Published August 11, 2021 
Weekly Digest
In the September-October 2021 Journal of Professional Nursing, Dr. Tomeka Dowling and colleagues from the University of Virginia School of Nursing published an article titled Cultivating Inclusive Learning Environments that Foster Nursing Education Program Resiliency During the COVID-19 Pandemic. The authors describe how nursing programs can leverage compassion and strength to foster belongingness, a sense of inclusivity, and organizational resiliency. The article underscores how cultivating inclusive, intentional classrooms creates cohesion, strength, and respect, while reducing attrition and disconnectedness.
Published online July 28, 2021 by Nursing Outlook, Drs. Azita Emami and Butch de Castro from the University of Washington (UW) School of Nursing offer an approach to Confronting Racism in Nursing. The authors consider the circle of inequity and racial disparities in disease incidence and health outcomes as well as the roles nurses can play in addressing racism. UW’s new Center for Antiracism in Nursing is referenced.
AACN Updates
Program Announced for AACN's Transform 2021 Conference
Upcoming Webinar: Professional Development Opportunities Through the GNSA
Application Deadline Approaching for TIGER - Translation and Integration of Genomics is Essential Doctoral NuRsing
CCNE Constituents Elect New Board and Nominating Committee Members

Update: Essentials Executive Summary Now Available
To help introduce AACN’s new Essentials to a variety of key stakeholders, we have created a brief Executive Summary that is now accessible online. This overview was designed to orient faculty, students, practice partners, the media, policy staff, and the public to the Essentials and what the new standards means for nursing.
View the Executive Summary
The Social Pulse
Inside Higher Ed Webinar to Showcase Flexible Learning Models in Higher Education
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Plan to attend Inside Higher Ed's next webinar for educators to be held Wednesday, September 8 at 2:00 PM (ET). The webinar will explore some of the ways that colleges, faculty, and students are rethinking educational delivery to provide more flexibility without compromising on quality or learning. Register and learn about the introduction of new technologies, changes in faculty attitudes, and the importance of caring, no matter the delivery mode.
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Washington Weekly
Inside this edition of Washington Weekly: Apply Now for an All of Us Research Program Mini-Grant Award; Administration Extends Public Health and Higher Education Emergency Provisions; Senate Passes Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation
Read AACN's Washington Weekly >>
New Partnerships & Grant Funded Initiatives
- The Midwest Nursing History Research Center at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing has received a $60,000 grant from the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelly Foundation to create the Chicago Black Nurses Archive Mapping project, a publicly accessible, Black-centered history of nursing in Chicago. The grant is part of the Donnelly Foundation’s “Broadening Narratives” initiative. Read more >>
- To help combat the local nursing shortage, Missouri State University’s School of Nursing is piloting a Mercy Hospital Springfield program called “Earn as You Learn.” In the program, nursing students are compensated for clinical hours as Mercy co-workers. Students can work additional hours as an aide or a sitter. Read more >>
- The Saint Louis University (SLU) Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing is the recipient of a HRSA nursing workforce diversity grant. The school will receive $2.1 million in federal funds over the next four years to support underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged students. Read more >>
- A Troy University School of Nursing program aimed at increasing the number of qualified nursing faculty in Alabama received an increase in HRSA funding for the 2021-2022 academic year. The program, which began last year with receiving $80,387 in funding through the Nurse Faculty Loan Program grant, will receive $111,964 this year through the grant program. Read more >>
- Drs. Rebecca Kronk and Mihaela-Rita Mihailescu, Duquesne University, recently received a 5-year grant through the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health to assist in the creation of a self-paced, free, online course entitled Genomic Competencies for Nurses from Theory to Application: An Online Course. This course is designed to improve the knowledge of genetics for Doctoral level (PhD; DNP) students, faculty and/or practicing nurses to improve patient health care outcomes with particular focus on individuals from underrepresented groups. No prior genetics experience is required. The course will launch in January 2022. For more information, please visit this website or contact Elizabeth Davidson to be added to the wait list for the course.
- The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing has been awarded a four-year, $1.83 million grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) to improve the distribution of the behavioral health workforce through new partnerships and the expansion of existing partnerships. As part of this grant-funded project, one master’s level and three doctoral level psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) students, four master’s level social work students and three post-doctoral psychiatry medical residents will receive training in high need and high demand clinical sites in Birmingham. Students will receive hands-on experience and training as part of interprofessional teams, integrated behavioral health, trauma-informed care, telehealth, and resilience while they address the needs of patients across the lifespan. Read more >>

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.
Latest Resources
UT to Conduct Vaccination Outreach in 6 Rural Counties – August 10, 2021
University of Tennessee
Hunt School of Nursing Administered Thousands of COVID-19 Vaccines to Juárez Maquiladora Workers – August 4, 2021
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
We Can't Train Them Fast Enough': Nurse Shortages Persist as Delta Variant Drives More COVID-19 Cases – August 3, 2021
Bellevue College
To Achieve Vaccine Equity, “CEAL” Examines Barriers to Vaccination – August 2, 2021
Johns Hopkins University
Nursing Education During COVID-19: How Virtual Classes and Technology Expand Opportunities for Students – July 20, 2021
University of Connecticut
COVID-19 Didn’t Stop These Nursing Students from Getting a Peek at a Career at MSK – July 13, 2021
Hunter College of CUNY
See Past Issues of AACN News Watch