2024
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. First, the long-time partnership between the NLN and Chamberlain continues with the NLN / Chamberlain University College of Nursing Center for the Advancement of the Science of Nursing Education.
Two highly relevant publications were released just prior to the Summit this year. The first publication, Nursing Leaders Driving Health Equity: Tackling Social and Structural Determinants, was edited by Drs. Sandra Davis and Andrea Lindell. The other publication, Teaching Tomorrow’s Nurses: A Technology-Enhanced Approach, was edited by Drs. Andrew Bobal and Jennifer O’Rourke.
The 2024 Summit special issue of the NLN’s research journal, Nursing Education Perspectives, also published by our partner Wolters Kluwer, focuses on mental health issues in nursing education for both faculty and students; Drs. Audrey Beauvais and Jeffrey Jones are the co-editors. Copies of the issue are being distributed at the Summit registration booth as well as online at NEPonline.net.
A call for manuscripts for the 2025 special issue remains open until
January 2025. The topic is Clinical Education in Academic Learning Environments. The co-editors are Drs. Jennie De Gagne (Gag-nee) and Rebecca Davis.
The topics for 2026 and 2027 special issues will be Creating a Healthy Work Environment in Nursing Education and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nursing Education, respectively.
We are excited to introduce a new column in NEP, Methodology Navigator, edited by Dr. Linda Hollinger-Smith of Chamberlain University. The aim of the column is to help faculty design robust studies that guide new educational approaches and improve
student learning outcomes. We have many outstanding experts who serve on NEP’s editorial board.
Colleagues, planning for the 2025 NLN conference, Nursing Education Research Conference, or NERC, is almost finalized. It will be held in Washington, DC, March 27-29 with Dr. Linda Scott, dean of the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing and current president of the American Academy of Nursing, as the plenary speaker.
Moving on to the Center for Transformational Leadership, the yearlong NLN Leadership Institute, which includes LEAD and the Leadership Development Program for Simulation Educators.
This is the third year of the partnership with the NLN and our partner Laerdal Medical to help advance transformation of the standard of resuscitation care for cardiac arrest. Resuscitation Quality Improvement’s RQI 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. Currently, there are 56 adopter NLN schools of nursing, other schools, and over 28,000 nursing learners.
The RQI Dissemination Committee has published its first evidenced-based article by Marilyn Oermann and team, titled, “developing competency of nursing students in cardiopulmonary resuscitation using Resuscitation Quality Improvement technology,” published in the International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship.
The NLN / Walden University College of Nursing Institute for Social Determinants of Health and Social Change cultivates leaders who can address issues of social determinants of health and equity in a variety of settings. The Leadership Academy is housed
in the Institute as a year-long program. The NLN / Walden Leadership Academy is in its third year with 10 interprofessional educators.
The NLN and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) formed a strategic partnership to prioritize the education of nurses worldwide through the ICN Education Experts Advisory Committee (ICNEE). The aim of the ICNEE is to promote the education of
nurses around the world and ensure that the nursing workforce of the future is prepared to meet whatever challenges lie ahead.
The ICNEE is housed within the NLN Institute for Diversity and Global Initiatives. Dr. Sandra Davis, deputy chief director for the NLN / Walden University College of Nursing Institute for Social Determinants of Health and Social Change, will serve as ICNEE's chair for the next three years.
With 14 individuals representing the six World Health Organization regional areas and two at-large members, including NLN Chair Dr. Patricia Sharpnack, ICNEE will address challenges and opportunities, disseminate best practices, and advance the well-being and professional development of nurse educators.
We are excited that Dr. Kellie Bryant was hired in March as the director for the Center for Innovation in Education Excellence. She has extensive leadership skills in simulation and nursing education. The Center for Innovation in Education Excellence remains committed to integrating forward-thinking initiatives designed to support faculty development and enhance teaching competencies. Our offerings, such as the Faculty Intensives, Simulation Innovation Resource Center Deeper Dive Courses, and Coaching for Excellence Courses, continue to serve as valuable resources for educators in the nursing field.
This year, the NLN is proud to celebrate a 21-year partnership with Laerdal Medical, a collaboration we deeply value. Over the years, we have co-developed several significant products that have advanced nursing education, including vSim, Scenario
Cloud, and immersive virtual reality solutions. In the past year, in collaboration with Wolters Kluwer and Laerdal, we have created a new virtual reality program aimed at preparing students for real-world nursing practice through evolving, multi-patient clinical experiences.
We are revising and enhancing our maternity scenarios to align with the upcoming release of Laerdal’s new maternity manikin, MamaAnne.
Next, there have been several successes for the NLN’s public policy and advocacy outreach.
- The NLN attended coalition meetings and supported legislation to increase federal funding for nursing education, securing a $5 million increase in Fiscal Year 2024 funding. The NLN also advocated for legislation to support nursing education and faculty
including the “Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN) Act,” the “Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act,” and the “Stop Nurse Shortages Act.”
- The NLN Public Policy Committee selected Senator Debbie Stabenow (Stab-be-now) to receive the 2024 NLN Public Policy Advancement Award.
The NLN also conducted the NLN Schools of Nursing Survey. Many thanks to everyone who took the time to complete this survey because the data is so important for dissemination to policymakers, funders, accreditation agencies, and regulators.
Next, 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 16,250 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 950 nurse educators have achieved certification as an academic nurse educator.
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 six years ago. The number of those certified as clinical nurse educators now is over 750.
The implementation of the CNE Novice program has gone well. 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 of the CNE Novice exam, we now have over 300 nurse educators certified at the novice level.
The development of the practical / vocational nurse educator certification continues to proceed. The practice analysis is complete, and a test plan has been established. Currently a hard-working group of PN/VN faculty is busy writing new test items specifically
for the exams. We are hoping to pilot the examinations around the time of the 2025 Summit, so stay tuned.
Web-based certificate programs have been initiated. Some of the certificates will include online nursing education, moving into the clinical nurse educator role, becoming new faculty, and an introduction to the role of the practical / vocational nurse
educator.
The NLN Assessment Services Division offers a comprehensive range of assessments to support nursing programs, students, employers, and practicing nurses. These assessments can help guide admission decisions, evaluate subject matter proficiency, advance student placement, test NCLEX readiness, and assess practice knowledge.
As NCLEX preparation also remains a priority for programs and students, Assessment Services offers NCLEX reviews—onsite and virtually—at the request of LPN and RN programs. Additionally, smaller cohorts and individual students can take advantage
of pre-scheduled virtual reviews.
Turning to communications, this has been another impactful and award-winning year for the team. Recently, you may have seen, Bloomberg Businessweek wrote a story critical of nurse practitioners and the education they receive. Our team, led by Mike Keaton, swung into action with a statement strongly defending NPs and the nurse educators who instruct them. That statement has been well-received by NLN members and supporters.
We also issued statements this year condemning violence in the political process and racism in nursing, and, along with our fellow members of the Tri-Council for Nursing, defended the imperative need for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in
nursing as well as the importance of voting in the upcoming election.
Next, we were so pleased to see an increase in our online audience last year, with website visitors up 13% to over 730,000 people and social media followers also up 13% to nearly 73,000 people. If you are not following the NLN, you can find us on LinkedIn,
Facebook, Twitter – slash – X, Instagram, and YouTube from links on our website, NLN.org.
Finally, the awards. Since we last met at last year’s Summit, the NLN along with CNEA have received multiple national honors in the APEX Awards for Publication Excellence and Hermes Creative Awards. These awards have recognized our online resources, NLN promotional materials, and infographics. Special congratulations to our communications team, including India West, digital marketing manager, and Ann Marie Watson, marketing and communications manager.
Congratulations to Jenny Chicca, deputy director, and Teresa Shellenbarger, executive director, of the CNEA for the recognition they have earned for the CNEA website and web-based training.
