Published February 28, 2018 
Rounds With Leadership: With Appreciation
This common ending to a letter expresses my thoughts as I prepare to hand over the gavel at the conclusion of the Deans Annual Meeting to Dr. Ann Cary, University of Missouri Kansas City, who will begin her term as Chair of the AACN Board of Directors on March 26. I appreciate each of you – deans, directors, faculty, students, staff, clinical partners, and interprofessional colleagues – for the talent and vision you bring to academic nursing and all that means for the growth and improvement of nursing and its impact on the health of people worldwide. Whether it is through innovative academic-clinical partnerships, education at the baccalaureate and higher degree levels, lifelong learning, clinical and systems research, full scope clinical practice, policy work, or any of the innumerable ways nurses make a difference, I thank you.
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Weekly Digest
In the latest issue of Nursing 2018, Dr. Richard Pullen and Charlotte Silvers, both faculty from Texas Tech University School of Nursing's online RN-to-BSN program, published an article on What Nurses Should Know About Online Programs. In this piece, the authors relay a series of questions and answers that prospective students should consider when selecting a quality, reputable online program to achieve their career goals. The importance of accreditation status, the program's mission and standards, faculty access, student support services, and cost is considered.
In the February 23, 2018 edition of AMA Wire, staff writer Brendan Murphy details how interprofessional education has taken hold at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in an article titled These Med Students Learn Teamwork from Practicing Nurses. In 2017, the university piloted a new clinical experience that paired 88 first-year medical students with practicing nurses from 11 high-performing nursing units. The program, known as UNITE (Understanding Nursing: Interprofessional Team-Based Experience), was initiated to break down the interprofessional silos that often exist in medical education. Both nursing and medical students find this approach to clinical education to be highly rewarding.
AACN Updates
Apple and AACN Collaborate to Offer Digital Innovation Bootcamp >>
Jonas Announces New Investment in Doctoral Nursing Education >>
2018 Johnson & Johnson/AACN Minority Nurse Faculty Scholars Application Cycle Now Open >>
Still Time to Register for AACN's Network Conferences—NAP, GNAP, and BONUS >>
GNSA Hosts Inaugural National Conference >>
The Social Pulse
Nursing Now Campaign Launched to Empower and Raise the Profile of Nurses
On February 27, the International Council of Nurses and the World Health Organization launched Nursing Now, an initiative empowering nurses to take the lead in addressing 21st-century health issues. Campaign launch events took place in Geneva, Switzerland, and London. Supported by Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, and world-renowned health organizations, the campaign aims to achieve greater investment in improving education, professional development, standards, regulation, and employment conditions for nurses.
AACN-TV Spotlight: The Ohio State University College of Nursing
"Our students at a distance and on-campus have an opportunity to learn how to deliver care as a provider to patients who are at a distance through telehealth." -Dr. Margaret Graham, Vice Dean and Associate Professor. Learn more about The Ohio State University College of Nursing and explore AACN-TV to watch the latest innovations underway at schools of nursing nationwide!

Washington Weekly
In this edition of Washington Weekly: Celebrating Black History Month, AACN honors Lawrence C. Washington, whose military and academic service propelled the nursing profession forward; a Supreme Court decision protects current DACA recipients; and the White House will host an opioids summit on Thursday.
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