2022

Colleagues, the NLN remains the leader in nursing education.

Member engagement continues to be our strength and our most valuable commodity. Thank you to the thousands of nurse educators involved with the NLN. You are the backbone of our work to bring essential resources to all our members who teach in programs across the academic spectrum.

The NLN Centers for Nursing Education have been extraordinarily busy. The partnership between NLN and Chamberlain continues successfully with the NLN / Chamberlain University College of Nursing Center for the Advancement of the Science of Nursing Education.

Two publications are being released at the Summit. The first publication, A Systematic Approach to Assessment and Evaluation of Nursing Programs, 2nd edition, is edited by Dr. Marilynn Oermann. The second publication, edited by Dr. Pamela Jeffries, is Clinical Simulations in Nursing Education: Advanced Concepts, Trends, and Opportunities, 2nd edition. Both titles will be available for purchase online in the NLN Bookstore.

Plus, the special themed issue on Educating During Times of Crisis in the NLN’s Nursing Education Perspectives, the NEP, with co-editors Drs. Karen Frith, Audrey Beauvais, and Linda Roney is being distributed at this Summit at the registration booth as well as made available online at NEPonline.net.

The 2023 special issue will focus on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Nursing Education. The co-editors for the 2023 issue are Dr. Steven Palazzo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Dr. Sandra Davis, NLN; and Dr. Cheryl Green, Southern Connecticut University.

A call for manuscripts for the 2023 special issue remains open until January 2023. Planning is underway for the 2024 special issue, Addressing Mental Health Issues in Nursing Education, with co-editors Drs. Audrey Beauvais and Jeffrey Jones. We have outstanding experts who serve on NEP’s editorial board.

olleagues, planning continues for the Nursing Education Research Conference, or NERC, in Washington, DC, for March 30 – April 1, 2023, sponsored by the NLN. This year’s theme is Regenerating Research in Nursing Education: Moving the Science Forward.

Moving on to the Center for Transformational Leadership, there are 39 participants in the yearlong NLN Leadership Institute, which includes LEAD and the Leadership Development Program for Simulation Educators. The application deadline for the 2023 cohort for the NLN Leadership Institute Programs is October 10. Dr. Mary Anne Rizzolo, an exemplary leader and a pioneer, who has served as co-director for the Leadership Development for Simulation Educators for 12 years, is retiring from the program.

The NLN and the American Association for Colleges of Nursing developed a collaborative video initiative titled, Paving the Path Forward: Academic Nursing Moves Toward the Post-Pandemic Future. Six deans or directors were selected from each organization to make a video related to paving the way forward related to their work in equity, collaboration, and innovation.

Last year, the NLN and its partner Laerdal Medical, along with the American Heart Association, announced a new partnership to help advance transformation of the standard of resuscitation care for cardiac arrest. Resuscitation Quality Improvement’s innovative, evidence-based digital approach helps learners achieve sustained mastery of high-quality CPR skills and verified competence through short, quarterly practice and review sessions. The partnership has so far been successful. There are 12 early adopters change agent schools of nursing with over 1,300 students participating.

The NLN and the Barbara Bates Center at the University of Pennsylvania continue its collaboration to preserve the NLN’s rich history in an archival repository for scholarly historical research. Presently, the NLN Collection includes a repository of reports and proceedings of annual conventions, minutes of meetings, biographical data of early leaders, and correspondence detailing trends and historic milestones. A selection of these holdings has been digitized and a full Table of Contents is available through the NLN website.

There have been several successes for the NLN’s public policy and advocacy; for example, Representative Lauren Underwood presented at the NLN Board of Governors meeting; as President and CEO, Dr. Beverly Malone attended a meeting with the Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency; and the NLN issued a statement applauding the House for passage of the “Inflation Reduction Act” and funding for Title VIII workforce development and National Institute for Nursing Research.

The NLN also conducted the NLN Faculty Census Survey. Many thanks to everyone who took the time to complete this survey because the data are important for dissemination to policymakers, funders, accreditation agencies, and regulators. This fall, the NLN Schools of Nursing Survey and the Faculty Census Survey will be combined and one survey instead of two surveys will be conducted annually. This will allow the NLN to provide more robust data.

Next, the NLN can report that the NLN Certification Department now has three certifications available for nurse educators, Certified Nurse Educator or CNE; Certified Clinical Nurse Educator or CNEcl; and Certified Novice Nurse Educator or CNEn. Since 2005, over 12,500 academic nurse educators have earned the credential of Certified Nurse Educator. This credential measures excellence as an academic nurse educator, practicing in the full scope of the role. During the past 12 months, more than 800 nurse educators have achieved CNE status.

In recognition of the thousands of academic nurse educators, who practice as a clinical educator only, or adjunct, or preceptor, or one of the other titles referring to the same role of teaching students during clinical experiences, a second academic nurse educator certification exam was created four years ago. The number of those certified as clinical nurse educators now is approaching 600.

We are extremely excited to announce the implementation in 2022 of the third certification, the CNE Novice. The target group for this certification is nurse educators within the first three years of practice as a nurse educator. The examination test items are leveled to performance expectations of new faculty. Since the launch in April of this year, we now have 200 nurse educators certified at the novice level.

Also, information about the NLN Assessment Services Division, formerly known as Testing, offers a scope of assessments that support nursing programs, students, employers, and practicing nurses. These assessments can help guide admission decisions, evaluate a student’s proficiency in subject matter content, advance place students, test NCLEX readiness, and evaluate practice knowledge. Assessment Services also offers NCLEX reviews both onsite and virtually.

All assessments are developed by volunteer subject matter experts and consultants. Volunteers who serve Assessment Services are valued and celebrated because they bring expertise and relevance to the assessments and help define the needs of nursing education. The Division has been offering Next-Gen NCLEX training and resources for the volunteers. The objective is to help develop skill and knowledge in forming new item types that align with the clinical judgement model. NCLEX preparation remains a priority for programs and students. Assessment Services is now offering pre-scheduled virtual NCLEX reviews to meet the needs of smaller cohorts and individual students.

And now, an update on the Division for Innovation in Education Excellence. This year they have implemented some exciting new initiatives. In celebration of the Year of the Nurse Educator, the division launched a series of podcasts through the NLN Nursing EDge Saga Track to pay tribute to the extraordinary nurses who have made significant contributions to nursing education. Highlighted over the last nine months have been short stories focused on innovator scholars who played a significant role in the NLN’s Curriculum Revolution of the 80’s and 90’s and the years that followed leading up to the Carnegie Study.

The Saga track featured educators like Chris Tanner, Peggy Chin, and Patricia Benner – all who recognized a need, challenged traditional customs, and influenced transformative change. The Nursing EDge podcast series has released 35 episodes so far this year that can be viewed on YouTube or heard on major streaming channels like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Since January 2022, this podcast has over 8,000 combined views and downloads.

With grateful support from the Hearst Foundations, the division launched a new addition to the Advancing Care Excellence series: ACE+ – care of our LGBTQ+ people. This series features three unfolding cases, first-person monologues, and teaching strategies. Visit NLN dot org and the Advancing Care Excellence web pages.

Finally, SIRC, the Simulation Innovation Resource Center, has once again reimagined and launched updated SIRC courses. With contemporary teaching and learning in mind, these new simulation faculty development courses are now scaffolded with seven Foundation courses for beginner simulation educators and the Deeper Dive Courses for more experienced educators who want to improve their teaching excellence through immersive micro-skills to further enhance teaching with simulation.

This has also been another busy and successful year for the NLN's communications, marketing, and graphics team. They are involved in almost everything we do, including the videos, signs, and material at the Summit. Here is an update about two of their many initiatives this year.

First, the NLN was proud to declare 2022 as the Year of the Nurse Educator. We successfully launched a dedicated website for this at YearOfNurseEducators.org. You can take the NLN Leadership Pledge, download an online badge, and add a video as part of the Beyond a Nurse Educator social media campaign. Some of those videos have been played during the Summit. You also can purchase items from the Gift Store hosted by the NLN Foundation. Proceeds go to support the foundation’s many wonderful programs.

To help celebrate the Year of the Nurse Educator, we selected winners from the nominations we received for the Nurse Educators of the Year Award. And we launched a nationwide public service campaign highlighting the role of nurse educators in the health care system and promoting nursing education as a career path.

Secondly, the NLN proudly launched our brand-new website—NLN.org. The home page features important alerts, information, news, and a constantly updated calendar. The content is also better organized in a more user-friendly format. You will find everything you need to know about the NLN’s Education and Assessment, Events, News and Publications, Awards and Recognition, Public Policy, and Membership. Additionally, we were proud the website received recognition as a finalist for the prestigious PR Daily Awards.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented pain, grief, and destruction to the health and well-being of our nation’s citizens and economy. The health care professionals on the front lines of this pandemic have been stretched beyond their limits. Kudos to all essential workers. We are saving lives every day.

Although online education is nothing new, the NLN has been trying to get faculty to get back to some of the basics on good teaching by focusing on student learning outcomes and teaching and learning strategies that assist in achieving the specific learning objectives being sought.