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December
2007 News Watch
1. AACN Releases Preliminary Data from the 2007 Annual Survey
2. Slate Announced for the 2008 AACN Board Election
3. CNL® Partnership Conference Planned for January 17-18, 2008
4. The Archstone Foundation Awards New Funding to the ELNEC Project
5. Nominations Sought for the 2008 Corporate Citizens Award
6. Join Us for the Doctoral and Faculty Development Conferences
7. Input Needed on the Baccalaureate Essentials at Regional Meetings
8. AACN Welcomes New Government Affairs Director
9. RWJF and AARP Launch New Center to Champion Nursing in America
10. NNEPI Offers Online Course on Responding to Disasters
11. Apply Now for a Gerontology-Focused Faculty Development Institute
12. Graduate ELNEC Course Planned for February 2008
13. Plan Now for the Nursing Advancement Professionals Conference
14. Scholars Program Seeks Applications from Graduate Nursing Students
15. Deadline Fast Approaching for NP Healthcare Foundation Scholarships
16. New Partnerships and Grant-Funded Initiatives
17. Member News, Announcements and Awards
18. AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
19. Opportunities and Resources to Consider
1. AACN RELEASES PRELIMINARY DATA FROM THE 2007 ANNUAL SURVEY
On December 3, AACN released preliminary data from our 2007 annual survey which showed that enrollment in entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs increased by 4.98 percent from 2006 to 2007. Though this marks the seventh consecutive year of enrollment growth, the rate at which nursing schools have been able to increase student capacity has declined sharply since 2003 when enrollment was up by 16.6 percent. While this increase represents a positive trend, AACN is concerned that more than 30,000 qualified applicants were turned away from baccalaureate nursing programs last year due primarily to an intensifying shortage of nurse faculty. For more details, read the press release online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/2007/enrl.htm.
2. SLATE ANNOUNCED FOR 2008 AACN BOARD ELECTIONS
Online balloting for AACN’s 2008 Election to fill seats on the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee will begin in early January. Deans/Directors of AACN member institutions are encouraged to cast votes once the balloting begins. The slate of candidates vying for open seats include:
President-Elect: Kathleen Potempa, University of Michigan, and Pamela Watson, University of Texas Medical Branch
Secretary: Jane Kirschling, University of Kentucky, and Heidi Taylor, West Texas A& M University
Board Member-at-Large: Christine Alichnie, Bloomsburg University; Tim Gaspar, Winona State University; Alexia Green, Texas Tech University Health Sciences University; Martha Hill, Johns Hopkins University; Carolina Huerta, University of Texas Pan American; Juliann Sebastian, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Nominating Committee: Melanie Dreher, Rush University Medical Center; Caroline Harvey, East Texas Baptist University; Patricia Kraft, Carson Newman College; Carolyn Yucha, University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Complete details on how to cast your votes will be sent to AACN members via email after January 1, 2008.
3. CNL® PARTNERSHIP CONFERENCE PLANNED FOR JANUARY 17-18, 2008
Education and practice partners engaged in the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) initiative will come together in January to share success stories and best practices related to integrating this new nursing role into the healthcare system. The CNL Partnership Conference is scheduled for January 17-18, 2008 in Tucson, AZ, immediately following a regional conference on the revision of the Baccalaureate Essentials (see item #7). Topics to be addressed at this conference include making the business case for the CNL, patient care outcomes tied to the CNL role, designing CNL curricula, effective marketing strategies for schools of nursing, CNL certification, and much more. The program also features an issues forum and poster presentations. Schools of Nursing new to the CNL initiative and their practice partners are also encouraged to attend. See http://www.aacn.nche.edu/CNL/futureconf.htm.
4. THE ARCHSTONE FOUNDATION AWARDS NEW FUNDING TO THE ELNEC PROJECT
AACN is pleased to announce that the Archstone Foundation has generously awarded $900,000 in new funding to the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC). Located in Long Beach, CA, the Archstone Foundation is a private grant-making organization whose mission is to contribute towards the preparation of society in meeting the needs of an aging population. This award provides the funding needed to offer an ELNEC-Geriatric Course and an ELNEC-Critical Care course each year for the next three years. These courses will be offered free for eligible nurses in California; non-CA residents may also apply to attend, but must pay the full registration fee. For more information, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ELNEC.
5. NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR THE 2008 CORPORATE CITIZENS AWARD
AACN’s Board of Directors is seeking nominations for the 2008 Corporate Citizen Award. This honor was created to show appreciation and provide national recognition for significant and sustained corporate support for professional nursing education. Nominees typically have demonstrated a commitment of $10 million or more over time to professional nursing programs, and this support has benefited at least three schools of nursing. Nominations are made directly to the Board of Governors via a letter which must be received by January 15, 2008. Award recipients will be recognized at the Spring Annual Meeting in March. For complete details including award criteria and the nominations process, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/MemberServices/docs/CCA.doc.
6. JOIN US FOR THE DOCTORAL AND FACULTY DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCES
- Join colleagues at AACN's 2008 Doctoral Education Conference on January 23-26 at the South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, FL. The theme "Shaping Doctoral Education in Nursing: The Future is Now" offers opportunities to consider the future of heath care and how nursing can best respond. This conference is designed for deans, associate deans for research, directors of doctoral programs, and other faculty interested in the issues concerning this unique level of nursing education. Topics are designed to meet the needs of representatives from both research and practice doctoral programs. Program sessions include "A Futuristic View of Health Care" with Ed O’Neil;"A Futuristic View of Nursing Education" with Michael Bleich; a reaction panel on planning the future by spokespersons from education and practice, and Fostering Evidence-Based Research and Translating the Results into Practice. Concurrent and poster sessions allow participants to select topics of particular interest. The Research Leadership Network also meets during this conference. See http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences/08DocConf.html.
- In response to the number and enthusiasm of participants at last year’s inaugural event, AACN offers the second annual Faculty Development Conference on February 7-9, 2008 at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, Nashville, TN. Designed for early-career nurse educators, the conference is aimed at those new to the faculty role and those who would like to gain more self-confidence in teaching in baccalaureate and higher degree programs. Topics include the academic mission and the faculty role, learner-centered teaching, creating an active learning environment, clinical teaching and evaluation, test construction and analysis, and being successful in an academic career. Three sets of concurrent sessions encourage participants to select topics according to their own needs and interests. See http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences/08FacDev.htm.
7. INPUT NEEDED ON THE BACCALAUREATE ESSENTIALS AT REGIONAL MEETINGS
The AACN Task Force on the Revision of the Essentials for Baccalaureate Nursing Education is working to define the expected outcomes of graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs with input from many stakeholders. The latest version of the revised Essentials is posted online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/pdf/BEdraft.pdf. This document will be discussed at a series of regional meetings sponsored through April 2008. These meetings will give stakeholders the opportunity to review and provide feedback regarding the Essentials, including program outcomes. Deans and directors from AACN member institutions, faculty, practice partners, and representatives of other healthcare and education organizations are invited to attend. Upcoming meetings are scheduled for January 15-16 in Tucson, AZ; March 13-14 in Nashville, TN; and April 24-25 in Boston, MA. See http://www.aacn.nche.edu/BACEssentMtg.htm.
8. AACN WELCOMES NEW GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DIRECTOR
AACN is pleased to announce that Suzanne Begeny has been promoted to position of Government Affairs Director. Formerly the Associate Director of Government Affairs, she will work with AACN’s Government Affairs Committee and expert consultants to advance the association’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. Suzanne is currently pursuing a PhD in nursing at the University of Michigan. Please join us in congratulating Suzanne who can be reached at sbegeny@aacn.nche.edu.
**NOTE: AACN staff have been working to improve the accessibility and clarity of the Government Affairs section of the AACN website. Many new links have been created to provide the public and our members a more in-depth account of the important advocacy work we do. Please take a moment to review the new link and share it with your students, faculty, and staff. See http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Government.
9. RWJF AND AARP LAUNCH NEW CENTER TO CHAMPION NURSING IN AMERICA
On December 6, AACN staff attended a press conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC to mark the launch of the Center to Champion Nursing in America. Sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the new Center will work to improve patient care for all Americans by pursuing an aggressive agenda to elevate the visibility of the nursing shortage while identifying actionable solutions to improve the quality of patient care. Specific goals include addressing the nursing shortage by pressing for greater state and federal funding to support expanded nursing education; placing nurse leaders on the governing boards of hospitals and other health care organizations to provide critically needed perspective on improving quality and safety; and informing the public and policy-makers about nurse workforce issues and the link between nursing and high quality health care. The Center is made possible by a $10-million grant to the AARP Foundation from RWJF. For more information, see http://www.championnursing.org.
10. NNEPI OFFERS ONLINE COURSE ON RESPONDING TO DISASTERS
The George Washington University Department of Nursing Education is pleased to announce that The National Nurse Emergency Preparedness Initiative (NNEPI) course, “Nurses on the Front Line: Preparing for and Responding to Emergencies and Disasters,” is now available online. Developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and reviewed by AACN, the NNEPI course uses video, animations, and case- and scenario-based activities to engage the learner throughout the interactive course. There are six modules that cover chemical, biologic, radiologic, nuclear, and explosive natural or man-made events. There are two versions of the course: a free version and the continuing education version. For more details, see http://www.nnepi.org/ and http://learning.nnepi.org.
11. APPLY NOW FOR A GERONTOLOGY-FOCUSED FACULTY DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
AACN is accepting online applications for the upcoming Faculty Development Institutes offered through the Geriatric Nursing Education Consortium (GNEC). GNEC is an innovative national initiative to enhance geriatric content in senior-level baccalaureate courses. Administered by AACN, this program provides nursing educators with the skills, knowledge and resources needed to ensure that the "best geriatric practices" are imbedded in baccalaureate curricula and subsequently in the clinical care provided by newly educated nurses. Using a "train-the-trainer" approach, nurse faculty attending the GNEC institutes are expected to serve as leaders and mentors by sharing their new expertise with colleagues. This program is generously funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation. The next institute is scheduled for October 14-16, 2008 in St. Louis, MO. For more information or to apply, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/gnec.htm.
12. GRADUATE ELNEC COURSE PLANNED FOR FEBRUARY 2008
The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) offers a variety of train-the-trainer courses for nurse educators across settings. Plan now to attend an ELNEC course specifically for undergraduate and graduate nursing faculty on February 20-21, 2008 in Newport Beach, CA. This training is offered as a pre-conference to AACN Master's Education Conference. ELNEC courses in specific subspecialties such as geriatrics, critical care, and pediatrics are also available in 2008. For more information about ELNEC and/or to register, visit http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ELNEC. Please direct questions to ELNEC Project Director Pam Malloy at pmalloy@aacn.nche.edu.
13. PLAN NOW FOR THE NURSING ADVANCEMENT PROFESSIONALS CONFERENCE
“Eyes Wide Open: Looking through the Constituent's Perspective” is the theme of the 2008 AACN Nursing Advancement Professionals (NAP) Conference set for March 28-29, 2008. The tenth annual conference will be held at The Fairmont Washington, DC. The conference is designed for development officers, public relations and marketing professionals, deans of colleges of nursing, and other academic leaders. The NAP conference is an excellent opportunity to gain critical information to enhance your college of nursing and to network with fellow colleagues. Complete details will be posted online within the next few weeks at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences.
14. SCHOLARS PROGRAM SEEKS APPLICATIONS FROM GRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS
The annual Paul Ambrose Health Promotion Student Leadership Symposium will take place on June 26-29, 2008 in Washington, DC. This prestigious symposium engages graduate nursing, medical, physician assistant, dentistry and pharmacy student leaders in addressing the future of public health. The program features skills-based leadership education and training in content areas such as health policy, health literacy, and health care finance and delivery. Following the symposium, students will complete a faculty-mentored project at their institution or in the community. Applications are due February 11, 2008. See http://www.aptrweb.org.
15. DEADLINE FAST APPROACHING FOR NP HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS
The Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation (NPHF) is seeking applicants for its 2007-2008 Student Scholarships and Awards Program. This program includes 5 scholarships and 3 awards for nurse practitioners currently enrolled in an accredited master’s or doctoral degree program. Scholarships and awards are available for the 2007-2008 academic year in several areas, including an endowed scholarship in service, an endowed scholarship in Gastroenterology, diversity scholarships, and Health Through Immunizations Awards. Information about eligibility criteria, deadlines, and applications is available online at http://www.nphealthcarefoundation.org/programs. Deadline to apply is December 20, 2007.
16. 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.
- To help fulfill the increasing demand for nurses in the Piedmont Triad, Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) has received $5.4 million for North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Inc. (NCBH) to renew their previous collaboration to offer an accelerated baccalaureate track designed to recruit people with non-nursing bachelor degrees into nursing careers. The five year-agreement to offer the Accelerated BSN Option between WSSU and NCBH will allow students to complete an accelerated 13-month program to receive a BSN from WSSU. Students who are accepted to receive the scholarship by Baptist will be guaranteed a job at NCBH. The new program begins in January 2008 with its first class graduating in February 2009. See http://www.wssu.edu/WSSU/About/News.
17. MEMBER NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND AWARDS
- On January 17 and 18, 2008, the University of Florida College of Nursing will host The Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Conference. This year’s conference theme is 2020 Vision for the Future of Health Care. The conference will feature national health care leaders discussing their vision of the education, research, practice and policy necessary to develop excellent health care by the year 2020. This will be a premiere conference focused on patient safety and the quality of patient outcomes, two of the most significant topics in nursing and health care today. Topics will include innovative models of nursing care delivery, nurse work environments, and the evolution of nursing and health professions education presented by esteemed speakers such as Dr. Joanne Disch, Ms. Bobbi Kimball, Dr. Linda Aiken, Dr. Fay Raines and Dr. Melanie Dreher. More details about the conference can be found at http://www.conferences.ufl.edu/NUR. Participants can register online or by calling 352-392-1701.
- Dr. Bernadette Melnyk, dean of the Arizona State University College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation, has been named to the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the USPSTF conducts rigorous, impartial assessments of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of a broad range of clinical preventive services, including screening, counseling, and preventive medications. Its recommendations are considered the "gold standard" for clinical preventive services. Two other nurse educators join Dr. Melnyk on this task force including Dr. Lucy Marion, dean of the School of Nursing at the Medical College of Georgia, and Dr. Carol Loveland-Cherry, professor and executive associate dean at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. For more details, see http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfix.htm.
- The University of Maryland School of Nursing has been involved in the first national survey of nurses' exposure to chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and radiation on the job. Results suggest there are links between serious health problems such as cancer, asthma, miscarriages, and children's birth defects and the duration and intensity of these exposures. The survey included 1,500 nurses from all 50 states. Results of the survey by the Environmental Working Group, the Environmental Health Education Center at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, and Health Care Without Harm are available online at http://www.ewg.org/reports/nursesurvey.
- Dr. Carolyn Adams, a nursing professor at the University of Texas-El Paso, has been awarded a $75,000 grant for the Center for Border Health Research from Paso del Norte Health Foundation to support her study on end-of-life care decision making among Mexican-Americans. The study’s goal is to help health care providers learn the best ways to guide Mexican-American families in making difficult end-of-life care decisions for a family member. The study will also define essential issues important for end-of-life treatment choices for elderly patients. See http://www.utep.edu/nursing.
- Dr. Julie C. Novak, professor and head of the Purdue University School of Nursing, was elected in November to the City Council for Lafayette, IN. Dr. Novak will be instrumental in the formation and eventual implementation of a Lafayette smoking ban. To the council, Novak will bring extensive experience with tobacco prevention and cessation programs. In the early ‘90s, she worked with data from 18,000 California smokers. “We helped thousands of California smokers quit smoking and reduce the overall smoking rate in the time I was there,” she said. Novak has continued that work in Virginia and Indiana. Dr. Novak starts her new job in January and hopes to solve interrelated problems in the community.
- Dr. Divina Grossman, dean of Florida International University’s College of Nursing & Health Sciences (CNHS), was one of three panelists who addressed the Florida Delegation of the U.S. Congress on health profession shortages on November 7, 2007. The delegation, comprised of 27 members of Congress, listened as Dr. Grossman presentation which focused on the nursing shortage and potential opportunities to increase capacity in Florida nursing schools to help avert the public health crises that may occur if the predicted demand is not met. For more information, see http://chua2.fiu.edu/Nursing.
- Earlier this fall, the School of Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston created the Center for Nursing Practice Development under the leadership of Dean Pamela G. Watson and Kathryn Fiandt, associate dean for clinical affairs. Like the UTMB medical school’s Faculty Group Practice, the new center is designed to generate revenue by employing nursing faculty in clinical care as well as supporting the education and research missions of the school. “What we’re doing is developing activities that generate clinical revenue by providing primary care for people who are medically complex and who face barriers to getting healthy,” said Dr. Fiandt. The center is targeting patients with chronic conditions that are difficult to manage, such as diabetes and obesity. For more details, see http://www.son.utmb.edu.
18. AACN OUTREACH AND ADVOCACY UPDATE
- On November 28, 2007, AACN staff attended the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP) meeting for Government Affairs. The major discussion item was the planning for a possible Title VII Health Professions and Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs reauthorization. For details, see http://www.paeaonline.org/fashp.htm.
- On November 27, 2007, AACN staff attended a presentation titled “Transforming Today’s Health Care Workforce to Meet Tomorrow’s Demand,” a Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Lecture, sponsored by the Institute of Medicine. Keynote presentations were given by: Kevin Grumbac, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco; Marla Salmon, ScD, RN, FAAN, dean and professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing; and Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy at the George Washington University.
- On November 15-16, 2007, staff attended the 117th Meeting of the National Advisory Council on Nursing Education and Practice (NACNEP). The focus of the meeting was “Educating the 21st Century Nursing Student for Practice: Through Curricular Innovation and Transformation.” Speakers from such federal departments and national organizations as the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Bureau of Health Professionals, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and the American Health Care Association discussed education standards and training initiatives for nurses.
- AACN is collecting personal comments from Title VIII recipients and information from our member schools in an attempt to improve our advocacy for increased funding. Congress must know how these programs are impacting students in their district. We have set a January 18, 2008 deadline. This timeline is necessary to compile and analyze the data before we begin our FY 2009 lobbying efforts in February and March of 2008. For more information on this initiative, please contact Gene Throwe at gthrowe@aacn.nche.edu.
- We are still collecting yellow Congressional Debriefing sheets from your visits during the AACN Fall Meeting. If you have not completed yours, please fax it to Gene Throwe at 202-785-8320 or complete it online at http://aacn.nche.edu/Surveys/CDB.nsf/gac?OpenForm. This information helps AACN to continually improve our lobbying efforts with your Members of Congress, so we ask that you please take a few minutes to complete these forms! Thank you.
19. OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES TO CONSIDER
- The University of Arizona College of Nursing is celebrating 50 years of “Excellence in Education, Research and Service.” As one of the events marking this important milestone, the 50th Anniversary Research Conference is scheduled for January 17-20, 2008 in Tucson, AZ. Keynote speakers include some of the nation’s top nurse researchers, including Melissa Faulkner from the University of Arizona; Merle Mishel from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Gayle Page from Johns Hopkins University; Carmen Portillo from the University of California San Francisco; and Barbara Resnick from the University of Maryland. For complete details, see http://50conference.nursing.arizona.edu.
- The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award is designed to support new investigators of exceptional creativity who propose bold and highly innovative research approaches that have the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important problems in biomedical and behavioral research. The application submission deadline is March 31, 2008. Complete information is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/innovator_award.
- The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science is seeking abstracts from nurse scientists for the 2008 National State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research, which will be held in Washington, DC on October 2-4, 2008. The program committee is seeking papers, posters, and symposia that best exemplify the state of nursing and healthcare science in a focused area of study, including methodological innovations, research technologies, and multidisciplinary research. Investigators should submit abstracts derived from completed research only and should clearly specify the contributions of the work to the current state of nursing and healthcare science. Areas of special interest include translational science and global health. Abstracts must be submitted electronically by January 15, 2008 from the following Web site: http://www.nursingscience.org.
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