Rounds with Leadership: Advancing a Strategic Plan

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.

March 30, 2022 - Advancing a Strategic Plan

“The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”     - Socrates

As part of AACN’s work to lead transformation and chart the future of academic nursing, the AACN Board of Directors and senior staff recently completed a four-month process to update our strategic plan. This critical work involved re-evaluating the association’s mission, vision, and values to ensure that they remain relevant as well as identifying goals and objectives for the next 3 years.

By the end of the planning process, AACN’s leaders were intentional about continuing with AACN’s mission statement, which defines our overall purpose. Our mission remains unchanged: As the collective voice for academic nursing, AACN serves as the catalyst for excellence and innovation in nursing education, research, and practice.

In reassessing our vision, which conveys our future view of AACN and the nursing profession, the need for greater clarity about what we hope to achieve became clear. As a result, the vision statement evolved from Nurses are transforming health care and improving health to Nurses are transforming health care to improve health and achieve health equity.

In keeping with this critical change, AACN’s values, which outline our core principles and help to drive decision-making, also needed updating. In addition to retaining the values of Leadership, Innovation, Diversity and Inclusion, and Integrity, we have added Equity and Excellence to convey more accurately what we prioritize and how we conduct business. 

To complete the strategic planning process, the Board reviewed AACN’s four primary goals and the corresponding objectives. Though the goal statements remain largely the same, the objectives were modified to better reflect organizational priorities through FY 2025.

GOAL 1: AACN is the driving force for leadership, innovation, and excellence in academic nursing.

Objective 1: Lead innovations in academic nursing that facilitate competency-based education and improve health care.

Objective 2: Advance research and scholarship in nursing.

Objective 3: Develop leaders and inspire excellence at all levels in academic nursing.
 

GOAL 2: AACN is a leading partner in advancing improvements in health, health care, and higher education.

Objective 1: Accelerate the integration of academia and practice.

Objective 2: Work in partnership to improve health and health equity, strengthen the nursing workforce, and transform healthcare delivery.

Objective 3: Promote wellness within academic nursing.
 

GOAL 3: AACN is a resolute leader for diversity, equity, and inclusion within nursing.

Objective 1: Advance a culture that promotes and advances diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic nursing.

Objective 2: Promote policies, practices, and partnerships that advance health equity and just care.

Objective 3: Advocate for and advance anti-racist policies and practices throughout academic nursing.

GOAL 4: AACN is the authoritative source of knowledge to advance academic nursing.

Objective 1: Serve as the leading information resource and thought leader on issues and trends impacting academic nursing.

Objective 2: Influence and impact the development of the preeminent future nursing workforce.

Objective 3: Generate and curate knowledge and timely information to inform decision-making in academic nursing.

We look forward to working closely with all our members to advance these goals and objectives while working to actualize our mission, vision, and values.