, WA. This internship program provides
the opportunity for graduate students and college graduates
to gain on-the-job experience in applied health care ethics.
Internships generally last 10 weeks with a stipend of up
to $2,400 for each full-time intern.
Click here for more information.
8.
New Funding Opportunities Posted on the Web
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 from the CDC and AHRQ.
9.
ELNEC Sponsors Free Training for Continuing Education Providers
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. To date,
over 900 nurse educators have been trained in the ELNEC
curriculum, and are implementing ELNEC educational programs
across the country. The second course designed specifically
for continuing education/staff development educators will
be held June 20-22, 2002 in Chapel Hill, NC. Participants
will receive extensive materials, two meals a day during
the course, and a $100 stipend to help defray travel and
lodging costs. Application deadline is April 26, 2002. Applications
will be accepted after this date if space is available.
10.
Feedback Needed for Issue Bulletin on Second Degree Students
AACN
is currently developing a new Issue Bulletin that explores
techniques for "Recruiting and Retaining Second Degree
Students in Nursing Programs." This bulletin will address
what programs exist for non-nursing graduates looking to
enter the field, what marketing strategies are most effective
at reaching this audience, what types of programs are these
students attracted to, and how second degree students are
performing in nursing classes. Schools wishing to share
their success stories, comments, enrollment data, and/or
answers to the questions above are encouraged to forward
information to rrossete@aacn.nche.edu
by March 15, 2002. The Issue Bulletin will be disseminated
to policy makers, the national press, nursing schools, and
leaders within the nursing community.
11.
Bioterrorism Bills Ready for House-Senate Conference
In early
March 2002, conferees were identified by the leadership
of the House of Representatives, signaling that the bioterrorism
bills are now moving forward. Legislators were selected
from the Agriculture and Judiciary Committees in addition
to the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. The Senate
selected their conferees from the Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee in December 2001. Preliminary discussions
are focusing on the funding and structure of the legislation.
Passing an authorizing bill addressing bioterrorism preparedness
is a priority of the Bush Administration. A side-by-side
comparison of the bills is available online. (Requires
Adobe Acrobat to download.)
In other
news related to bioterrorism preparedness, HHS Secretary
Tommy G. Thompson announced on January 31, 2002 that more
than $200 million of the roughly $1 billion appropriated
by Congress in FY 2002 will be en route to states in support
of efforts to strengthen their public health infrastructures
and response to bioterrorism attacks. See the HHS fact sheet
on bioterror funding at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2002pres/20020125.html.
12.
Record Numbers Attend AACN Master's and Doctoral Education
Conferences
AACN
is pleased to report record-setting attendance figures for
both the Doctoral and Master's Education Conferences held
earlier this year. In late January, AACN hosted the Doctoral
Education Conference at Sanibel Island, Florida for 230
nurse educators. Supporting the theme, "Managing for
Today: Planning for Tomorrow," sessions focused on
the newly revised "Indicators of Quality in Research-Focused
Doctoral Programs in Nursing" and included a discussion
of grant writing techniques for the Agency on Healthcare
Research and Quality. The Master's Education Conference
held February 21-23, 2002 at Amelia Island Resort, Florida
attracted a record-setting 260 educators. The theme, "Contrasts
and Decision Points: Innovative Models for Master's Education"
was reflected in plenary and poster sessions. Details on
upcoming AACN Conferences
are available on the Web.
13.
Put Your Expertise to Work on an AACN Committee or Task
Force
Capitalize
on your association with AACN by completing the Membership
Expertise Survey today. At this time, approximately twenty
percent of member deans serve in some capacity on either
the Board of Directors, one of our committees, or a task
force. Committee participation is a valuable way to become
involved at a deeper level within the association, and to
operate in your particular area of expertise. AACN encourages
all members to complete the brief survey found at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/MembersOnly/index.asp.
Please consider playing a more active role in AACN. If you
have any questions or have misplaced the school code needed
to complete the survey, contact Jamie Martin at jmartin@aacn.nche.edu.
14.
NurseDaily.Com Links Students with Hospital Vacancies Nationwide
Launching
April 1, 2002, NurseDaily.com
is a new service that connects nursing colleges and graduating
seniors with vacant nursing positions at hospitals nationwide.
This service allows students to create a resume online that
may be used to apply for multiple positions at hospitals
in urban, suburban, and rural settings. This service is
free to students and nursing schools. To find out more about
how your school can take advantage of this new Web-based
service, contact George May, president of NurseDaily.com,
at llibg@lvcm.com or
702-515-7032.
15.
Division of Nursing Releases National Sample Survey Report
The
federal Division of Nursing within the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services released the "The Registered
Nurse Population: Findings from the National Sample Survey
of Registered Nurses" last month. Conducted in 2000,
the survey contains the nation's most comprehensive source
of statistics on registered nurses currently licensed to
practice in the United States. Data featured in the report
include the number of registered nurses; their education
background and specialty areas; their employment status,
including type of employment setting, position level, and
salaries; their geographic distribution; and their personal
characteristics including gender, racial/ethnic background,
age, and family status. The report is available online at
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/rnsurvey.
16.
AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
**Janet
D. Allan, PhD, RN, CS, FAAN, dean of the School of Nursing
at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San
Antonio, joined with HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson to
affirm the value of mammography for detecting breast cancer
at a press conference held in Washington, D.C. on February
21, 2002. Dr. Allan was speaking in her capacity as the
Vice Chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
**AACN
and member schools will exhibit at the American Association
for Higher Education's national conference on March 16-19,
2002 in Chicago. Special thanks go to Benedictine University,
Concordia University-West Suburban College of Nursing, and
Northern Illinois University for staffing the booth and
promoting nursing education.
**AACN
is pleased to be a sponsor of the 50th Anniversary Birthday
Cake featured at the National Student Nurses' Association
(NSNA) Annual Convention in Philadelphia on April 3-7, 2002.
For details on NSNA's golden anniversary events, see http://www.nsna.org/meetings/index.html.
**On
February 5, 2002, AACN Government Affairs staff attended
an awards ceremony sponsored by the Ad Hoc Group for Medical
Research Funding that honored Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and
Arlen Specter (R-PA), champions of biomedical research and
the NIH.
**On
February 7, 2002, AACN staff attended the 14th Annual National
Black Nurses Day on Capitol Hill. The theme of the event
was "Keeping America Healthy: Finding Solutions for
the Nursing Shortage." Rep. Donna Christian-Christensen
(D-VI) was the keynote speaker.
**On
February 8, 2002, AACN staff attended the Health Professions
and Nursing Education Coalition press briefing on the "Impact
of the President's Proposed FY 2003 Budget on Title VII
and VIII Health Professions Programs." Speakers highlighted
the impact that health professions funding has had on their
education and career choice to serve underserved populations.
