Published October 14, 2020 
Weekly Digest
In an article published online by the Journal of Professional Nursing (and part of an upcoming special section on the University of Pennsylvania PhD Summit), AACN President and CEO Deborah Trautman joins with a group of distinguished nurse leaders to explore Emerging Roles for Research Intensive PhD Prepared Nurses: Beyond Faculty Positions. The authors detail how advancing the health of patients and communities depends on preparing the next generation of nurse scientists to pursue career trajectories outside of traditional academic institutions, including positions in health policy.
On October 13, Dr. Bevin Cohen from Columbia University, together with a team of researchers from schools of nursing and practice, published a new letter in The Lancet titled Nursing’s Seat at the Research Roundtable. As we celebrate the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, the authors call for recognizing the contributions that nurses make to advancing research and for expanding the roles they can play in responding to COVID-19. The researchers conclude that “to ensure a future in which health care is efficient, equitable, cost-effective, and patient-centered, let us remember to always fill nursing’s seat at the research roundtable.”
AACN Updates
Important Update on the AACN Essentials
Results for AACN’s Latest Faculty Vacancy Survey Released
Dr. Darrell Kirch to Receive Bednash Lectureship Award at Academic Nursing Leadership Conference
Call for Nominations: Diversity, Inclusion, and Sustainability in Nursing Education Lectureship Award
The Social Pulse
University of Kentucky Featured in New Documentary
In Case of Emergency: Without Them, We Don't Stand a Chance follows a day in the life of three emergency nurses at the University of Kentucky Healthcare's Chandler Emergency Department. The focus of this documentary is to help the American public see how critical nurses are to the health of the nation. Learn more about the film and its mission here.
From Custodian to Nurse Practitioner - An Elms College Nursing Student's Inspiring Journey
Jaines Andrades started working at Baystate Medical as a janitor and worked her way through nursing programs at Elms College School of Nursing. Ten years later she has now returned as a nurse practitioner. Read more about her journey here.
Washington Weekly
Inside this edition of Washington Weekly: AACN Comments on the Proposed 2021 Physician Fee Schedule; President Trump Issues Mental Health Executive Order Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic; Join us for AACN’s Virtual Advocacy Day on Monday, October 19; Nursing Voices, Nursing Votes.
Read AACN's Washington Weekly >>
New Partnerships & Grant-funded Initiatives
Member News Note: In last week’s issue of News Watch, we inadvertently omitted the University of Minnesota School of Nursing from the list of AACN member schools that received the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine for outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. All award-winning schools will be featured in the December 2020 issue of the publication.
- Oakland University School of Nursing (SON) and McLaren Oakland Hospital have partnered to devise an innovative option for ADN-prepared, employed nurses to return to school to complete their four-year degree in a timely, flexible, and cost-effective way. The SON worked with an advising team and the SON faculty and administration to develop a roadmap for seamless entry into the RN-BSN degree completion sequence. Read more >>
- In July, Austin Peay State University (APSU) School of Nursing and Fisk University signed a Memorandum of Understanding that paved the way for Fisk students to enroll in APSU’s School of Nursing each semester. This new agreement will begin during the Spring 2021 semester. Officials at Fisk pursued this agreement, in part, since APSU’s program consistently reports a near 100% passing rate for the national licensure test. APSU administrators are eager to serve students from Fisk – a historically Black university. Read more >>
- The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing has announced that the Helene Fuld Health Trust (HFHT) has made a $650,000 gift to establish the HFHT Scholarship as a permanently endowed fund at the University of Nebraska Foundation. Income from the fund will enable the College of Nursing to award annual scholarships to students enrolled in the accelerated nursing program. Read more >>
- Grand Valley State University’s (GVSU) Kirkhof College of Nursing has received a $500,000 grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to offer a unique model of integrated behavioral health and primary care. The two-year grant establishes Project Thrive and offers fully integrated services at the GVSU Family Health Center and at two housing complexes that serve adults with limited incomes. Read more >>
- Dr. Melissa Sutherland, professor and director at Kresge Center for Nursing Research at Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences and Dr. Katherine Hutchinson, professor and associate dean of research and graduate programs at the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing, are the recipients of a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to study how to effectively implement intimate partner and sexual violence screenings in college health centers across the United States. Read more >>
- The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) College of Nursing has announced a partnership between the College and Calhoun Community College Nursing to offer a Dual Nursing Program, which will begin admitting students for spring 2021. Read more >>
AACN Gallery of Leadership - Call for Video Submissions
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AACN invites members deans/directors to share their thoughts on how the nursing community can help end racism and foster equitable change.
Submit a video to this new section of our online Gallery of Leadership by completing this online form.
Video submissions are due Wednesday, November 15.
Find out what your colleagues are saying by viewing the AACN's Gallery of Leadership.
Coronavirus Resources for Nurse Educators
See Past Issues of AACN News Watch