Three Papers That Influenced Content of Much Heralded IOM/RWJF Report on Future of Nursing Published in NLN's Research Journal

NLN Urges Continued Discussion of Reports Key Recommendations on Nursing Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY — December 3, 2010 — Three papers on transforming nursing education solicited by the Institute of Medicine in its research leading up to the release of its much-heralded report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, are featured in the November/December issue of Nursing Education Perspectives, the peer-reviewed research journal published by the National League for Nursing.

In her editorial announcing the publication of the three papers, reprinted in NEP with the permission of the National Academies of Science, editor Joyce Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, FNAP, noted, "Embedded in the report are several recommendations that directly address the future of nursing education at all levels, throughout the nation and globally."

Author Christine Tanner, PhD, RN, FAAN, identified the need for change in prelicensure nursing education programs, suggesting the creation of new educational partnerships between community colleges and universities; the development of model prelicensure curricula; and the investment in a national initiative for developing and evaluating novel approaches to practice by new graduates, including those in post-graduate residency programs.

Lead author Victoria Niederhauser, DrPH, APRN, PNP, recommended changes to the traditional model of prelicensure nursing education, a model that currently is costly and relies heavily on direct faculty supervision. Consistent with Dr. Tanners recommendations, these authors place great faith in partnership models as a basis for future restructuring of prelicensure programs. Their vision also includes private-public partnerships; innovative academic-practice partnerships; and statewide and interstate partnerships. Importantly, movement toward competency-based evaluations of student learning was recommended here as well.

Lead author Mary Ellen Smith Glasgow, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, emphasized the desire for nurses from academic and practice settings to come together for curricular development. The authors delineated specific needs for technology-infused education; transdisciplinary approaches to care; and translational research. They also highlighted the need to recruit students with higher academic standing into nursing and emphasized how public policies must change to support the recommended changes in nursing education programs.

Dr. Fitzpatrick stated, "It is important to emphasize that the identified issues and recommendations will benefit from the collective wisdom of nurse educators at all levels. There will be many opportunities throughout the next several months for all of us to participate in the debates. I strongly encourage your participation."

And in her message in this issue, NLN president Cathleen Shultz, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN, urged "the nursing community to mine the IOM's entire 500-plus-page document for new ideas and directions in nursing education. The commissioning of these papers reflects how seriously RWJF and the IOM regard nursing educations role in re-imagining the future of nursing and addressing health care cost, delivery, and access in America."

The IOM report, the result of a two-year Initiative on the Future of Nursing, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was prepared by a committee chaired by former US secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala and consisting of representatives from leading health care and allied organizations. Nurse leaders and nursing organizations, including the Tri-Council for Nursing (which includes the NLN), have strongly endorsed its key recommendations.

"The NLN was privileged to participate with the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Forums that led to the report, which states that nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training and calls for an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression. These findings resonate with the NLN, with our mission, our values, and our strategic plan," said NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN. "As we re-imagine nursings future, academic progression will continue to form an important part of the conversation at the NLN and within the entire health care community."

Earlier this year, Dr. Malone, Dr. Shultz, and the NLNs chief program officer, Dr. Elaine Tagliareni, were among those invited to "The Forum on the Future of Nursing: Education," a February gathering at the IOM in Houston. It was the third in a series of high-level meetings convened by the RWJF and the IOM, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences. The NLN was one of only 12 pre-selected organizations tapped to offer written and oral testimony outlining the NLNs vision of the future of nursing.

The November/December issue of Nursing Education Perspectives can be found online at www.nln.org/nlnjournal.

Editors and reporters: For interview opportunities, please contact Karen Klestzick, chief communications officer of the NLN, at 212-812-0376 or kklestzick@nln.org.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education offering faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 33,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members.