1.
NEW AACN SURVEY DATA SHOW ENROLLMENT INCREASE IN 2004
Preliminary data from AACN’s annual
survey shows that enrollment in entry-level baccalaureate programs
in nursing increased by 10.6 percent in 2004 over the previous
year. Though this increase is welcome, nursing colleges and universities
denied 26,340 qualified applications in 2004 due primarily to
a shortage of nurse educators. With the government projecting
a shortfall of 800,000 nurses by the year 2020, AACN is concerned
that too few nurses are entering the workforce given the growing
demand for nursing care. Read more online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/enrl04.htm.
2.
CNL IMPLEMENTATION TASK FORCE ISSUES
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) Pilot Project is
rapidly moving forward with 80 academic-practice partnerships
working to develop master's-level curriculum and transform delivery
units to accommodate this new role. The CNL Implementation Task
Force is planning five regional meetings from January-April 2005
to provide partners with updated information regarding the curriculum
framework and practice models. Any AACN member schools interested
in joining the CNL initiative are invited to submit an RFP indicating
commitment from both the academic and practice partners. More
than one education and one practice institution may form a partnership.
The RFP is available online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/cnl/pdf/rfp2.pdf
and must be completed by January 12, 2005. For more details on
the regional meetings, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/cnl/index.htm.
3.AACN
PREPARES FOR NEW CONGRESS, NEW BUDGET YEAR
The 109th Congress convenes on January 4, 2005.
Along with many new faces within Congress and the Administration,
the political and fiscal landscape is changing as well. AACN participates
in multiple health care and research coalitions that advocate
for federal appropriations, including the Ad Hoc Group, the Coalition
for Health Funding, and the Health Professions and Nursing Education
Coalition. These groups have begun the process of establishing
their funding requests for FY 2006. To this end, AACN is gathering
information and political insights to help arrive at an appropriate
request for various health programs.
AACN staff has met with congressional nursing champions,
appropriators, and administration officials to ascertain their
perspectives; the outlook for 2006 is not rosy. Federal spending
is expected to be tightly controlled with few increases and a
great number of cuts. While nursing has fared well in the past,
AACN and others will work aggressively to increase funding levels.
On November 29, AACN, the American Nurses Association (ANA), and
a number of other nursing organization came together to achieve
consensus on a funding request for Nursing Workforce Development
(Title VIII, Public Health Service Act) programs. The nursing
community will request $210 million for these programs for FY
2006, a $59 million increase over the $150.6 million received
in FY 2005. For additional information, please visit the following
Web sites: the Ad Hoc Group http://www.aamc.org/research/adhocgp/exec.htm,
the Coalition for Health Funding, http://www.aamc.org/advocacy/healthfunding/start.htm,
and the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition, http://www.aamc.org/advocacy/hpnec.
4.
NACNEP ADDRESSES CNL INITIATIVE AND DNP POSITION STATEMENT
At the recent National Advisory Council on Nurse
Education and Practice (NACNEP) meeting, the Clinical Nurse Leader
initiative and the new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) position
statement were discussed. NACNEP advises the U.S. Secretary of
Health and Human Services on policy issues related to nurse workforce
supply, education, and practice improvement through the federal
Division of Nursing. AACN Executive Director, Dr. Polly Bednash,
attended the meeting and shared the context for these new and
evolving efforts. For more information on NACNEP, visit http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/nacnep.htm.
5.
CCNE SIGNS MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENT WITH CASN
Last month, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing
Education (CCNE) signed a mutual recognition agreement on accreditation
with the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN). CCNE
and CASN agreed to recognize each other’s commitment to excellence
and, although the forms of accreditation are not interchangeable,
each party recognizes the credibility of the other. Both organizations
will work closely together to share information related to substantial
changes in accreditation standards and to address issues of mutual
concern as they arise.
6.
NEW RESOURCES FROM THE HEALTHY PEOPLE CURRICULUM TASK FORCE
The Healthy People Curriculum Task Force, convened
by the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine and the
Association of Academic Health Centers, has developed the Clinical
Prevention and Population Health Curriculum Framework. This framework
provides a comprehensive curriculum agenda for integrating clinical
prevention and population health into health professions education.
The task force has worked to accomplish the Healthy People 2010
goal of increasing health promotion and disease prevention content
in health professions programs. Dr. Janet Allan, dean from the
University of Maryland School of Nursing, and Dr. Joan Stanley,
AACN’s director of education policy, represent AACN on the
task force. The framework and related articles from the December
2004 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine are
found online at http://www.atpm.org.
7.
CAMPUSRN-AACN SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS SELECTED
AACN is pleased to announce the latest recipients
of funding through the CampusRN-AACN Scholarship Fund: Liwliwa
Villagomeza, a BSN to PhD student enrolled at the University of
South Florida, and Christopher Wayne Woods, an accelerated BSN
student at Duke University. Both winners received $2,500 in scholarship
monies through this program that supports both baccalaureate and
graduate nursing students. For more information about the scholarship
fund, see http://aacn.campusrn.com/scholarships/scholarship_rn.asp.
Read about the winners at http://aacn.campusrn.com/scholarships/scholarship_winner.asp.
8.
AACN COSPONSORS SPRING BREAK INTO YOUR CAREER EVENT
AACN, CampusRN.com, and the Association of
Schools of Allied Health Professions will host the first ever
“Spring Break Into Your Career” event on March 12-14,
2005 in Orlando, Florida at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.
Designed with the new graduate in mind, this event will feature
educational sessions to help students transition into professional
practice, an NCLEX review mini-course, and a career fair featuring
health care employers from across the country. Registration fee
is $99. For more details including information on group discount
rates, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/pdf/SBIYCstudents.pdf.
9.
STILL TIME TO REGISTER FOR 2005 DOCTORAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE
The 2005 Doctoral Education Conference will be
held January 19-22 at the renowned Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego,
CA. The theme is "Bold Directions: Innovative Pathways to
Doctoral Education in Nursing." See detailed program information
at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences/05DoctoralConf.htm.
In order to receive the reduced room rate, hotel reservations
must be made by December 16. The last day for early conference
registration is December 30.
10.MASTER'S
EDUCATION CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY
The 2005 Master's Education Conference will be
held February 17-19, 2005 at the US Grant Hotel in San Diego,
California, with the theme "On the Horizon in Master's Education:
Practice, Research, and Teaching". Two free pre-conferences
highlight the importance of geriatrics in the advanced practice
curriculum and application of the new professional nursing standards
for accreditation of master's programs. Conference topics include
innovative initiatives that will have direct impact on the future
of master's education; creative approaches to capstone projects
that demonstrate academic excellence and provide a link to practice;
and strategies to improve curriculum and teaching. Concurrent
sessions will allow participants to select two topics of particular
interest to pursue in smaller groups with expert speakers. Poster
and abstract presentations will showcase successful approaches
by graduate programs in nursing. Deans, program directors, and
faculty are encouraged to join colleagues in this beautiful setting
to address issues unique to master's education in nursing. For
complete information, see
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences/05mastersconference.htm.
11.
COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAM COMPLETION REPORT RELEASED
Released on November 28, the Community College
Survey of Student Engagement found that only 25% of degree-seeking
students in community colleges complete an associate degree program
within six years. Further, though 53% of community college students
said transferring to a four-year institution was their primary
goal, only 25% of these students actually do so. Though these
data speak to all types of community college programs, the findings
do have serious implications for nursing and efforts to create
a better educated nursing workforce. To access the complete report,
see http://www.ccsse.org.
12.
NURSE RESEARCHER AWARDED HHS POLICY FELLOWSHIP
Nominated by AACN, Dr. Christine Esperat, PhD,
RN, APRN, BC, FAAN, Associate Dean for Research and Practice and
Professor at the Texas Tech University School of Nursing, was
selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship Program. As one
of the approximately 30 fellows in the 2005 class, Dr. Esperat
will experience an intensive 6-month curriculum on the development
of primary health care policy, programs, and legislation. For
more information on this innovative HRSA program, please visit
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/interdisciplinary/PHCPF/default.htm.
13.
ISRAELI COUNCIL FOR HIGHER
EDUCATION VISITS WITH CCNE
Representatives from the Israeli Council for Higher
Education (ICHE) met with CCNE in November to learn about institutional
and specialized/professional accreditation in the U.S. Since ICHE
plans to base its programmatic assessment on a peer review process
that includes a self-study and an on-site evaluation, CCNE staff
were able to describe the foundation and the formation of the
CCNE evaluation process, as well as its value in the continuous
improvement process. The ICHE staff shared that the Israeli government
is currently changing its system of nursing education from a three-year
diploma program to a four-year baccalaureate degree. CCNE frequently
meets with representatives of nursing programs from abroad who
are interested in nursing accreditation. Recently, individuals
from countries of the former USSR, the Middle East, and South
and Central America have been in the office to learn about the
CCNE accreditation process.
14.
ACUTE CARE NP COMPETENCIES RELEASED
Convened by the National Organization of
Nurse Practitioner Faculties, the National Panel for Acute Care
Nurse Practitioner Competencies has completed the entry-level
competencies for the acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP). Through
a process of consensus building and external validation, this
multi-organizational national panel developed the ACNP competencies
that have been endorsed, to date, by 15 national organizations.
The process is the same as that used for the development of the
primary care NP competencies and the competencies for the psychiatric-mental
health NP. The ACNP, as well as all other specialty NP competencies,
build on the domains and core competencies for all nurse practitioners.
Download the competencies from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/pdf/ACNPcompsfinal2004.pdf.
15.
AHRQ ANNOUNCES REDESIGNED NURSING WEB PAGE
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ) has redesigned its nursing Web page to make it easier for
users to access information. Historically, AHRQ has provided substantial
funding to nurse researchers for grants, cooperative agreements,
and dissertation support in a variety of areas. The AHRQ Web site
features information on a variety of pre-doctoral and postdoctoral
educational and career development opportunities for nurses, including
summer internships and visiting scholar programs. For complete
details, see http://www.ahrq.gov/about/nursing.
16.NURSES
TOP GALLUP HONESTY AND ETHICS POLL
Nurses once again got top marks when it comes to
honesty and ethics according to Gallup's annual U.S. survey of
professions released on December 7, 2004. Nurses were given a
"very high" or "high rating" by 79 percent
of those surveyed nationwide in telephone interviews with 1,015
adults, aged 18 or older. Pharmacists (3) and physicians (5) also
made the list. For more details, see http://www.gallup.com.
17.
APPLY NOW FOR THE MERCK FELLOWSHIP IN HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENT
The George W. Merck Fellowship in Health Care Improvement
Program was created to prepare clinical leaders with the skills
to promote the spread of improvement nationally and build organizational
capability to drive quality improvement to dramatically higher
levels of performance. The fellowship provides a stipend of $50,000
a year for senior fellows and $30,000 a year for junior fellows.
The application deadline is January 7, 2005. For questions about
the program and application, contact merckfellows@ihi.org.
18.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS AND GRANT-FUNDED INITIATIVES
In this section, AACN spotlights 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.
**The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, in collaboration
with the Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Nursing, has developed
two innovative academies for practicing nurses. The Nurse Educator
Academy addresses the crushing need for nursing faculty to educate
the nurses of tomorrow and the growing demand for staff to educate
today’s practicing nurses. The Patient Safety Academy meets
the urgent need to prepare nurses to lead interdisciplinary initiatives
that will reduce medical errors and increase patient safety. Both
week-long programs offer learning experiences that reach beyond
a traditional classroom education. See http://www.son.jhmi.edu/newsandmedia/newsdetail.asp?ID=223.
**The University of Maryland School of Nursing
has received $248,000 in federal funding to create the Institute
for Nurse Educators. The Institute will prepare nurses with the
essential knowledge and skills to assume teaching roles in Maryland
and the surrounding region. Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Reps. Elijah
Cummings and Steny Hoyer pursued funding for this project to help
address the critical shortage of nurse faculty.
**The Nursing Division at Villa Julie College (MD) has received
federal funding to expand the school's distance learning program.
The money will be used to fund technology, faculty and staff engaged
in the school’s RN to BS program. Dr. Judith Feustle, director
of the college’s nursing division, is grateful to Sen. Barbara
Mikulski, Rep. Benjamin Cardin and the Maryland congressional
delegation for supporting Villa Julie's efforts to address the
severe nursing shortage in Maryland. For more details, see http://www.vjc.edu/newsandevents/#5404.
19.
MEMBER NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND AWARDS
**Case Western Reserve University’s Frances
Payne Bolton School of Nursing has received two grants worth nearly
$1.4 million to help educate nurses to care for the most vulnerable
and critically ill patients. One grant will help establish an
RN Residency Program at the University Hospitals Health Systems
of Cleveland to improve the recruitment and retention of critical
care nurses. The second award will help prepare advanced practice
nurses to use advanced assessment and intervention skills in areas
that lack the facilities normally depended on to treat critically
ill or injured patients. See http://www.case.edu/news/2004/11-04/criticalcare_nursing.htm.
**In an article appearing in the November/December
2004 issue of Health Affairs, Dr. Peter Buerhaus, senior associate
dean for research at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing,
found that the RN workforce grew by nearly 185,000 hospital RNs
from 2001-2003. Dr. Buerhaus reported that more young nurses and
men are entering the workforce “probably responding to higher
wages and opportunities in nursing driven by publicity about the
nursing shortage.” Even with the increase, the author calls
the nursing shortage far from over and suggests that “Congress
should fund a study to investigate the prevalence and severity
of capacity constraints [in nursing schools] and determine the
best ways to quickly resolve them.” See
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/hlthaff.w4.526.
20.
AACN OUTREACH AND ADVOCACY UPDATE
**AACN Government Affairs staff met with 19 nursing
students from the University of Maryland on December 8, 2004 at
AACN headquarters. Students learned about the appropriations process
and how the federal government funds nursing education and research.
If you would like to bring your students to Washington to learn
more about public health policy, contact Gene Throwe at 202-463-6930,
ext. 237 or gthrowe@aacn.nche.edu.
**On December 7, AACN staff attended the National
Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) briefing on the Nurse
Licensure Compact. Presenters reviewed the origins of multi-state
recognition, the administration of the compact, and the future
prospective for states. NCSBN anticipates that there will be 33
states on board by the close of 2005. For more information on
the Nurse Licensure Compact, logon to http://www.ncsbn.org/nlc/index.asp.
**On December 6, the Coalition for Health Funding
hosted a panel presentation on Evidence-based Clinical and Public
Health Preventive Services. Dr. Stephen Woolf discussed the U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force Initiative; Dr. Randy Elder from
the CDC presented on challenges and opportunities in evidence-based
public health; and Dr. Kevin Hennessey from SAMHSA highlighted
difficulties in integrating evidence-based research into mental
health service delivery. For additional information, visit the
Coalition for Health Funding's homepage at http://www.aamc.org/advocacy/healthfunding/start.htm.
**On December 1, the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Research! America hosted a briefing
entitled, “Impact of the 2004 Election on Science and Technology.”
Former House Labor-HHS Appropriations Chairman John Porter was
among the speakers. The discussion centered on the realization
that the Bush Administration places a different emphasis on science
and technology priorities; furthermore, the atmosphere is very
politically charged and not favorable for “earmarks”
or special projects, upon which science and technology have become
increasingly dependent. For more information, visit the http://www.aaas.org
and http://www.researchamerica.org.
21.
OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES TO CONSIDER
**The American Nurses Association, in coordination
with the Tampa VHA Patient Safety Center, is now accepting submissions
to participate in a pilot project to evaluate a safe patient handling
curriculum module. With grant funding from the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, this curriculum module will
provide a select number of nursing schools a way to teach nursing
students how to lift, transfer, and reposition patients using
mechanical lifts rather than using manual techniques. Deadline
to apply is December 31, 2004. See http://www.nursingworld.org/handlewithcare/niosh.htm.
**The Public Health Emergency Response Guide for
State, Local, and Tribal Public Health Directors has been finalized
and can now be accessed on the CDC Emergency Preparedness and
Response Web site at http://www.bt.cdc.gov.
A pocket-sized field version of the guide will be available to
state, local, and tribal public health departments in late January
2005.
**In November, results from the National Survey
on Consumers' Experiences With Patient Safety and Quality Information
were released and found that 40% of Americans think the quality
of health care has worsened in the last five years. Consumers
reported that the most important issues affecting medical error
rates are workload, stress or fatigue among health professionals;
too little time spent with patients; and too few nurses. This
survey was sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, AHRQ and
the Harvard School of Public Health. See http://cme.kff.org/Key=4950.FsP.K.D.Cwy7v3.
**Coming June 26-28, 2005 to Boston, AcademyHealth's
Annual Research Meeting is the premier forum for health services
researchers. Join more than 2,000 participants to learn about
cutting-edge research results, debate timely policy issues, develop
new skills and methodologies, and network with colleagues. For
more meeting information, visit http://www.academyhealth.org/arm.
