April 3, 2019 | NLN CEO Update on the Future of Nursing & NLN Scholarships

Don't delay, colleagues. You have until May 29 to apply for an NLN Foundation for Nursing Education Nurse Educator Scholarship worth up to $8,000. NLN Foundation scholarships are intended to address the nursing faculty shortage by supporting nurses who are pursuing advanced degrees in preparation for a career as a full-time educator. Award applications are open as well for NLN-Home Instead Scholarships for nursing students, including students in LPN/LVN programs who are pursuing preparation in geriatric nursing. In 2018, the NLN Foundation awarded a record number of scholarships and we hope to break records again when awards are announced for 2019. Be sure to read the FAQs and eligibility requirements before preparing your application, and if you missed it, we have recorded our Scholarship Application Prep webinar as a resource for applicants. Good luck, colleagues — as you can see, we are trying very hard to give you and your students some badly needed support.

Now, as you may have guessed, it is my time to remind you that the NLN Foundation needs your support, as it is your generosity that makes our scholarship program possible. Gifts to the foundation return to the profession in the form of scholarships and research grants. In addition, our funding coffers support our highly successful Scholarly Writing Retreat and the wonderful work of our archive project, still in its beginning stages with a new repository at the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. As you think of the challenges facing health care today and the League's critical role in helping you build a strong and diverse nursing workforce, you will understand why I am so passionate about the NLN Foundation and why I feel it is important that we have full participation in meeting our goals.

If you have not gone online recently to make a contribution, colleagues, you will have a pleasant surprise when you do. We have updated the NLN Foundation website so that all you need to do is log in, click on "My Account" on the top right, and then click on the Donate or Giving buttons. Your details are prepopulated, and you can keep track of your philanthropy history. If you don't have a history of giving, now is the perfect time to begin. Let me point out that a tribute donation is a wonderful way to honor a colleague. If you are thinking about your legacy or considering other ways to give, feel free to contact Tatiana Nin (tnin@nln.org) who will help you explore the possibilities. Remember, every gift, no matter the size, helps us preserve the past and build the future of nursing education. We are still the only nursing foundation providing scholarships specifically for nurse educators!

With thoughts of our mission and the vital importance of educating nurses for today's challenging health care environment, let me turn now to an event that happened on March 20, two weeks ago. I was privileged, along with NLN chief program officer Dr. Janice Brewington and our president, Dr. Rumay Alexander, to attend the public session for the Committee on the Future of Nursing 2020 – 2030, presented by the National Academy of Medicine (the new name for the Institute of Medicine). Although it hardly seems possible that time has passed so quickly, it has been nearly 10 years since the IOM issued its seminal report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Now it is time to extend that vision, and a new Committee on the Future of Nursing has been selected and tasked by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to chart a path for the nursing profession "to help our nation create a culture of health, reduce health disparities, and improve the health and well-being of the US population in the 21st century." At the meeting on March 20, I was proud that Dr. Alexander offered comments on our behalf. Among other topics, her testimony focused on the care of vulnerable populations, the transformation of nursing education and innovation in simulation and technology, the advancement of the science of nursing education and the role of the nurse educator as an advanced practice role, and the importance of the LPN/LVN workforce in providing safe, quality, patient-centered, evidence-based care to vulnerable groups across the health care spectrum.

We heard from a number of speakers, including the co-chairs of the committee: Dr. Mary Wakefield, who served in the Obama administration as acting deputy secretary of health and human services and Dr. David Williams of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (Do you remember the enthusiastic response to Dr. Wakefield's presentation at our Summit in 2009?) We also heard from Susan Hassmiller, senior scholar-in-residence and senior advisor to the president on nursing at the National Academy of Medicine, who spoke on the impact of the original report and why a new report is needed now. Kudos to our colleague Dr. Hassmiller for providing the leading staff support for this initiative as she so successfully did 10 years ago.

What an exciting time to be a nurse, don't you agree, colleagues? I remember how energized I felt in October 2010 when the first Future of Nursing report was issued. Now nursing will build on that report and work toward a new future, with new challenges, with a view to how nurses can lead efforts to improve the health and well-being of the population. I am very excited also that Dr. Hassmiller has agreed to serve as a guest editor for the NLN research journal Nursing Education Perspectives, along with NLN secretary Dr. Teresa Shellenbarger and Dr. Audrey Beauvais, for a special issue focused on the 2010 – 2011 Future of Nursing recommendations. A call for manuscripts has been issued with a due date of January 1, 2020. The guest editors have a number of suggestions for areas of interest for research studies, Research Briefs, and innovative pedagogical strategies for the Innovation Center. This special issue will be released at the NLN Education Summit 2020 — another reason to never miss a Summit.

And colleagues, you can help the NLN shape the future of nursing education by doing one very important thing today — that is, take part in our elections, which are open now, and have a voice in selecting a great team of NLN leaders, including president-elect, secretary, and governor-at-large. You should have received an email with login information for the election website, sent out by Survey & Ballot Systems (SBS) to all NLN members eligible to vote. If you did not receive your election passcode, please enter your email address here or contact support@directvote.net.

Members of the NLN Board of Governors help shape our vision, develop our policies, advance our mission and goals, and ensure our growth. Be part of the election — be an active part of the NLN at this exciting time. If you notice any of our colleagues sleeping through these unbelievable opportunities, just gently touch them and say, "Wake up!" Pour that NLN wake-up dust on every nurse you see — including faculty. We have so much to do for those we serve. Together, let's make it happen.

PS: I cannot close without a shout-out to my colleague Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, professor of health policy and pediatrics at George Washington University. This past Sunday I attended a celebration to recognize his work on health disparities equity and diversity in health professions education. It was my pleasure to join in the celebration of his work on diversity metrics and his lifetime commitment to racial and economic diversity in the health professions. Dr. Mullan's core values echo those of the NLN: caring, integrity, diversity, and excellence.

Day in the Life: What is working as a Hospice Nurse like? Read More. The Duchess of Cambridge and Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke join forces for Nursing Now campaign, Learn More. Warnings of a Dark Side to A.I. in Health Care, Read More. #NLNTEQ Join the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) for the Meeting on Establishing Clinician Well-Being as a National Priority, Learn More. #ClinicalWellBeing

Next Issue of the NLN Member Update: Wednesday, April 17, 2019. View previous issues of NLN Member Update »