Published October 28, 2020 
Rounds with Leadership: Co-Creating the Future of Academic Nursing
Each year, AACN hosts an invitational Thought Leaders Assembly to provide an opportunity for candid reflection, learning, and generative thinking around issues impacting the future of academic nursing. Bringing together a small group of invited guests, member deans, AACN’s Board of Directors, practice leaders, and senior staff, this event is designed to stimulate fresh thinking and better position AACN to serve as a catalyst for innovation and change.
In a year marked by a once-in-a-generation public health threat, racial justice uprisings, economic instability, wildfires and hurricanes, and a divided electorate, this year’s Thought Leaders Assembly was developed around the theme Lessons Learned: Exemplary Partnerships in Response to COVID-19. With 44 individuals engaged in this virtual event, participants shared their insights on the importance of working together in teams to manage, support, adapt, and deal with uncertainty. Key topics of discussion, which were framed around the challenge of providing leadership in a “VUCA World” (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) included:
- Leadership in turbulent times
- Lessons learned by academic and practice leaders following the rapid response to COVID-19
- Opportunities to strengthen academic-practice partnerships
- Recommendations for re-envisioning future partnerships to ensure maximum impact
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Weekly Digest
In the October 2020 issue of Minority Nurse magazine, writer Jebra Turner contributed a new article on second-career professionals looking to transition into nursing titled Act Two: How to Fast-Track Your Career Change. Dr. Vernell DeWitty, AACN’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion, is featured and describes efforts to recruit more individuals from groups underrepresented in nursing into the profession via accelerated baccalaureate and master’s programs. Following the pandemic, Dr. DeWitty forecasts that the public will have a new appreciation for the contributions that nurses make to the health of this nation and addressing healthcare disparities.
In the October 2020 issue of the Journal of Nursing Education, a research team led by Dr. Melinda Merrell from the Rural and Minority Health Research Center at the University of South Carolina published findings from a new study titled A National Survey of RN-to-BSN Programs: Are They Reaching Rural Students? With only 38% of RN to BSN programs targeting rural RNs for recruitment, the authors call for expanded efforts to reach nurses in these communities, which can be facilitated by partnerships with community colleges, rural clinical placements, and online offerings.
AACN Updates
AACN Recognizes Excellence at the 2020 Academic Nursing Leadership Conference
Register Now for AACN’s Virtual Fall Faculty Forum, December 7-9
NursingCAS Offering Two Free Webinars This Week
Apply Now for the GNSA Digital Innovators Program