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June 2009 News Watch
1. Summer Seminar in Santa Fe Focuses on Leadership Development
2. AACN President Testifies Before Senate on Healthcare Reform
3. New “Nursing Policy Beat” Resource Launched Online
4. 2009 CCNE Election Process Now Underway
5. Regional Meetings Set for Generalist Master’s Essentials
6. Plan Now to Attend AACN’s 40th Anniversary Celebration
7. Special Conference Discount Available to AACN Members
8. AACN Issues a Call for Nominations
9. New Research on Nursing Workforce and Policy Published
10. Vote Now to Keep Nurses on Modern Healthcare’s Power List
11. AACN President-Elect Among Those Appointed to NACNR
12. Faculty and Doctoral Student Roster Survey Launched
13. GANES to Host Meeting at ICN Conference in South Africa
14. Four ELNEC Conferences Planned through October 2009
15. Explore the Army Nurse Corps – Benefits and Opportunities
16. Apply Now for the Faculty Loan Repayment Program
17. New Partnerships and Grant-Funded Initiatives
18. Member News, Announcements, and Awards
19. AACN Outreach and Advocacy Update
20. Opportunities and Resources to Consider
1. SUMMER SEMINAR IN SANTA FE FOCUSES ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
The AACN Summer Seminar will be held July 19-22, 2009 at the Eldorado Hotel and Spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Supporting the theme, "Practicing Reality-Based Leadership in Challenging Times,” this year's seminar focuses on the personal and professional development of academic leaders with particular emphasis on new leadership skills required by turbulent times. Each day has a different focus, and participants will take away new ideas and strategies. The entire conference is devoted to honing leadership skills to be more effective despite the many challenges facing nursing education. Speaker Cynthia “Cy” Wakeman works with organizations and individuals eager to thrive in difficult times by discovering new solutions to old problems. She believes leadership training of the past does not serve executives well in dealing with current realities and complexities, and offers innovative approaches for today. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for achieving amazing results in spite of limited resources and challenging circumstances. For full conference, registration, and afternoon excursion information, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/conferences/09SumSem.htm. The early hotel registration deadline has passed, but a number of rooms can be reserved at the group rate by emailing Conference Coordinator Erica Turner at eturner@aacn.nche.edu.
2. AACN PRESIDENT TESTIFIES BEFORE SENATE ON HEALTHCARE REFORM
On June 12, AACN President Dr. Fay Raines presented testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on the newly introduced Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 which addresses healthcare reform. Dr. Raines’ comments focused on the need to strengthen support for nursing schools and other health professions programs, enhance initiatives to prepare more nurse faculty, and secure opportunities for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to serve as primary care providers. AACN was the only nursing organization asked to provide testimony on this momentous piece of legislation at hearings held June 11-12, 2009 in Washington, DC. For more details and to read the written testimony, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/2009/HCReform.html.
3. NEW “NURSING POLICY BEAT” RESOURCE LAUNCHED ONLINE
AACN’s Government Affairs team recently launched Nursing Policy Beat, an online resource that will feature news items on the most pressing policy issues of interest to nurse educators and other stakeholders. This summer, Nursing Policy Beat focuses on healthcare reform and includes links to legislation under consideration by the House and Senate; a side-by-side comparison of legislative proposals prepared by the law firm Arnold & Porter; the Consensus Statement from the Nursing Community on healthcare reform; and AACN’s recent testimony and policy brief on this important issue. See http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Government/npb.htm.
4. 2009 CCNE ELECTION PROCESS NOW UNDERWAY
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education's (CCNE) 2009 election process is underway. Chief nurse administrators of CCNE-accredited programs have been invited to participate in the online election of the CCNE Board of Commissioners and the CCNE Nominating Committee. Six individuals are to be elected to the Board of Commissioners, and four individuals are to be elected to the Nominating Committee. On June 12, 2009, chief nurse administrators were e-mailed election instructions, along with usernames and passwords. Chief nurse administrators or their designated representatives may vote at https://eballot.votenet.com/ccne by the July 12, 2009 deadline. Please direct any questions to Crystal Pool, CCNE Assistant Director, at cpool@aacn.nche.edu or (202) 887-6791, ext. 245.
5. REGIONAL MEETINGS SET FOR GENERALIST MASTER’S ESSENTIALS
AACN’s Task Force on The Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Generalist Nursing Practice is moving forward with its charge to develop a document that delineates the competencies that should be acquired upon graduation from a master’s program for advanced generalist nursing. Chaired by Dr. Joanne Warner from the University of Portland, the task force will use a consensus-building process to complete this work. Stakeholders will have multiple opportunities to review and provide feedback on the draft Master’s Essentials as it develops. AACN members, faculty, students, practicing nurses, and representatives of other organizations are invited to provide input at regional meetings planned for the following locations: Baltimore, MD, October 8-9, 2009; Chicago, IL, November 18-19, 2009; San Diego, CA, January 20-21, 2010; and New Orleans, LA, February 24-25, 2010. For more details, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/regionalmeetings.htm.
6. PLAN NOW TO ATTEND AACN’S 40TH ANNIVERSAY CELEBRATION
Make plans now to join us for AACN's 40th Anniversary Celebration and Fall Meeting on October 31-November 3 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. AACN member deans and associate deans are invited to join us for this special event that will honor the contributions all member schools have made to AACN's success over the years. Highlights will include presentations by Ken Bain, the award-winning author of What the Best College Teachers Do, photographic artist Chris Jordan, and Charles "Chic" Thompson, an academician and former Walt Disney employee who will present an engaging and humorous talk on creativity in academe. Fun is also on the agenda with a live performance by the Capitol Steps, an anniversary reception and champagne toast, a photo history of AACN member schools, and other festivities. Program details are posted online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences/09Fall.htm. Please note that deans may bring multiple associate deans to this special event. The early registration and hotel reservation cut-off date is October 7, 2009. Deans are encouraged to make reservations early as the hotel will likely sell out quickly.
7. SPECIAL CONFERENCE DISCOUNT AVAILABLE TO AACN MEMBERS
In an effort to be responsive to schools of nursing during these tough economic times, AACN is pleased to offer a reduced rate on conferences taking place in FY 2010 (July 2009-June 2010). Representatives from AACN member institutions will receive a deep discount on our regular conference fees ($399) when signing up in advance for at least three conferences. Through this offer, schools would pay $999 to register for three AACN conferences in advance. Signing up early for additional conferences would be at the reduced rate of $359 per conference. Schools wishing to pursue this offer do not need to identify the registrant for each conference in advance. That information can be sent to AACN closer to the time of the conferences.
Members wishing to take advantage of this offer must complete the form found online at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Conferences and return it to AACN by September 30, 2009. The discount is not available through online registration. Please direct any questions about this opportunity to AACN Conference Coordinator Erica Turner at eturner@aacn.nche.edu.
8. AACN ISSUES A CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
AACN's Nominating Committee has issued a Call for Nominations for candidates to fill five Board seats and two committee vacancies. The committee will choose the slate of candidates at the 2009 Fall Semiannual Meeting based on nominations and the committee's deliberations. The positions under consideration are President-Elect, Secretary, Board Member-at-Large (3 vacancies), and Nominating Committee (2 vacancies). Nominations must be received by October 30, 2009. For complete details, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/MemberServices/CallforNominations.htm.
9. NEW RESEARCH ON NURSING WORKFORCE AND POLICY PUBLISHED
On June 12, the journal Health Affairs and the Center to Champion Nursing in America held a forum in Washington, DC to mark the release of a series of papers on the future of the nursing workforce, featuring significant findings from some of the nation’s top nurse researchers. Among the papers included in a special online edition of Health Affairs are the following:
- Dr. Linda Aiken and colleagues from the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at University of Pennsylvania issued a new paper titled “Education Policy Initiatives to Address the Nursing Shortage in the United States.” The authors recommend adapting federal funding mechanisms (i.e., Title VIII and Medicare) to focus on preparing more nurses at the baccalaureate and higher-degree levels. This policy emphasis is needed to adequately address the growing need for faculty and nurses to serve in primary care and other advanced practice roles. The researchers reported that new nurses prepared in BSN programs are significantly more likely to complete the graduate-level education needed to fill nursing positions where job growth is expected to be the greatest.
- Dr. Peter Buerhaus from the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and coauthors found that despite the current easing of the nursing shortage due to the recession, the U.S. nursing shortage is projected to grow to 260,000 registered nurses by 2025. A shortage of this magnitude would be twice as large as any nursing shortage experienced in this country since the mid-1960s. In the article titled “The Recent Surge In Nurse Employment: Causes And Implications,” the researchers point to a rapidly aging workforce as a primary contributor to the projected shortage while also assessing the impact of the recession on current nurse employment.
Both articles may be accessed at http://content.healthaffairs.org/index.dtl.
10. VOTE NOW TO KEEP NURSES ON MODERN HEALTHCARE’S POWER LIST
Voting closes on Friday, June 26, for Modern Healthcare Magazine's annual ranking of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare. A dozen nurse educators and leaders are in the running for the 2009 ranking, including AACN CEO and Executive Director Polly Bednash, University of Pennsylvania Nursing Professor Mary Naylor, HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, Department of Veterans Affairs CNO Cathy Rick, and ANA President Rebecca Patton among others. Though nurse leaders are well represented on the ballot, the number of nurses included on the final Power List has dropped sharply over the past few years. Please help us keep nurses at the top of the list and vote! To cast your votes (you must choose 10 candidates), see http://www.modernhealthcare.com/section/100mp.
11. AACN PRESIDENT-ELECT AMONG THOSE APPOINTED TO NACNR
AACN President-Elect Kathleen Potempa from the University of Michigan School of Nursing was one of four nurse leaders recently appointed to serve on the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research (NACNR), the principal advisory board for the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Council members are drawn from the scientific and lay communities, embodying a diverse perspective from the fields of nursing, public and health policy, law, and economics. An important role of the council is to conduct a second level of review of grant applications that have been scored by scientific review groups. In addition to Dr. Potempa, NINR Director Patricia A. Grady also welcomed the following individuals to NACNR on May 19: Barbara J. Guthrie, associate dean and associate professor at the Yale University School of Nursing; Gail Stuart, dean of the Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing, as well as a professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; and Janet Williams, the Kelting Professor of Nursing at the University of Iowa College of Nursing. For more details, see http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2009/ninr-28.htm.
12. AACN FACULTY AND DOCTORAL STUDENT ROSTER SURVEY LAUNCHED
Earlier this month, AACN re-launched the Nurse Faculty and Doctoral Students Roster Survey in an effort to enhance the understanding of a variety of faculty-related issues, such as recruitment, retention, relocation, and promotion. Gathering these data is fundamentally important for the nursing education community in forming sound policies to address the growing shortage of faculty. AACN is also collecting data on nursing students in doctoral programs to better understand the relationship between the production of nursing doctorates and the supply of faculty. To date, approximately 60% of AACN member schools have completed the initial survey and supplied data on more than 8,000 faculty members and 4,000 doctoral students. These respondents only need to update their information for the current year. Data collected can be used by participating schools to generate their own basic reports for free. To complete the survey, see http://ids.aacn.nche.edu/fr and follow the instructions.
13. GANES TO HOST MEETING AT ICN CONFERENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Global Alliance for Nursing Education and Scholarship (GANES) will hold its next international meeting on June 29, 2009 in Durban, South Africa in conjunction with the International Council of Nurses 24th Quadrennial Congress. This forum will provide an opportunity for GANES organizational members, including AACN, to share information about the group and its important work to date. The session will provide a forum for deans of nursing to engage in dialogue and debate regarding safeguarding high quality nursing education, identifying strategies to maximize nursing’s impact on scaling up the health workforce through international collaboration, and working together to influence policy makers and government leaders across the world to improve global health outcomes. For more details on GANES, see http://www.ganes.info.
14. FOUR ELNEC CONFERENCES PLANNED THROUGH OCTOBER 2009
Mark your calendars! Faculty interested in enhancing their expertise in teaching end-of-life nursing care are invited to join us for one of the four remaining ELNEC train-the-trainer courses this year. Though space is limited, seats are still available in upcoming programs, including ELNEC-Core courses in Minneapolis and Boston; ELNEC-Critical Care in Washington, DC; and ELNEC-Pediatric Palliative Care in Memphis. For more information and to register for any of these courses, visit http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ELNEC.
15. EXPLORE THE ARMY NURSE CORPS – BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Though there are many career paths for nurses today, the Army Nurse Corps offers benefits and advanced training beyond what may be available to civilian nurses and nursing students during this economic downturn. Active duty and nurses in the Army Reserve receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes a competitive salary and financial incentives such as a signing bonus and loan repayment program. In particular, the Specialized Training Assistance Program (STRAP) is open to associate degree/diploma nurses currently enrolled in an accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. Recipients receive a monthly stipend of more than $1,900 and incur a one-year obligation to serve in the Army Reserve for each six months or less of financial assistance. For more information about the Army Nurse Corps, visit http://www.healthcare.goarmy.com.
16. APPLY NOW FOR THE FACULTY LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM
The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service is seeking applicants for the 2009 Faculty Loan Repayment Program. This program provides a financial incentive for advanced degree-seeking health professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds who wish to pursue academic careers. Individuals selected must agree to serve on the faculty of an accredited health professions college or university for a minimum of two years after graduation. In return, the federal government agrees to pay, for each year of faculty service, up to $20,000 of the outstanding principal and interest on the participant's educational loans. For details, see http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/dsa/flrp. The application deadline is July 7, 2009.
17. 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.
- On June 22, hospital and healthcare leaders in Maryland announced that the statewide Who Will Care? fundraising campaign has collected $15.5 million to provide 17 nursing schools with grants to educate 300 additional nurses and add 20 new faculty members. “Less than two years ago we predicted that unless we increased the number of nurses being educated in Maryland, we would be short 10,000 nurses by 2016,” said Maryland Hospital Association President and CEO Carmela Coyle. “Today we are thrilled to announce real progress and are committed to maintaining the momentum we need to reach our goal of adding 1,500 students.” The campaign seeks to raise $60 million from the public and private sector to fully fund the initiative, which has attracted support from hospitals, insurance, business and academic leaders, nurses, long-term care providers, and private citizens. The funds will provide grants to help the state’s nursing schools add faculty, students, and clinical technology. See http://www.mdhospitals.org.
- On June 19, the University of Texas at Arlington's School of Nursing announced the establishment of the UT Arlington Regional Nursing Education Center, a program that will double the number of undergraduate nursing students by 2012. The program is aimed at students earning their entry-level BSN degree. The center is being made possible by $5 million in one-time funds approved by Governor Rick Perry. The new center will serve as a resource to 14 schools of nursing in the region as they increase their enrollments and expand their use of UT Arlington's nursing simulation facility. "Through the leadership of all our area lawmakers, UT Arlington will be able to play a major role in training the numbers of highly skilled, registered nurses that Texas needs to meet the health care demands in our communities," President James D. Spaniolo said. "We are thrilled that more students, and more Texans, will benefit from the real-world experience they can gain in our University's high-tech teaching laboratory, the UT Arlington School of Nursing's Smart Hospital." See http://www.uta.edu/nursing.
- On May 28, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation announced a major $22 million initiative designed to ensure that New Jersey will have the nursing workforce needed to meet its future health care demands. The five-year New Jersey Nursing Initiative will increase the number of nurse faculty in the state through the Faculty Preparation Program, which will provide grants to schools of nursing and support for 46 graduates students who must commit to teaching in the state for three years after graduation. Other components of the initiative include the creation of state working groups, a centralized application service (with AACN), and a new Web portal for the state's nursing programs. See http://www.njni.org.
- On May 19, Maryland’s Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) announced the awarding of 18 grants to schools of nursing totaling $20.1 million over five years as part of the state’s Nurse Support Program II (NSP II). Funding for NSP II is being provided through a 0.1% increase to the rate structure of all hospitals since July 2005 to promote the program’s goal of increasing the number of nurses in Maryland hospitals by expanding the capacity of Maryland’s nursing education programs. This innovative program is a unique venture that teams hospitals and colleges to create partnerships to address the critical shortage of nurses. The projected outcomes of this fourth round of institutional grants are expected to increase new RNs by 880, new BSNs by 436, and new MSNs by 452. See http://www.mhec.state.md.us.
- The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing has launched the Returning Enlisted Veteran–Upward to Professional Nursing Project with grant funding from the Texas Workforce Commission. This program will provide qualified U.S. Army Licensed Vocational Nurses who have left the military and have completed all necessary prerequisites, the chance to enter an accelerated professional nursing program. Students will obtain their BSN through a sequence of clinical competence evaluation assessments, a web-based curriculum, and local clinical experiences in areas around Austin and El Paso. See http://nursing.ttuhsc.edu/revupn.
18. MEMBER NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND AWARDS
- The Medicare Transitional Care Act (H.R. 2773), sponsored by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Charles Boustany (R-LA), has been introduced in the House of Representatives to provide Medicare beneficiaries with a new benefit. This important legislation is designed to eliminate the thousands of preventable hospital readmissions that occur each year by providing high quality transitional care to high-risk Medicare beneficiaries throughout episodes of acute illness. The bill is modeled on the Transitional Care Model, a research-based innovation designed and tested by a multidisciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, led by Dr. Mary Naylor. The model involves the care of advanced practice nurses who visit the patient the first day they are home from the hospital. For more information on Dr. Naylor's model of transitional care, visit http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/media/transitionalcare/Pages/default.aspx.
- The University of Cincinnati College of Nursing is happy to announce a podcast series, available at iTunes U, focused on aging. Charles Puchta and Dr. Evelyn Fitzwater from the college’s Center for Aging with Dignity discuss aspects of aging and provide insight on the normal and abnormal aspects of such changes. Faculty members may incorporate the podcasts into coursework to increase the awareness of older adult needs. Podcasts can be accessed through iTunes U or linked to at http://www.nursing.uc.edu. Hard copies of the material can be found at http://www.careadvocate.org.
- The College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University has changed its name from the College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation to reflect the recent integration of several units from another school at the university and the resulting expansion of its mission. “Our new name reflects the broadening of our mission to be more inclusive of the other health focused disciplines that now will be part of our college,” Dean Bernadette Melnyk said. “This merger will allow us to accelerate inter-professional education and initiatives that will result in exciting academic programming for our students, innovative transdisciplinary research, and more comprehensive health services that will benefit the public.” See http://nursing.asu.edu/news/pr/name-change.htm.
19. AACN OUTREACH AND ADVOCACY UPDATE
- On June 8, the National Institutes of Health reported they had received approximately 20,000 applications for Challenge Grants, a new program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). For more information, see http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2009/od-08.htm.
- On June 4, AACN CEO and Executive Director Polly Bednash and government affairs staff met with senior staff from the White House Office of Health Reform to discuss the specific challenges facing nursing, including scope of practice issues and the faculty shortage.
- On June 3, AACN staff participated in a day-long webinar called the Telehealth Leadership Initiative’s Virtual Lobby Day. The agenda included useful information to help create a targeted message on telehealth during the healthcare reform process.
20. OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES TO CONSIDER
- AcademyHealth is seeking nominations for the annual Health Services Research Impact Award, which recognizes outstanding research that has been successfully translated into health policy, management, or clinical practice and, as a result, had a positive impact on health and health care. The lead researcher of the winning impact will receive $2,000, and the research will be disseminated widely as part of AcademyHealth's ongoing efforts to promote the field of health services research. Nominations are due July 29. See http://www.academyhealth.org/awards/hsrimpactsnominations.htm.
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