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March 22, 2023 | XXVII, Issue Number 6
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Colleagues, have you been enjoying NLN Connect? The NLN’s latest communication star should appear in your in-box each and every day, giving you an opportunity to communicate directly with the nearly 45,000 nurse educators and scholars who belong to the NLN.
I find NLN Connect fascinating. We introduced it in January, and members are using it just as we had hoped, sharing ideas, insights, and best academic practices, and asking colleagues how they deal with thorny issues. We anticipate that our new online, members-only community will brighten your day and expand your ability to engage in timely issues and challenges.
Serving as an Ambassador
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We launched NLN Connect after beta testing by our NLN Ambassadors – faculty at NLN member schools who do so much behind the scenes to encourage your participation in NLN functions and activities. Do you know who the ambassadors are at your school of nursing? Each nursing program can have two, and if by some chance there is a vacancy at your nursing program, we hope you will volunteer.
We look for individuals with the following leadership traits: Approachability, Visibility, Responsiveness, and most importantly, Commitment. Your role will be to promote the NLN mission and values, motivate colleagues to submit abstracts for NLN conferences, encourage participation in volunteer opportunities, and introduce colleagues to our many faculty development opportunities. At this moment, if you were an ambassador, we would ask you to remind colleagues of some very important springtime opportunities: |
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- We are now accepting nominations, through May 3, for three annual 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. The presentation of these awards is a highlight of every NLN Education Summit as our opportunity to recognize and honor individuals of stature and distinction for their outstanding contributions to nursing education and the broader space of American health care.
- Our Scholarly Writing Retreat is both in person and online this year. Applications are due May 12, which also happens to be Florence Nightingale’s birthday, for our in-person July 28-30 retreat with Dr. Marilyn Oermann, and due September 1 for our virtual fall retreat.
These are just a few of the opportunities we ask our ambassadors to communicate to colleagues. I want to thank those of you who have taken on this important role for the NLN – we offer so many opportunities for faculty that it can be hard to keep up – and invite those interested to check out the Ambassador FAQs. We want to make sure our members take advantage of everything we offer and form a connected community of colleagues. |
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Summit Registration Now Open
I have another springtime announcement that I want to share with the world. Registration is now open for the NLN Education Summit 2023: Extraordinary Nurse Educators Leading in Extraordinary Times. Early bird registration ends May 31, and there are numerous benefits for registering early, especially when several of you register from the same nursing program. |
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I am excited to report that Dr. Kellie Bryant of the Columbia University School of Nursing will present the Debra Spunt Keynote Address on Preparing the Next Generation of Health Equity Advocates. Her lecture will provide a holistic and humanistic perspective on the systemic changes needed to achieve health equity and meet the recommendations of the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report on preparing nurses to serve as change agents in creating systems that bridge the delivery of health care and social needs care in the community. She will discuss education strategies, including simulation, and how they can be used to prepare learners to care for diverse populations and stand against discrimination.
The Spunt Lecture is always a highlight of the NLN Education Summit. In the coming weeks, I’ll share more about the program, the personalities, and what to expect. But let me remind you that this Summit marks 130 years since our founding at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, and it is time to celebrate our leadership in nursing and nursing education.
Making a Big Impact
Speaking of major markers, we will also celebrate 20 years of NLN partnership and collaboration with Laerdal Medical. We are going to plan, with daring ingenuity, for all the different celebrations that will be part of our Summit Experience.
Also let me call your attention to Laerdal Medical’s recent impact and sustainability report, “Towards One Million Lives.” In 2020, Laerdal, our partner in so many endeavors, established the goal of saving 1 million lives each year by 2030, and doing so in sustainable ways. The report is stirring and inspiring and well worth your time.
This timely report talks about RQI, our initiative with Laerdal and the American Heart Association, which has introduced competency-based education for resuscitation in 20 schools of nursing. “Upon graduation,” the report observes, “these students will make a significant impact on the health outcomes of their patients and the health care systems and communities they serve.” The report estimates that within the last three years, RQI has saved 20,000 lives!
There is also a section in the report on virtual Simulation (vSim) for Nursing, which we created with Laerdal and Wolters Kluwer in 2014 and updated in 2022 to NextGen vSim for Nursing, with increased patient fidelity, communication training, and updated educational outcomes. I am so proud of all these products and the wonderful team in the NLN Center for Transformational Leadership and the NLN Division for Innovation in Education Excellence who made them happen.
Renewing Your Certification
Let me close with an addendum to the sad story I told in my last Member Update about how, as a younger nurse, I lost my certification in psychiatric nursing because I was too busy as an executive, doctoral student, and mother of two to pay attention to the expiration notices I received. We want to make sure this does not happen to you as an academic nurse educator (CNE®) or academic clinical nurse educator (CNE®cl) – so, as a first step, enter your Certification Profile on the CNE or CNEcl webpage as appropriate. We send three reminders during the expiration year, and your application to renew is due by October 1.
I learned the hard way about the importance of deadlines. With so much going on at the NLN, I hope you keep all our deadlines in mind. We love having you take part in all our professional development programs, and we hope to see you at the Summit, September 28-30 near Washington, DC.
Colleagues, due to next week’s Nursing Education Research Conference (NERC), you won’t hear from me again until Wednesday, April 19. Be well and stay safe. |
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