Nursing Education Perspectives Dedicates Special Themed Edition to Creating Healthful Work Environments

Nursing Education Perspectives Dedicates Special Themed Edition to Creating Healthful Work Environments

Plus 8th Annual “Best of NEP” Awards Announced for Upcoming NLN Education Summit in Washington, DC

Washington, DC — Nursing Education Perspectives, the National League for Nursing’s well-respected, peer-reviewed scholarly journal, has devoted its annual special themed edition for September-October to an urgent priority: Creating Healthful Work Environments in Nursing Education. The issue was curated by guest editors Dr. Mark Hand and Dr. Steven Palazzo, veteran nurse educators who sit on the NEP Editorial Board. Dr. Hand also serves as treasurer on the NLN Board of Governors. The theme complements this year’s 2026 NLN Education Summit in Washington, DC, which will explore the theme of Beyond the Storm: Reshaping Resilience & Recovery.

In her introductory Message From the NLN Chair, Building Resilience Through Healthy Learning Environments, NLN Chair Yolanda VanRiel, PhD, RN, MEDSURG-BC, OCN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, chair of the Department of Nursing at North Carolina Central University and patient placement coordinator at First Health of the Carolinas-Moore Regional Hospital, links the two themes:

The storms facing our profession have been many, including workforce shortages, faculty fatigue, persistent disparities in health and educational opportunity, student stress, rapid technological change, and communities still recovering from public health, social, economic, and environmental disruption…A healthy work environment is not separate from resilience and recovery; it is foundational to both. If we are to move beyond the storm, we must create academic settings where faculty, staff, students, and leaders can thrive, contribute fully, and sustain the mission of nursing education with purpose and dignity. 

Drs. Hand and Palazzo lay out the scope of what’s at stake in their co-authored guest editorial, Creating Healthy Work Environments in Nursing Education: An Educational Imperative, writing:

While considerable attention has been given to healthy work environments in clinical practice settings, equal attention must be directed toward the academic environments where future nurses are prepared. Creating healthy work environments in nursing education is no longer optional. These environments are essential to supporting well-being, strengthening student learning environments, and sustaining the future nursing workforce. Healthy academic workplaces require intentional leadership, shared accountability, meaningful support systems, and a commitment to spaces where one feels valued, respected, and able to thrive.

The special issue reports on studies and initiatives that address challenges that threaten to derail effective teaching and learning in academic and clinical spaces, spotlight behaviors and attitudes that pose risks to a healthy institutional culture and offer practical approaches that can spark dialogue and lead to demonstrable positive change.  

Featured content in the publication includes:

• Exploring the Professional Quality of Life and Career Intentions of Nursing Faculty: A Cross-Sectional Study by investigators Xiaoshan Z. Gordy, Britney Roulette, Xiaoqian Zhu, Margaret Jeanne Calcote, Angela Duck, Tawanda McNair, and Christy Savell
• Supporting Clinical Faculty Through Standardized Orientation, Mentorship, and Evidence-Based Solutions: A Contemporary Challenge in Nursing Education by investigator Kendra Duran
• Entrenched Toxic Culture in Academic Nursing: Development and Psychometric Analysis by investigators Becky Good, Kristen F. Kirby, Karen J. Foli, Tony Chase, and Cynthia M. Clark
  

In their report for the Headlines from the NLN column, Chief Program Officer Gordon Gillespie, PhD, DNP, RN, FAAN, and Chief Operating Officer Michael Kristek, MA, describe the National League for Nursing’s innovative hybrid workweek model and other incentives to promote a healthy work-life balance at League headquarters. The two also outline recently published and forthcoming Vision Statements and Toolkits available as professional development resources to assist nursing programs in crafting and implementing strategic plans that foster a culture of support, mentoring, inclusivity, and wellness best suited to the structures and demands of differing academic and clinical environments.

“We are proud to present this special edition of the National League for Nursing’s well-respected peer-reviewed scholarly journal, which supports the advancement of excellence in nursing education to benefit all patients who rely on nurses for healthcare,” said NLN Chair Dr. Yolanda VanRiel, chair of the Department of Nursing, North Carolina Central University and patient placement coordinator at First Health of the Carolinas-Moore Regional Hospital.

“This issue’s theme is so timely as nursing education explores resilience and recovery in nursing and nursing education. Healthy academic workplaces are fundamental not only to the faculty, staff and administration, but also to the well-being of practice-ready nurses to successfully join and work in healthcare,” said NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

The September-October 2026 issue is posted on the journal’s website at NEPonline.net, open access, in time for presentation and dialogue to be held during the 2026 NLN Education Summit, September 23-25 in Washington, DC.

Best NEP Articles Recognized at NLN Education Summit

The Best Article Awards for 2025 will again be a highlight of the NLN Education Summit. Those interested in learning more about the process of scholarly writing may connect with Nursing Education Perspectives editors at the Summit, who will be happy to answer questions about the steps involved, from conception through writing, peer review, and publication. There will also be a special session at the Summit — Shape the Future of Nursing Education: Publish in Nursing Education Perspectives.

Feature Articles

• First Place: Deliberate Practice of Medication Administration Among Nursing Students: A Multisite Study, Ginger Schroers, Kathryn Vanderzwan, Susan Kilroy, Laura Klenke-Borgmann, Jill Pfieffer, Dina Tell, and Jenny O’Rourke, Vol. 46, No. 5
  

• Honorable Mentions: Teaching for Learning in Mind: An Evidence-Based Model, Susan Gross Forneris and Barbara J. Patterson, Vol. 46, No. 3; and Implementation of the RQI System: Baseline Skills and Self-Report Competence and Confidence Data From 12 NLN Inaugural Change Agent Nursing Programs, Suzan Kardong-Edgren, Donna Nikitas, Elizabeth Gavin, Heiddy DiGregorio, Dama O'Keefe, Angela G. Opsahl, and Patricia A. Sharpnack, Vol. 46, No. 1
  

Research Briefs

• First Place: Preliminary Validation of a Clinical Reasoning Theory-Based Assessment Rubric: An e-Delphi Study, Marie-France Deschênes, Éric Dionne, and Laura Robert-Boluda, Vol. 46, No. 3
  

• Honorable Mentions: Music in Academia for Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Randomized Controlled Study, Jorgie Ann Contreras, Ann Malecha, Wyona Freysteinson, and Sandra Cesario, Vol. 46, No. 3; and Implementing Cognitive Rehearsal Training With Nursing Students to Counter Incivility in the Clinical Setting as Students and New Nurses: A Sequential Mixed-Methods Study, LisaMarie Wands, Carrie McDermott, Noreen Bernard, Rachel Wolf, and Laura P. Kimble, Vol. 46, No. 4

Innovation Center

• First Place: The Interdisciplinary Doula Project: Innovations in Nursing Clinical Education, Julie Vignato, Teresa Horak, Amber Goodrich, Emily Shier, Lastasica Coleman, and Anita Nicholson, Vol. 46, No. 3  
  

• Honorable Mentions: Incorporating Omics and Precision Health in a Nursing PhD Program: The Perspectives of Student Nurse Scientists, Christine Noelle Flaherty, Jesse Rattan, Lindsay Melson, and Pamela V. O’Neal, Vol. 46, No. 1; and Implementation of an Innovative Learning Experience to Address Vaccine Hesitancy, Haley Townsend, Sara Kaylor, and Paige Johnson, Vol. 46, No. 3