February 7, 2018 | NLN CEO Update on NLN Foundation | Black History Month

Regular readers of the NLN Member Update will know that I never talk about football but I cannot help myself this week. Our members in Philadelphia are exhilarated and those in New England are disappointed — and many of course are concerned about the health consequences of the game — but I'm sure all can agree that Sunday's Super Bowl was amazing. It is always exciting to watch two teams go down to the wire. What an example of grit, teamwork, determination, and excellence!

Excellence will be on display along with diversity/inclusion starting tomorrow with the opening of the Winter Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. This year's games will be a welcome antidote to a long winter in a complicated world. I'm looking forward to watching at least some of the events and supporting the home team, our dearly beloved USA.

But now, colleagues, let me tell you about the NLN and what is going on here in Washington, DC. First, registration is open for the NLN Education Summit 2018, which takes place this year in Chicago. It is always smart to register early to take advantage of our best rates, including multiple group registrations from the same member school. And if you have nonmember colleagues, please urge them to attend. Let them know they can join the NLN now and take advantage of member rates.

By the way, we understand that some of you who want to attend the Summit may have problems getting approval to attend. If that is a concern for you, we offer a feature on the Summit site: "Make the Case: Talking to Your Employer About Attending the NLN Education Summit." Check it out. Some points will be valid for other NLN faculty development opportunities, such as the Nursing Education Research Conference (NERC), April 19–21 in Washington, DC. The important message is — quoting from our website — that "NLN professional development activities provide many and varied paths to helping nurses in education and practice teach in complex educational and health care systems."

The other development I want to share with you today is the exciting news that the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education is joining with Home Instead Senior Care^SM to foster and promote geriatric education through a $10,000 scholarship fund for nursing students. Applications will open on February 19 for six scholarships designed to prepare a nursing workforce to deliver the best care to older adults. Join me in thanking Home Instead for working with us to equip well-educated nursing professionals with the skills and competencies to care for our growing senior population.

NLN efforts to enhance geriatric education in nursing programs are well known. If you have not taken advantage of our signature program Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors (ACE.S), along with ACE.Z (Advancing Care Excellence for Alzheimer's Patients and Their Caregivers), take a look at our website. Note also that we offer ACE.V — for veterans and their caregivers — and ACE.D — for persons with disabilities. And we will soon release ACE.P — pediatrics. ACE resources are available at no charge for classroom use.

Let me conclude with a reminder that February is Black History Month. It has been 10 years since we said goodbye to Dr. M. Elizabeth Carnegie, editor emeritus of Nursing Research and author of the The Path We Tread: Blacks in Nursing Worldwide, 1854-1994, first published by the NLN. We lost a giant when we lost Elizabeth, and I lost one of my personal mentors. And don't forget Soul of Leadership by another dear mentor of mine, the late Dr. Hattie Bessent. Also published by the NLN, this book displays journeys in leadership and achievement with distinguished African American nurses. Both books are still valuable resources for remembering the many African American nurses who contributed so much to nursing history. In fact, we go all the way back to Mary Seacole, born of a Jamaican mother and a Scottish father, who cared for the British soldiers in the Crimean at the same time as our hero Florence Nightingale.

If you have photos of nursing education in days gone by taken at historically black colleges or other universities, please share them with us for the NLN Summit 2018. We are still looking for historical photos to help us celebrate 125 NLN years of nursing leadership this September at our Summit in Chicago. Chicago is the birthplace of the NLN and, with your help, we will go back home together and have amazing stories to share. You will have to come and join us at the Summit. It will be an experience to remember, overshadowing the Super Bowl and maybe even the Olympics. It will definitely be the BEST Summit ever.

Simulation Development for Moderate Sedation – How can you use TeamSTEPPS in specialty areas? Learn More. Faculty and Student Perspectives on Mentorship in a Nursing Honors Program, Learn More. The Latest Innovations in the Treatment of Eye and Brain Disorders, Read More. Celebrate 125 years of NLN leadership in nursing education at #NLNSummit18 — Early Bird Registration is Open Register Today.

Next Issue of the NLN Member Update: Wednesday, February 21, 2018. View previous issues of NLN Member Update »