May 13, 2015 - NLN Faculty Development for the Connected Age

I concluded my April 29 Member Update with a word about the need to support the people of Nepal. Just yesterday, this small country suffered a serious aftershock and the death toll is still rising. Here again is a list of organizations soliciting donations to provide relief efforts in Nepal. There are many ways you can help.

We live in an interconnected world, and events such as an earthquake in Nepal are no longer very far away. I hope that you read the Emerging Technologies Center column, which appears every two months in Nursing Education Perspectives. Reading Diana Skiba's articles is like having a privileged conversation with her. She is truly the guru of technology.

Since January of last year, with her column titled “The Connected Age: Implications for 2014” (Vol. 35, No. 1), Diane has focused on how people today “are connected through technology in their lives, their work, and in their continuous learning.” In each of her articles, she tackles implications for consumer health, for nursing, and for nursing education, and she offers endless ideas for teaching strategies.

As we watch a three-year old easily begin to manage an iPhone, we understand that we can no longer teach the way we were taught. We need to learn how to teach for this fantastic, interconnected, technological age. The NLN recently issued “A Vision for the Changing Faculty Role: Preparing Students for the Technological World of Health Care,” which presents a series of challenges for the nursing education community, for faculty, and for the NLN as a member organization. We take the challenges outlined in this vision statement seriously: to collaborate with key stakeholders and provide widespread faculty development opportunities. Our role is to help our faculty thrive, and I am proud to say that the programs we offer for teaching with technology are getting better and better.

We have a new program, the NLN/UMSON Institute for Simulation Educators, scheduled for July 28-30. The UMSON is the University of Maryland School of Nursing, and the institute will take place at its fabulous Debra L. Spunt Laboratories in Baltimore. Last month we issued another living document, this one titled “A Vision for Teaching with Simulation,” a call to action to “embed quality simulation experiences throughout the program of learning.” Our goal for the institute is to provide faculty with the knowledge and skills they need to do just that, to use simulation to its full potential.

Let me tell you about the faculty at the institute. Three are from the UNSON: Amy Daniels, MS, RN, CHSE, interim director of the Clinical Simulation Labs; Dr. Rachel Onello, a 2014-2015 NLN Jonas Scholar and faculty member who co-teaches faculty development workshops on debriefing; and Kathryn Schaivone, MPA, a clinical instructor and director of the Clinical Education and Evaluation Lab.

They are outstanding teachers, as are the two who represent the NLN. Dr. Susan Forneris, our simulation scholar-in-residence, is a professor at St. Catherine University in St. Paul and one of the NLN’s first Simulation Leaders from our inaugural group in 2010. Her educational scholarship is focused on critical thinking in nursing education with an emphasis on simulation development and integration into the curricula. Dr. Mary Fey, Accelerating to Practice manager, is adjunct faculty in the Harvard University Institute for Medical Simulation Comprehensive Instructor Workshop, which focuses heavily on debriefing. In the last course she taught, Mary tells me, there were MDs, RNs, pharmacists, physical therapists, psychologists, and even a veterinarian. Participants came from Canada, Finland, Spain, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates as well as the US.

Have I told you enough to convince you that you do not want to miss this fantastic experience? If you need more convincing, we are offering a free information session tomorrow at 3 pm EST.

A second faculty development program, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, is our Annual NLN/Elsevier Technology Conference, scheduled for October 22-24 in Tampa, Florida. The call for poster abstracts for this conference is still open through July 17. Here you will meet Dr. Skiba and again work with Mary and Sue, as well as other outstanding faculty, and you will focus on e-learning, informatics, and telehealth as well simulation — all technologies needed to prepare learners for today’s technology-rich and connected health care environment. 

And a reminder ... Our Summit this year has as its theme “A New World of Innovation & Technology.” This is a superior conference for all nurse educators, and May 31 — coming up soon — is the key date for registration. Be sure to register before then for the best savings and join us September 30 to October 2 in Las Vegas. And remember, to get the best hotel rate, you must register at Caesars Palace by May 15.

I could go on and on about all these events and the other professional opportunities we offer, but I want to touch briefly on a few other things. First, I want to share that my colleague Hilda Alcindor, dean of the Haiti School of Nursing — Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de l’Université Episcopale d’Haïti in Léogâne (FSIL) — will receive an honorary doctorate on May 17 from St. Anselm University in New Hampshire. In January I wrote about my impressions visiting with her in Haiti and her courage as a nurse leader following the disastrous earthquake in 2010. Congratulations, Hilda, on a well-deserved honor.

I too received an honorary degree, from the University of the District of Columbia. What a moment that was. It was thrilling to look out at the new graduates and to listen to the commencement address by Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. I am grateful to UDC for this honor.

Second, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is requesting nominations for members of the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP) from the various fields of nursing, higher and secondary education, and associate degree schools of nursing, as well as full-time students enrolled in schools of nursing and representatives of institutions that provide nursing services. Details are online. What a remarkable opportunity to contribute to our profession.

And finally, colleagues, don't forget that Memorial Day, May 25, is not just another holiday. It’s a time to remember, and to thank our veterans and members of our armed services for all that they do and have done. That includes the nurses — so many of our members, past and present.

Earlier this month I was invited to attend a luncheon hosted by the US Public Health Service to honor members of the US Nurse Cadet Corps and their families. I was sorry I could not attend but chief program officer Dr. Janice Brewington participated in my place. And she was overwhelmed. The corps was established by the US government in 1943 to address the nursing shortage during the World War II era. Headed by Lucile Petry Leone, who later became president of the NLN (1959-1963), it supported nursing schools throughout the country to provide accelerated training for young women, including African American women. With close to 124,000 nurse graduates, the US Cadet Nurse Corps had a profound influence on nursing education for years to come and brought many wonderful nurses into our profession. I want to thank RADM Dr. Sylvia Trent-Adams, assistant surgeon general and chief nurse officer of the US Public Health Service, for this invitation. As noted by Elizabeth Yeznach, a cadet from 1947, “We were pioneers, not dinosaurs of nursing, who proudly fulfilled our pledge. Nursing today carries our commitment to care.”

And so, I want to say thank you to our veterans and wish all of you, colleagues, a wonderful start to summer.

All best wishes,


Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer