Inside this Syllabus Edition:

• AACN and AONL Introduce a New Guide to Building Academic-Practice Partnerships
• Decades of Dedication: Q&A with AACN's Joan Stanley
• AACN Releases Progression Indicators to Facilitate Essentials Implementation
• Recognizing Excellence at the 2025 Academic Nursing Leadership Conference (ANLC)
• Giving Tuesday: Support the Future of Academic Nursing
• Scenes from the 2025 ANLC
• ...and more!

Read the full Syllabus Newsletter here

This month, we asked Dr. Stanley to share her thoughts on the current state of nursing education, her proudest moments, and her hopes for the future of academic nursing.

Q&A with Joan Stanley

How has your role at AACN evolved over the last 3 decades?

My role has evolved tremendously over the last 3 decades. When I first came to AACN, I was brought on as project director on a federal grant from the National Health Service Corp. This was the first major grant that AACN had received, and everyone was extremely excited. The focus of the grant was to establish a national network of nursing schools that had one or more master's degree nurse practitioner programs. (At the time there were only 83 schools that had a master's degree NP program.) The purpose of the network, comprised of designated champions at each school, was to disseminate information regarding the NHSC and opportunities for NPs and to increase the number of NPs working in underserved health professional shortage areas. About a year later, due to the success of the NP network, a second NHSC grant was received to set up a similar network for Certified Nurse-Midwifery programs. Gradually after the first year I was asked to take on additional initiatives and grant-funded programs, and the rest is history. One of the earliest was a study, co-conducted with Dr. Linda Berlin, Director of Data and Research, on master's CNS and NP programs. This study led to the creation and approval in 1995 of the first Master's Essentials, including the consensus-building process which has been used for the last 27 years. My role has continued to evolve; what has kept me at AACN is the ability to work on so many different, important topics and with diverse organizations—from care of older adults, wellbeing, APRN regulation, education and practice, nursing's role in improving diagnoses, competency-based education and assessment, technology, data standards, and Al, and to work with many diverse multiprofessional organizations.

What changes have you seen in AACN's operations and impact?

In 1991, when I first joined AACN, I believe there were only 10 staff. We got to know each other and worked closely together. I thought everyone had been there for some time and knew everything, but soon found out that several other staff including Bill O'Connor, in-house editor for the Journal of Professional Nursing who retired earlier this year, had only been there a few months. Creating this culture of collaboration and sharing has very intentionally continued even as AACN has grown in size. It is hard to say how operations have changed other than the increased number and scope of programs and initiatives, number of staff, and office size. One of the biggest changes in operations was the decision to establish an accreditation arm of AACN. Dr. Polly Bednash, Chief Executive Officer at that time, was instrumental in leading this monumental process, but the conversation and decision process included everyone. Another important change that has occurred over the years and has made a significant impact on our communications and programming is the broadening of our focus from just the deans or senior administrative officer of the school to include everyone connected to the school—associate deans, faculty, students, business and development officers, and other staff.

You were instrumental in advancing most of AACN's signature initiatives during your long tenure. What are some of the achievements you are most proud of?

This is a difficult question to answer since I've enjoyed opportunities to work on so many diverse and consequential initiatives over the years. However, I think I would have to say there are three that I believe have been pivotal in nursing education and practice. They are the transition of advanced nursing education to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP); all of the work to advance APRN education and practice including the development (which took almost 5 years) and implementation of the Consensus Model for Advanced Practice Nursing: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education; and third, the creation of the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) role and skillset. Although none of these have been implemented to their full extent, each continue to evolve and are making an impact on advancing the nursing workforce and addressing the gaps in healthcare.

What lessons have we learned in the move to competency-based nursing education?

We still have much to learn as we continue on the path to fully implementing competency-based education. One of the earliest lessons we learned is that this transition cannot be done without working hand in hand with our colleagues in practice. CBE is not just a change in the way we teach in the classroom or in clinical rotations. It involves new roles for faculty including new ways of teaching, providing support and coaching for students, and designing learning experiences. During the early work of the Essentials Task Force, which included deans, faculty, and practice leaders, we learned that those in practice did not know anything about the previous AACN Essentials. We were told that if they had known about these curriculum standards, they would have had clearer expectations for what graduates were bringing to their new job and could better build opportunities and experiences for these new nurses to begin and advance their careers. In addition, it has become very evident that to prepare nurses for the current and rapidly changing healthcare environment, academia and practice must actually work together to determine what nurses at all levels need to be able to do, design the curriculum and experiences, and assess student and program outcomes. CBE cannot be done in siloes.

You were the staff lead on developing AACN's white paper on the Vision for Academic Nursing released in 2019. How would you assess our progress?

The Vision for Academic Nursing released in 2019, laid out a list of recommendations to advance academic nursing. In looking back on the list, I think we are doing quite well—I think I would give us a good pussing grade—but not perfect (I always believe that our work is never done, and we can continue to improve.) The Vision statement laid the groundwork for the Essentials Task Force work. The Essentials defined clear pathways for professional nursing education, put forth a new model for professional nursing education, and developed the competencies that cross all nursing practice, and defined the sub- competencies (observable behaviors) for entry-level and advanced-level nursing practice. The Essentials also highlighted the importance of expanding access in nursing education and practice as well as the need for nursing to address the upstream determinants of health. Prior to this, AACN was and continues to be committed to advancing these important principles and has reaffirmed its values and commitment to excellence, innovation, and leadership.

Since the approval of the Essentials, AACN has focused intensely on the implementation of CBE and assessment with the development of many resources for everyone in academia as well as practice. The most recent focus has been on the development of tools to support the assessment of student competencies, including the progression indicators and practice scenarios. Another recommendation in the Vision statement was to enhance collaboration between academia and practice. AACN has continued to increase collaboration with practice, including the invitation of practice on the board, committees, and task forces as well as the newly formed AACN-AONL Committee, which is about to release a Guidebook for developing academic-practice partnerships.

As AACN's representative to numerous groups focused on healthcare and higher education, with which organizations would you like to see continuing and/or greater engagement?

I think AACN's engagement with healthcare and higher education groups and organizations is invaluable! With limited time and staff, I realize it is not possible to get involved with every group or organization that we may want to engage with. Over my career I have been involved with many nursing organizations, particularly all of those that impact APRN education, regulation, and practice; as well as other health professional education, healthcare practice, and higher education organizations and groups. Many of these collaborative opportunities have been initiated because of current or emerging issues and then led to involvement in other very important and impactful actions. I can't think of any that I would say should not be continued. I would encourage AACN and professional nursing overall to seek out and engage with other healthcare organizations, including healthcare administration, other health professional education organizations, and to think broadly to include other disciplines such as law, architecture, business, engineering, technology, library science, and the arts. Some of my most interesting projects have involved working with individuals
in these fields around technology, curriculum, and practice.

What are your hopes for the future of AACN and academic nursing?

I hope AACN continues to look to the future, be bold, stay proactive, think positively, and innovate. Nursing has so much it can offer to address the gaps in healthcare and improve the health of the population. But to do this we must not sit back, let others make decisions we should be making, and be complacent with what exists. My hope is that both academic nursing and nursing practice can come together as a profession with one vision and goal - to be recognized for our leadership, our strong background in the sciences, our ability to bring about change, and our unique, comprehensive view of individuals, groups, and communities.

What advice do you have for someone considering a nursing career?

I think the most important question I would ask them to consider "Do you want a job or a career?" Hopefully a career; that's what we need - individuals who are interested in learning (because that will never end), working in changing environments (healthcare is evolving rapidly), working with diverse individuals, groups, and populations (both as patients and colleagues), and advancing their career (either through further education or seeking opportunities to lead and innovate.) Nursing has so much to offer and so many diverse, continually evolving areas of practice and specialization. You can't possibly get bored. If you know what area you are interested in that's great; but if not, just go for it and keep your options open. In your education program and once in practice, take advantage of the many opportunities to explore and learn. Al and other technologies (hopefully developed by nurses) will support nursing practice and nursing science, but they cannot replace what nurses can do.