Published July 28, 2021 
Welcome to Rounds with Leadership, a forum for AACN’s Board Chair and President/CEO to offer commentary on issues and trends impacting academic nursing.
Rounds with Leadership: Accelerating Momentum for Change
"The American Association of Colleges of Nursing recognizes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as critical to nursing education and fundamental to developing a nursing workforce able to provide high quality, culturally appropriate, and congruent health care. "
- AACN Position Statement (2017)
Launching the new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Network earlier this week represents AACN’s latest step to serve as a primary advocate for advancing DEI-focused initiatives in academic nursing. Members of this network will help to distill the best thinking around how to prepare nurses to address health inequities and meet the care needs of communities of color.
Meet AACN’s New Chief Diversity Officer
To further enhance our impact in the area of DEI, AACN is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Vernell DeWitty to the new role of Chief Diversity Officer. Dr. DeWitty joined the AACN staff in 2008 to lead the New Careers in Nursing (NCIN) Scholarship Program, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. By the time this nine-year, $41 million initiative sunset in 2017, NCIN helped to support the academic success of more than 3,000 nursing students from underrepresented backgrounds at 130 schools of nursing. In her subsequent role as AACN’s Director for Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. DeWitty has been instrumental in leading many of the association’s signature initiatives in DEI, including our work to advance holistic admissions review, the development of the Diversity Leadership Institute, launch of the annual Diversity Symposium, and hosting of the recent Advancing Nursing Workforce Diversity Impact Summit, which attracted more than 950 attendees.
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Weekly Digest
On July 21, 2021, the Communivax Coalition, which is convened by the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, issued a new report on Carrying Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination Forward: Guidance Informed by Communities of Color. Drawing upon research conducted with Black and Hispanic/Latino communities, the report provides guidance on adapting COVID-19 vaccination efforts to achieve greater vaccine coverage in underserved populations. The authors provide tangible information for nursing organizations to use in promoting vaccine equity, reducing vaccine hesitancy, and building trust in communities or color.
In the July 2021 issue of the Journal of Nursing Regulation, Michelle Buck, a Senior Policy Advisor for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, published a new article titled An Update on the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: More Than a Decade of Progress. The author provides a review of the Consensus Model, which outlines a uniform approach to APRN regulation, including the barriers to and benefits of full adoption across all U.S. states.
AACN Updates
AACN Launches Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Network
Submit Your Abstract for Transform 2021: Deadline is August 6
Plan to Participate in GNSA's Digital Innovators Showcase
Upcoming AACN Programming on Implementing the New Essentials
With schools across the nation beginning the work needed to implement the new Essentials and transition to a competency-based approach to nursing education, AACN is planning a full lineup of program sessions and webinars this fall. Events currently scheduled include:
Academic Nursing Leadership Conference (for Deans and Associate Deans)
Bringing the Future into Focus: Academic Nursing's Role in Leading Change
October 30-November 1, 2021
Faculty Development Conference (for Faculty)
Meeting the Moment: Exploring the New AACN Essentials
December 1, 2021
Transform 2021 (for Faculty, Deans, and Associate Deans)
The Future of Nursing Education: Innovation, Inclusion, and Influence
December 2-4, 2021
Learn More
The Social Pulse
Nurse Leader Network Podcast: The Importance of Healing Yourself as a Healer
Nurses are known for being selfless, compassionate, and for giving everything they have to care for others. A recent episode of the Nurse Leader Network podcast shares ideas on how nurses can take the best care of themselves to fight burnout. Listen to the podcast here.
Creative Work-Life Integration for Early Career Nurses
New nurses are most vulnerable to burnout during their first three years of practice. In an upcoming Sigma Nursing webinar, the authors of Self-Care for New and Student Nurses will focus on nurses’ choices and decisions that are fundamental to composing a balanced, integrated, and meaningful life. All of this will be placed within the context of the real-world challenges that face nurses and health systems today. Register for the August 25 webinar here.
Washington Weekly
Inside this edition of Washington Weekly: Countdown to August Recess: Opportunities for AACN Advocates to Engage with Federal Policymakers; Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Continued Efforts to Combat COVID-19; Continue Your Advocacy During the August Recess.
Read AACN's Washington Weekly >>
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