May 1, 2019 | NLN CEO Update on National Nurses Week

The NLN Leadership Institute has been one of our signature programs for years now, and we are always excited to follow the careers of our graduates. Imagine our delight last week when we learned that Dr. Sandy Cayo, a graduate of NLN LEAD 2018, is featured in the May 2019 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine as one of five "health heroes" who "work tirelessly in the name of safety, comfort, and care." Sandy Cayo, DNP, FNP-BC, APRN, clinical assistant professor at the New York University Rory Meyer School of Nursing, is cited for her work in encouraging registration in the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program and educating members of underserved black communities about the importance of participating in clinical trials.

Just before I read Sandy's story of leadership another exciting bit of news circulated through the office. We learned that the NLN's own Molly Kellgren successfully defended her dissertation research — Simulation Facilitator Competency: Validity and Reliability Testing of a Self-Assessment Tool — at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Molly Kellgren, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSN, manager, Accelerating to Practice, participated in the 2014 Leadership Program for Simulation Educators, also part of the NLN Leadership Institute.

As I reflected on the accomplishments of these two NLN leaders I realized that I had the perfect opening for my pre-Nurses Week Member Update. Starting on May 6, National Nurses Day, and ending on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the NLN will join in the celebration of National Nurses Week and our own unique place in the history of nursing education in the United States. While highlighting some of our past accomplishments, we will touch on the broad reach of our many and various current efforts to "promote excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce, to advance the health of our nation and the global community." Visit our website and check out our daily social media posts during Nurses Week — you will be in for a treat when you do.

Colleagues, Nurses Week is a time for celebration, and it occurred to me that as our members may not know all the wonderful nurses on the NLN staff, this would be a good time for introductions. It is likely that you have met or worked with some of us, but you may not be familiar with our strong array of nursing talent. Let me tell you about the NLN nurses — and please plan to attend the NLN Education Summit 2019, September 26–28 near Washington, DC, to introduce yourself — we will be happy to get to know you better.

Janice Brewington, PhD, RN, FAAN, is chief program officer and director of the NLN Center for Transformational Leadership. Co-author of Roving Leadership: Breaking Through the Boundaries and director of the NLN Leadership Institute, Janice came to the NLN after a distinguished career in academia at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Linda Christensen, EdD, JD, MSN, RN, CNE, is a nurse-educator-administrator-lawyer and NLN chief governance officer. Linda works closely with the director of our academic Certified Nurse Educator program, Larry Simmons, PhD, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, who has played a significant role in the development of the CNE^® program, now extended to the CNE^®cl.

Then there is the NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA). We are so fortunate that after Judith Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, served as NLN president, she joined our staff as CNEA executive director. You know her many books, especially Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty, now in its 5^th edition, and her 2018 NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators: A Decade of Influence. She is co-author with Betsy Frank, PhD, RN, ANEF, of Pathways to a Nursing Education Career: Transitioning from Practice to Academia. Betsy now works closely with Judy as associate director of CNEA. She served the NLN as an active member in numerous capacities over the years, including as a member of the Nursing Education Perspectives Editorial Board.

Susan Gross Forneris, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE-A, is Excelsior Director of the NLN Center for Innovation in Simulation and Technology and co-author of Critical Conversations: The NLN Guide for Teaching Thinking. You heard her deliver the annual Debra L. Spunt Lecture at the last NLN Education Summit: "On the Shoulders of Giants: Building Innovation in Teaching Excellence." We are fortunate that Susan brings her skills of technology and teaching to the NLN. Dr. Molly Kellgren works closely with Amy Kline, MA, RN, CHSE, manager of simulation and technology initiatives, to provide faculty development for nurse educators — even educators in China — on innovations in simulation, e-learning, telehealth, and the integration of informatics into curricula.

Barbara Patterson, PhD, RN, ANEF, Distinguished Professor and associate dean for scholarship & inquiry at the Widener University School of Nursing, is also distinguished scholar for the NLN Chamberlain University College of Nursing Center for the Advancement of the Science of Nursing Education. In that capacity she oversees a number of NLN programs and initiatives, including research grants and dissertation awards, publications including Nursing Education Perspectives (she is Research Briefs editor), and faculty development programs, including our Scholarly Writing Retreats. We are so glad that Barbara is able to divide her time so skillfully between academia and the NLN.

And that leaves me — a proud psychiatric nurse. My doctorate in clinical psychology and master's in psychiatric nursing under the tutelage of Dr. Hildegard Peplau has taken me on an incredible journey that I could never have envisioned early in my career as an educator and clinician: from Washington as deputy assistant secretary of health in the Clinton administration, to London as general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, and back to Washington as NLN CEO. What a gift it is to be part of the nursing profession. As our brief stories indicate, nurses’ opportunities for leadership and accomplishment are endless.

The nurses of the NLN also include the outstanding NLN Board of Governors, led by President G. Rumay Alexander, without whom the staff would not be able to accomplish all that they do. Other NLN nurses include the CNEA Board of Commissioners, the Certified Nurse Educator Commission, the leadership of the NLN Foundation, the fellows in the NLN Academy for Nursing Education, our Ambassadors, and our many, many committee members who are all proud of our mission and our core values of caring, diversity/inclusion, integrity, and excellence. As I said earlier, Nurses Week is a time of celebration. Let's make sure it is also a time of recommitment and renewed energy as we look to the future of nursing education and the difference we make in the lives of others.

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Next Issue of the NLN Member Update: Wednesday, May 15, 2019. View previous issues of NLN Member Update »