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April 21, 2021 | XXV, Issue Number 8
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The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC, was a little different this year. In accordance with guidance from the CDC and DC Health, access to the Tidal Basin was limited, but oh, how beautiful the cherry blossoms were. And the daffodils and tulips, and all the other flowering trees. But for us at the NLN, the surest sign of spring is the announcement that registration is open for the NLN Education Summit. It is time to check out Summit 2021, which takes place September 23-25 at the Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor near DC with the theme “Leading and Teaching Beyond Resilience.”
Considering where we were last year at this time, colleagues, I am glad we can talk with certainty about this year’s Summit. Many of us are tiptoeing into normalcy, hesitant to travel and resume our normal way of life. And that is certainly appropriate, considering that COVID-19 and its variants continue to offer risk. But the vaccines are miraculous and are now available to all of us over 16 years of age. Our annual Summit offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn from one another and address the lessons learned and transformative educational strategies developed during this past year.
We have learned many lessons, starting the first day our campuses closed and educators scrambled to put in place online instruction that would allow students to graduate on time and, most importantly, engage with remote instruction and virtual clinical experiences. The NLN Division for Innovation in Educational Excellence worked in overdrive and all over the country, and the world, educators experimented with transformative strategies for teaching and learning. It is important that we meet and talk about all this as we strive for excellence in nursing education. |
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Summit Keynote
Tim Raderstorf, DNP, RN, will keynote this Summit. He is the perfect person to do so as he is both assistant professor of clinical practice and chief innovation officer at The Ohio State University College of Nursing in Columbus. The Innovation Studio he founded at Ohio State is a makerspace that provides interprofessional teams with funding, tools, and mentorship needed to turn ideas into actions. Tim also holds positions outside academia, as head of academic entrepreneurship at the Columbus-based Erdos Institute, a professional development and industry placement service for PhDs in scientific fields, and CEO of NursesEverywhere, a voluntary nonprofit coalition of health care leaders and innovators, based in New Orleans, that advocates for universal access to quality nursing care to improve health equity and public welfare. |
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After Tim gets the Summit started, there will be presentations and posters, lectures, and interactive workshops, plus numerous networking events. Note that you can tailor your Summit experience and choose from among eight distinctive learning tracks that will inspire innovation, collaboration, and connection, whether you are a novice educator or one with years of experience in the classroom or lab. I expect that the Summit experience in 2021 will be familiar, with the energy you expect from an NLN Summit, but it will also be different because we are different. At the NLN we are more certain than ever about the importance of our mission.
For this Summit, the early bird period is open until July 31. As always, we offer group discounts for NLN Education and Associate Agency members, so be sure to check the details. And remember, if you are planning to fly, it’s a good idea to get your REAL ID in hand; REAL IDs will be required after October 1.
For the NLN, our annual Summit is our sun. Everything revolves around it, for it is at the Summit that we announce many names, of election winners, award recipients and grantees of all types:
- May 7 is the date nominations are due for three 2021 NLN Awards: The NLN Mary Adelaide Nutting Award for Outstanding Teaching or Leadership in Nursing Education, the NLN Isabel Hampton Robb Award for Outstanding Leadership in Clinical Practice, and the NLN Lillian Wald Humanitarian Award.
- We will also announce the names of the winners of NLN Foundation for Nursing Education Scholarships. We provide scholarships of up to $8,000 each to nurses pursuing advanced degrees in master’s or doctoral programs to advance their careers as full-time educators. Applications are due May 21. You contribute to these awards and the future of nursing education with your contributions to the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education.
- May 31 is the deadline for a brand new award. We are seeking nominations for the annual NLN Certification Program Pursuit of Excellence, Advancement, and Support of Nurse Educator Certification Award, which will recognize outstanding individuals, programs, or organizations that have made a significant difference or substantial impact to nursing education through the adoption and/or promotion of certification and have helped sustain certifications and excellence in education. Details and guidelines are online.
- We have partnered with Survey & Ballot Systems to administer the 2021 NLN Election. To ensure your login information arrives safely by email to your inbox on April 27, simply add the following email address as an approved sender: noreply@directvote.net. If you do not receive your login information by email on April 27, please contact opceo@nln.org.
- And, at the Summit this year, we will induct the new NLN Chair for 2021 to 2023, Dr. Kathleen Poindexter. We will also induct someone as chair-elect, but I do not know the name of that person — for the choice is up to you. The annual NLN election period will open next week. When you receive your invitation as a member to participate in the election, please read about the candidates, follow instructions, and vote. We are hoping for full participation.
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New NLN Podcast
And now something truly new — a companion as you exercise, perhaps. The NLN Division for Innovation in Education Excellence — the same people who bring you the topical and informative blog NLN NursingEDge — now offers NLN NursingEDge Unscripted, an ongoing series of podcasts in three separate tracks of unscripted conversations navigating the how-to of innovation and transformation in nursing education. |
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They include:
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Unscripted Conversation Scholarship celebrates the published work of select nurse educators from the NLN’s official journal, Nursing Education Perspectives, the Division for Innovation in Education Excellence, and the NLN Nursing EDge blog. The conversations embrace the authors’ unique perspectives on teaching/learning innovations and implications for nursing program development and enhancement.
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Unscripted Conversation Surface joins two adventurous nurse educators as they reach beyond the surface to uncover stories from the trenches of education, stories that feature challenges and vulnerable moments at the daring edge of innovation. These conversations reveal ways to grow and thrive within the context of the NLN core values.
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Unscripted Conversation Saga journeys through the history of nursing education, using stories that connect the past to the present and the future to reimagine our teaching and learning.
Are you intrigued, colleagues? When you have some free time, tune in. These podcasts are concise, informative, and inspiring, designed to move you away from the mundane and mediocre to the interesting and exceptional.
As I always say, we must continue to be careful and role model safe public health behaviors: wear your mask, wash your hands, stay socially distant, and make sure you get your vaccination when it is your time. Be safe and well. From now on I will add, See you at the Summit. I can’t wait! |
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