March 21, 2018 | NLN CEO Update on HBCU Nursing Programs | Summer Series

Did you know that in 1942, the NLN (then the NLNE) broke racial barriers in nursing by allowing Black nurses in the South full participatory membership, at a time when many state organizations retained a “Whites Only” policy? We have been an inclusive organization ever since, with diversity/inclusivity among our fundamental core values. Dr. Nancy Langston accepted a Color of Care Award from Sunnia Communications for this action on behalf of the NLN in October 1999. Writing in her President’ Message in the January/February 2000 issue of Nursing and Health Care Perspectives – the millennium issue – Nancy wrote that “Most of us serving the NLN had no knowledge of this courageous action.” She used her column, titled “A Single Garment,” to “commit to you now NLN’s leadership efforts to carry forward its long-standing legacy, based on the common destiny of nurses and nursing across diversity, whether that diversity is of color or education.” We now add gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, physical ability and age. Nancy is a wonderful writer – I wish her columns from that time were online. But thanks to my colleague Google, you can find an excerpt here. And for more about the NLN commitment to inclusion, let me refer you to our 2016 Vision Statement, “Achieving Diversity and Meaningful Inclusion in Nursing Education” – it never goes out of style.

Membership in the NLN has been has been valued by schools of nursing and individual nurse faculty for decades – we are celebrating 125 Years of Nursing Leadership at our next Summit, September 12-14 in Chicago. To help us grow our membership and ensure that members benefit from all that we offer, I am very happy to report that we recently brought on board a new director of membership and recognition programs, Elizabeth Reyna. Elizabeth has worked in association membership for almost 10 years, most recently at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). She has worked in all areas – customer service, retention, member recruitment, and marketing – and ultimately took on a leadership role in member engagement. Member engagement ties together all other areas. The more we interact with you, our members, the more we understand your needs and the better we are in fulfilling those needs. She will bring this focus to her work with the NLN.

Elizabeth grew up in southside Virginia, graduated from the University of Virginia, and now lives with her husband and two small daughters in Alexandria. And, what you might not have known, her mother, Mary Worrell, is a nurse educator. She was for many years a professor of nursing and taught in the PN program at Southside Virginia Community College. (Now she is mostly retired but still teaches as adjunct faculty. Once a nurse always a nurse.) Clearly Elizabeth brings experience and inside knowledge to her position. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth. We are so glad to have you on board. Colleagues, if you have any questions about your membership or membership benefits, you can always write to membership@nln.org or contact Elizabeth directly at ereyna@nln.org.

Now I want to share with you something else very exciting that recently happened at the NLN. With grant funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institute on Minority Health & Health Disparities, we brought together senior administrators, deans/directors of nursing, faculty, and students from six HBCUs – historically black colleges and universities – for a two-day conference titled “Action Coalition to Increase Diversity in Nursing by Strengthening HBCU Nursing Programs.” Participants came from the nursing programs at Dillard University, Hampton University, Howard University, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical NC A&T) State University, Winston Salem State University, and the University of the District of Columbia.

I only wish we could have included more of you as the speakers were amazing. Dr. Charles Nelms of Indiana University presented a keynote on holistic strategies for strengthening HBCUs. Dr. Sophia Russell, a captain in the US Public Health Service and director for the division of nursing and public health, spoke on HRSA initiatives in the health workforce and underserved communities. NLN secretary Teresa Shellenbarger of Indiana University of Pennsylvania spoke on program evaluation. And Dr. Cheryl Taylor of Southern University and Dr. Leslee Battle of Winston Salem University led a panel discussion on what success looks like – along with challenges and opportunities. The final presentation was on the new generation of NCLEX by Loretta Manning, CEO of I Can Publishing. I thank Dr. Janice Brewington, chief program officer for the NLN, for leading this program and making it a success.

Janice and I share a background at North Carolina A&T – I was dean there years ago and she was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs before joining the staff of the NLN. We both feel strongly about the exciting possibilities HBCUs present for nursing education in the contemporary demographic landscape. These schools – once the principal means for providing postsecondary education to black Americans – now represent a vital component of American higher education for students from all backgrounds. I’m glad that the NLN has this opportunity to help strengthen these six nursing programs and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. There are strategic action steps with appropriate NLN oversight and support.

By the way, one of our summer series of professional development opportunities is a workshop titled “Diversity & Inclusion: Facilitating Race-Related Discourse that Matters.” It will be led by Dr. Kenya Beard on June 29, 2018, at our offices in Washington, DC. The entire series is fascinating – there are workshops on curricula, QSEN, data analysis for researchers, and more. Plan to be with us in Washington for at least one these workshops. We will be glad to greet you and show you the gorgeous views from the 8th floor of the historical Watergate building. Membership in the NLN provides so many ways to develop your career, expand your knowledge, stay up-to-date on best practices, and apply evidence-based strategies and techniques to nursing education. We hope you will take advantage of the many opportunities we offer with caring, excellence, and integrity – always with a view toward inclusion!

See you in Washington, DC, and then see you in Chicago at the Summit.

Robotic mannequin helps nurses learn to help sexual assault victims, Learn More. Attend Prominent Plenary Sessions About Relevant Issues Affecting Nursing Education #NERC18 Read More. #NLNTEQ Read about the Influence of Technology for Current and Future Education in Indonesia, More Here. 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, March 21, 2018. View previous issues of NLN Member Update »