November 12 - Here's What's Happening at Our Home for Transformative Excellence

Way back in the early part of the 2010s, when the NLN's new offices, and the idea for the NLN Home for Transformative Excellence were a distant dream, we envisioned teams of experts meeting in our home to strategize exciting new ideas and new initiatives. In fact, we planned our headquarters for just that purpose. There are large conference rooms and multiple spaces for small groups to work together.

Now, in our second year in the Watergate, our vision has been realized well beyond our expectations. Let me tell you about some of what has been happening at the NLN, just in late October and early November 2014.

Do you remember the Debra L. Spunt Lecture by Dr. Kristina Thomas Dreifuerst at our most recent Summit? Kristina spoke on the value of debriefing to advance higher order thinking among nursing students. The NLN expanded on her ideas and has stepped up to the plate. The conversation continues with the NLN/INACSL Invitational Strategic Action Committee on Using Debriefing Methods to Teach Thinking Across the Nursing Curriculum.

Kristina and 13 other experts in the use of simulation and debriefing met at the NLN on October 28 to consider approaches to assist nurse educators to apply debriefing, a simulation teaching strategy, to develop clinical reasoning in the classroom and clinical settings. The committee considered best practices for the use of debriefing and made recommendations for faculty, deans/directors, and the NLN about ways to integrate it. Look forward to a Vision Statement on debriefing to enhance clinical reasoning in 2015. How exciting is this?!

November 19 November 19: Strategies for Identifying and Assisting the At-Risk Student Webinar December 3 Emotional Intelligence: A Pathway for Becoming a Good to Great Leader December 12 2015 NLN Education Summit: Call for Abstracts January 9 CNE Prep Co-sponsored with ISU January 9 Scholarly Writing Retreat Applications Due February 5-7 2015 NLN Leadership Conference Educators: Are you addressing tricky issues in simulation with creative low cost solutions? Submit your idea on the new HomeGrown Simulation Solutions section of the SIRC. Curiosity: It Helps Us Learn, But Why? Don't forget your flu shot. T'is the season. Nurses we must spread the word - the health of our nation & global community is in our hands. Seattle vs. Ebola Virus

A day earlier, October 27, the NLN Center for Excellence in the Care of Vulnerable Populations, headed by Dr. Elaine Tagliareni, hosted an exploratory meeting on Post-Acute Care Onboarding and Training with executives from several health care service organizations and Wolters Kluwer Health (WKH). The purpose was to review the current state of training for nurses as it relates to post-acute care and gerontology in the curriculum. We will be using feedback from the meeting to discuss ways that WKH and the NLN can create solutions that will ease the transition to practice in post-acute care health care environments.

Then, during the first week of November, Dr. Virginia Adams, director of the NLN Center for Diversity and Global Initiatives, and Dr. Janice Brewington, director of the NLN Center for Transformational Leadership and an NLN chief program officer, hosted a Strategic Action Group on Expanding Diversity and Inclusion in Nursing Education. Seven national leaders met to determine a vision and explore strategies for expanding diversity and inclusion. Look for recommendations from the group for the NLN and for nursing education programs about ways to co-create positive organizational cultures that incorporate diversity and inclusion.

Colleagues, if the walls of NLN's new headquarters could talk... There is so much intriguing discussion taking place, and so many fascinating people who are meeting to transform nursing education through strategies of daring ingenuity.

If you would like to become part of all this excitement at the NLN and assume a greater leadership role in nursing education, a good place to start might be the 2015 NLN Leadership Conference, which takes place February 5-7 in San Antonio. This is an interactive conference designed to engage participants in experiential learning about strategies to address the dynamics that often serve as barriers to successful organization performance: resistance, power, authority, and competition. Please take some time to review the great line-up of speakers and presentations.

And now a couple of things... First, let me introduce you to the newest member of our staff. Dr. Mary Fey, manager of our Accelerating to Practice (A2P) initiative in the Center for Clinical and Academic Transitions, comes to the NLN from the University of Maryland School of Nursing where she was the director of clinical simulation laboratories. Mary has more than 10 years of teaching experience in undergraduate and graduate nursing education, and, among her many talents, she is an experienced beekeeper. I am eager to tell you more about Mary and her work with A2P (and beekeeping) in the months to come.

We are coming upon the second open enrollment period for the health insurance marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act: November 15 - February 15. First Lady Michelle Obama is asking nurses and other patient providers to join a conference call on Friday, November 14, at 1:25 PM ET to discuss the open enrollment period. You are invited - and encouraged - to join the call but you must register online first to receive dial-in information. And please call in five to seven minutes early to avoid connection delays. Marketplaces under the ACA are important for the health care of our nation.

And a third and final note... Yesterday the nation observed Veterans Day, a day to honor all American veterans, where ever and whenever they've served. You may not have realized that through ACE.V (Advancing Care Excellence for Veterans), the NLN offers unfolding cases designed to create a robust, meaningful experience of continuity of care for student instruction. Our unfolding cases are available for you to use at no charge, with assignment ideas and teaching strategies. Many of our nurse faculty served, or continue to serve, in the US Armed Forces. Thank you for all you do.

All best wishes,


Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer

Next Issue of the NLN Member Update: Wednesday, November 26. View previous issues of NLN Member Update »