November 2022

Pam Fifer, EdD, RN, CNE

It has been a busy year for the CNEcl Test Development Committee. Every five years a practice analysis needs to be done and this was the year. This consisted of the Test Development Committee evaluating and updating the CNEcl competencies and task statements. Once done, a survey with the updated competencies and task statements was sent to current CNEcl nurse educators and deans and directors to send to clinical instructors. This step is done to validate the competencies and task statements. The next step was to review all current items and tag each item to the new competencies and task statements. Then the committee members worked through the cut score process. These subject matter experts put in a great deal of time throughout this multi-month process. Thank you to the following committee members, NLN members, and the MeazureLearning team:

What a great thrill to see so many certified nurse educators at the Summit in September 2022. Certified nurse educators represented almost 30% of the total attendees at the Summit. The Certification Reception Room on the evening of the opening of the Summit was packed with people. It makes one think that we may be sort of back to normal after the last 3 years of life-changing events.

The Certification Star Awards were given out at the Reception room. Take a look at Dr. Everett’s column about the Start Awards. We will plan in the future to give out two awards, one for excellence of a program supporting certification and one individual award for outstanding support of nurse educator certification. The Awards for 2023 applications will open in January 2023 and close on June 1, 2023. If you have an outstanding program and/or know of faculty who have worked hard to get other faculty certified, please consider applying.

The year of 2022 has been a very busy year for the program. The CNEnovice (CNEn) program was launched in June. This certification is open to those faculty who are in the first three years of the nurse educator career. This is also open to new graduates of master’s in nursing education tracts. The practice analysis and ensuing work based on the practice analysis was accomplished for the CNEcl program. It is hard to believe that this program will be 5 years old in 2023. Plans have also begun for the CNE practice analysis work in 2023.

Congratulations to Dr. Erin Killingsworth and Dr. Brenda Morris on their elections to the Board of Commissioners for 2022-2025 terms. Both had been serving on the Board and it is wonderful for them to have the ensuing terms to finish the projects they have started.

The NLN offices in Washington, DC have been working on a one week in office and one week remote for a while now. Starting in January 2023, all office staff will be back in the DC office with some flexibility of time schedule built into the work. For the last year, many staff have been working 4-day work weeks, with longer works per day. The new schedule will include that schedule as well as 5-day per week schedules. This gives flexibility to the staff to pick a schedule for 2023.

Larry E Simmons, PhD, RN, CNE, NEA-BC. CGNC, ICE-CCP

New Certification

We are very excited to announce that 200 + nurse educators have passed the CNEn exam. All items for the CNEn exam were 2021. This certification is intended for novice nurse educators within the first three years of academic nurse educator practice. Once the credential is obtained, it is valid for three years, at which time, the nurse educator may take the CNE or CNEcl exam. This is a great opportunity for novice nurse educator to demonstrate a commitment to nursing education by taking a first step in the certification pathway.

Dr. Brenda Morris
Co-Chairperson
CNEn Test Development Committee

NLN Star Award

Dr. Mark Everett, Campus President for ECPI University, Raleigh, North Carolina, Board of Commissioner with the NLN Certification Board of Commissioners, and Chairperson for the Star Award Committee presented the Star Award and an Honor of Distinction to awardees at the NLN Summit. 

The NLN Certification Star Award: Honoring the Pursuit of Excellence & Advancement of Nurse Educator Certification, is an annual recognition of individuals, programs, or organizations that clearly recognize and exemplify the pursuit of excellence and the advancement of certifications.

The award recognizes outstanding individuals, programs, or organizations that have made a significant difference or substantial impact on nursing education, embraced nurse education through adoption and/or promotion of certification, and helped to sustain certifications and excellence in education.

Since the inception of the NLN Academic Nurse Educator certification, there has been a steady increase in the number of CNE®-certified faculty. This increase has been the result of dedicated service by NLN staff and leadership, members, and various certification-related committees and boards. As a result, the Certification Board of Commissioners has established this ongoing recognition for programs that provide outstanding support for academic nurse educator certifications.

Support from the Certification Board Chairperson, Dr. Pamela Fifer, our committee members, the entire Board, and the NLN Board of Governors, allows the committee to be effective and efficient when accepting and evaluating the applications. 

The Certification Board of Commissioners wants to formally thank all individuals that have nominated nursing professionals or organizations that are deserving of such recognition. More applications were received than in previous years and it is expected to be surpassed next year.  This is an incredible sign of so many individuals and organizations accomplishing so much to recognize the value of certifications for the Nurse Educator. 

Due to the quality of the applicants, the Board could not simply award just the Star Award. As such, an HONOR OF DISTINCTION was awarded to one individual that has exemplified the pursuit of excellence and advancement of certifications. 

This year’s Honor of Distinction was bestowed upon Dr. Betsy Kennedy. As excerpted from a letter of support, and clearly reflected in the application, Dr. Pamela Jeffries wrote, 

"Dr. Kennedy both models and promotes the excellence in nursing education that certification represents. Her significant efforts to support certification at VUSN and with students as future educators, along with her multiple ongoing scholarly contributions to advance and sustain excellence nursing education, make her worthy of recognition with this award.

She holds the Certified Nurse Educator credential from the NLN, and with her leadership and guidance, she has increased that number several fold at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN). 

Dr. Kennedy completely revised and redeveloped the Nurse Educator (NE) Course series at VUSN, aligning course objectives to the NLN Educator Competencies. She positively impacts nursing education with successful NE graduates in faculty roles across the country."

STAR AWARD

As previously described, The Star Award is an annual recognition of individuals, programs, or organizations that clearly recognize and exemplify the pursuit of excellence and the advancement of certifications.

This year’s recipient has set the standard high for future applicants. Progressing from an administrative leadership initiative to one that is now fully supported and led by distinguished faculty, this institution, and its associated College of Nursing, has transformed the manner in which they approach education, curriculum development, and faculty advancement. With a goal of establishing 50% as a baseline level for clinical faculty possessing a CNE, while simultaneously putting in place a systematic faculty development plan, this organization has certainly established a culture of teaching excellence across all programs and among all faculty as a strategic priority.

Administrative and program support to include an increase in professional development dollars available to CNEs, a goal of achieving 100% of clinical faculty with CNE, and educational resources accessible on the course management site to provide several online programs specifically for faculty seeking CNE certification. Additionally, an electronic “bookshelf” for individual and group study to prepare or maintain CNE status, was established. 

In addition to excellent student learning outcomes (NCLEX pass rates, high student satisfaction scores, and one-year employment rates) the academic nurse educators have fully demonstrated the full scope of the NLN Core Competencies. 

This year’s Star Award recipient was awarded to the University of Florida’s College of Nursing. The Commissioners would like to thank all the applicants and/or those that nominated individuals or organizations. 

Certification Reception Moments