Published June 16, 2021 
Weekly Digest
On June 11, 2021, reporter Cynthia Silva with NBC News posted a story titled There Are Too Few Latino Nurses. COVID Showed How Important They Are. With fewer than 6 percent of registered nurses representing the Latino population, healthcare and education experts are trying to address this inequity with the goal of improving access to high quality, culturally competent care. Efforts to attract more Latinos into nursing schools are addressed, including a successful program underway at the University of Alabama. Dr. Antonia Villarruel, nursing dean from the University of Pennsylvania, offers advice on dismantling structural barriers that would help to diversify the nursing workforce.
On June 14, 2021, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a new analysis on the future of nursing titled How the Nursing Profession Should Adapt for a Digital Future. The authors suggest that nursing in general has not kept pace with rapid changes in digital technologies. To prepare for the future, nursing must begin an immediate transformation into a digitally enabled profession to better meet patient care needs. The article cites the new AACN Essentials as progress in this regard, because the new competency document identifies informatics and emergent technologies, and their impact on decision making and quality, as critical to professional practice.
AACN Updates
Dr. Judith Karshmer Elected to the AACN Board of Directors
CDC Funding Opportunities: Public Health Emergency Preparedness/Response and Public Health Data Modernization
Tomorrow (June 17) is Registration Deadline for Summer 2021 CNL Exam Testing Period
The Social Pulse
Retired Army Nurse Leader Advocates for the COVID-19 Vaccines
At 81 years of age, retired Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender, the 18th Chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, has volunteered to combat COVID-19 by vaccinating her community. Watch this video where she shares her experience and insights. Spread the word by sharing on social media or retweeting this tweet with the hashtags #NCAT and #InHerOwnWords.
Inside Higher Ed Sheds Light on The Questions We Can’t Afford to Ignore
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many of us to have questions that leaders in higher education must recognize and confront. How should colleges help students, faculty, and staff process these questions? Read this recent opinion piece on ways to have meaningful dialogue as we prepare for a different, post-pandemic future.
Washington Weekly
Inside this edition of Washington Weekly: AACN Attends National Health Equity Summit; Senate Committee Addresses Mental Health; Mark Your Calendar: CMS to Host Vaccine Outreach Webinars.
Read AACN's Washington Weekly >>
Opportunities and Resources to Consider
- AACN, in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has issued a request for letters of intent from member schools for projects boosting and empowering COVID-19 vaccine confidence among nursing students, nurses, and other healthcare providers, and in communities, particularly with underrepresented, vulnerable, and at-risk populations. The project period is approximately 10 months beginning September 2021, and funded projects may receive up to $100,000. If this funding is received, projects will be selected from among those schools who submitted a letter to AACN by June 30. For more information or to apply, click here. Please direct questions to Allison Jacobs, associate director of Population Health Initiatives, at ajacobs@aacnnursing.org.
- Case studies, simulation scenarios, and PowerPoint slides have been developed by the Immunization Resources for Undergraduate Nursing (IRUN) project through a cooperative agreement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. The teaching resources support the learning objectives in IRUN Curriculum Framework: A Guide to Integrating Content in Prelicensure Nursing Practice. For more information, click here.
Coronavirus Resources for Nurse Educators
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To support the information needs of nursing school deans, faculty, students, and other stakeholders, AACN has developed a resource center to highlight key information sources found on the Web regarding COVID-19. The following information and opportunities are currently featured.
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Latest News
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CDC Tracking New Variant of the Virus that Causes COVID-19 Called Delta, or B.1.617.2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - June 15, 2021
5 Charts That Show Where We Are in The Pandemic
PBS News Hour - June 15, 2021
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Latest School News
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UIC Nursing Alumni Mentor Program Finds Meaning During COVID-19 Pandemic
University of Illinois Chicago - June 15, 2021
Nursing Graduates Reflect on Their Profession During a Global Health Crisis
California State University, Fullerton - June 15, 2021
MTSU is First Tennessee University to Join Biden’s “COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge” –
Middle Tennessee State University - June 12, 2021
DNP Students Robert Bohnert and Elise Schaller Examine COVID-19 Guideline Adherence in Youth Sports
University of Missouri-St. Louis – June 2, 2021
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See Past Issues of AACN News Watch