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May 4, 2022 | XXVI, Issue Number 7
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One week is clearly not enough, colleagues. There was a time when we used to celebrate National Nurses Week, culminating in International Nurses Day, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Most major nursing organizations now celebrate National Nurses Month to acknowledge the often underrecognized work that nurses do to advance the health of our nation and the global community. Even when celebrating the entire month of May, however, the essential work of nurse educators is too often unheralded.
One week and one month are clearly not enough in 2022. We must do more to recognize the important role of nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic and the critical role of faculty in preparing a diverse, culturally competent, and outstanding nursing workforce to respond to the crisis in health care we face at home and abroad. So, the NLN is celebrating 2022—the entire year—as the Year of the Nurse Educator.
We have just kicked off a nationwide online and radio public service announcement campaign highlighting the role of nurse educators in the health care system and promoting nursing education as a career path for nurses. And our upcoming #BeyondANurseEducator social media campaign will promote and amplify the vital role that nursing education plays in advancing the nursing profession and patient care and in creating healthier communities.
How You Can Celebrate
Have you checked out the campaign on our website? It is full of things you can do to join with us and promote nursing education as a meaningful career and highly skilled specialty area of practice. First, you can recommit to nursing education and take the NLN Leadership Pledge. Second, you can download a Year of the Nurse Educator online badge and proudly have it displayed on your organization’s website, social media, or your email signature to honor and celebrate nurse educators. And third, you can encourage colleagues to join the NLN and take advantage of our invaluable professional development opportunities.
Also importantly, you can purchase some fabulous merchandise, available exclusively at our Year of the Nurse Educator Gift Store. We have tumblers, mugs, and shirts of all styles and sizes, perfect for gifting and wearing in Las Vegas at the NLN Education Summit coming up September 28-30. All proceeds from the Year of the Nurse Educator Gift Store will benefit the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education. |
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Apply for a Scholarship
And that reminds me—NLN Foundation scholarship applications are being accepted through May 26. Critical to our mission to advance excellence in nursing education is our ongoing effort to support the graduate education of nurses who aspire to the faculty role. We give annual scholarships of up to $8,000 to master’s or doctoral students enrolled in accredited programs who have completed at least one full year of study.
Plus, we offer the Edmund J.Y. Pajarillo Health Informatics and Innovation Scholarship to nurses and nurse educators enrolled in a graduate-level program focusing on health informatics and innovation in research in nursing education. And, we offer the Cecelia Lou Vriheas Scholarship Award to graduate students who are the first generation in their family to pursue higher education and belong to an historically marginalized/excluded group. |
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We could not offer these scholarships without your help. The month of May is the perfect time to honor a colleague or leave a lasting legacy through the NLN Foundation. Your donations translate directly into support for our beloved profession and for our future educators. And after all, what could be better than that? I encourage you to check out our many ways to give online, but if you have questions or special goals, please contact Elizabeth Reyna.
And while we are celebrating, we have not forgotten about the need for humanitarian aid amid the war in Ukraine. The NLN and the NLN Foundation have committed to making a monthly contribution to Nove Ukraine during the extent of the conflict. Your donations to the NLN Foundation will also make a peaceful difference in the global community.
The Importance of Mentors
There is something else we can all do to support nursing education, this year and always. I recently authored a NursingEDge blogpost, “Celebrating Mentors in the Year of the Nurse Educator,” where I talk about the influence certain faculty had on my career, “people who believed in me every step of the way and gave me faith to push myself farther than what I dreamed possible.”
Sadly, my mentor Dr. Shirley Smoyak, whom I mentioned by name, died on April 1 after a long career as a psychiatric nurse, health care sociologist, editor, and faculty member in the Rutgers School of Nursing and Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, directing their program in public health. Shirley was a challenging and wonderful mentor. I remember she made her own clothes, published articles, and collaborated with other disciplines, all while teaching family therapy in my psychiatric mental health program. She was a daunting role model for all of us. Now her work lives on, not only through me but through countless nurses and nurse educators. She gave of herself generously, and that is something we all can strive to do.
In her most recent Message From the NLN Chair in Nursing Education Perspectives, the NLN research journal, Dr. Kathleen Poindexter presents a lucid argument for mentorship as a means of responding to the challenge of transitioning to practice in today’s tumultuous and demanding health care environment. Kathleen suggests that our role as NLN members and educators does not end when students graduate. Rather, she says, we can establish “formal or informal mentorship programs to provide support to new graduates during the first year of practice” as a way to “reduce attrition rates and contribute to a more productive transition period.” She offers several valuable suggestions that will serve us well during this Year of the Nurse Educator and beyond. |
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Upcoming Opportunities
Before I close, as a person who sometimes has missed a deadline, I must remind you that we have several deadlines coming up, including the June 2 deadline to submit an abstract for NERC, our Nursing Education Research Conference, “Regenerating Research in Nursing Education: Moving the Science Forward.” As you may remember, we have held NERC on alternate years and had to cancel our 2020 conference because of the pandemic. Now research in nursing education to inform change in our pedagogical practices is more important than ever. Be sure to mark your calendar for NERC 2023, which will take place in Washington, DC, March 30-April 1. |
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And colleagues, there are just a few days left before the May 8 deadline to submit your nomination for one of three NLN Awards to be presented at the Summit. The NLN Mary Adelaide Nutting Award for Outstanding Teaching or Leadership, the NLN Isabel Hampton Robb Award for Outstanding Leadership in Clinical Practice, and the NLN Lillian Wald Humanitarian Award will be even more special during this Year of the Nurse Educator.
Finally, let me say a few words about our exemplary executive director of NLN CNEA, the Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation. Dr. Teresa Shellenbarger has been conferred the title of Distinguished University Professor Emeritus by Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), where in 2017 she was honored as Distinguished University Professor. I am so grateful that after her distinguished career at IUP, and after serving as secretary for the NLN Board of Governors, Teresa agreed to bring her scholarship and dedication to the NLN. The growth of CNEA under her leadership is astounding.
That’s it, colleagues. Let me wish you a happy National Nurses Week, Nurses Month, and, best of all, a happy and productive Year of the Nurse Educator. Together we will make sure nurse educators are celebrated and receive the recognition we all deserve. |
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