Policy Education in Nursing: Faculty Policy Think Tank Report and Recommendations
Webinar Description
The AACN Board of Directors approved the creation of a Faculty Policy Think Tank (FPTT) in 2015 to provide critical insight into the state of policy education in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. The FPTT was comprised of health policy experts from member schools around the nation. The primary charge of the Think Tank was to make recommendations toward informing and improving health policy education in nursing. The Think Tank envisioned a robust agenda outlined in the final report and recommendations made to the Board with the intent of enhancing the reach and influence of the nursing profession. The purpose of the recommendations are to develop a generation of practitioners that both understand the macro and micro drivers impacting policy and will skillfully insert their nursing expertise into policy discussions at all levels.
Objectives:
- Discuss key recommendations from the Faculty Policy Think Tank’s Report and Recommendations
- Explain the expectation for educating policy generalists versus policy specialists
- Formulate applications for improving health policy education at member institutions
Speakers

Associate Professor
Duke University School of Nursing
Dr. Short received the School of Nursing’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2010 and the Outstanding DNP Faculty award in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. She teaches health policy, comparative international health systems, transformational leadership, health economics, and other courses in DNP and MSN curricula. She earned a BSN and a MBA from Duke University. She earned her Doctor of Public Health degree with a major in health policy and administration at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. In 2009, the School of Public Health recognized her as an Arnold J. Kaluzny Distinguished Alumnus. Dr. Short completed the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellowship from 2004-2007. In 2005 she served as a Legislative Health Fellow in the office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist. Dr. Short consulted with the UNC Public Health Management Academy to guide teams from the Virginia Department of Public Health in the development of sustainable business plans. She consulted with the UNC Institute for Public Health on international issues related to distance learning. More recently, she has served as a member of the Durham County (NC) Board of Health. In 2014, she completed a two-year tenure on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Local Boards of Health where she specialized in the development of performance standards for the ~3000 boards of health in the United States. Under the auspices of the US Department of State, she delivered leadership and quality management training to a bi-communal (Turk and Greek) program for nurses in Cyprus. She also has experience teaching research methods to health professionals in Moshi, Tanzania. In 2016, Dr. Short, along with Darlene Curley, was a co-chair of an American Association of Colleges of Nursing Think Tank on best practices in teaching health policy. The Think Tank of 12 expert policy faculty from around the U.S. met for a year to devise recommendations for the AACN Board of Directors.

Assistant Professor of Professional Practice
Texas Christian University
Dr. Anderson holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice with a focus in Executive Leadership from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. Dr. Anderson is currently an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Texas Christian University and an Adjunct Professor of Nursing in the Division of Graduate Studies (DNP) at Indiana Wesleyan University. Dr. Anderson teaches leadership, health policy, population health, and professional roles courses. In 2013, Dr. Anderson was selected for the prestigious Graduate Health Policy Fellowship at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC where she analyzed the effects of the Affordable Care Act on health care delivery. Her research culminated with the publication of Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Health Care Workforce in March of 2014. This widely read background paper was highlighted on Real Clear Policy and named the second most read research publication of 2014 at The Heritage Foundation. Dr. Anderson’s analysis of the ACA has been reviewed by professional groups and think tanks such as the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons and the National Center for Policy Analysis. She has been interviewed by journalists from The Wall Street Journal, Nurse.com, Health Care Finance News and regional radio. In December 2013, Dr. Anderson’s Op-Ed on workforce shortages was selected for publication as the Big Idea Column in The Washington Times. Dr. Anderson works with the Association of American Retired Persons (AARP) and the Association of Advanced Nurse Practitioners (AANP) presenting regional strategy sessions all over the US. Her successful strategies for messaging have paved the way for change to APRN laws in several states. She was instrumental in the passage of HB4334 in West Virginia in 2016.
Dr. Anderson is an active speaker presenting nationally and internationally on topics such as health policy, the US healthcare system, workforce issues, and nursing education. In 2017, she presented Strategies to Improve the Global Nursing Brand through Health Policy at the International Council of Nursing Congress. She has held leadership, committee positions, and memberships in ANA, TNA, and Sigma Theta Tau. Her recent appointments include the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Faculty Policy Think Tank and the Texas Nurses Association Government Affairs Committee.
Pricing and CE Credit
This webinar is free to deans, faculty, staff and students from AACN member schools of nursing. All non-member audiences will be required to pay a $59 webinar fee.
Continuing Education Credits
