“Learning is one of life’s most essential activities.” — Annie Murphy Paul

Enrollment in all types of professional nursing programs increased from 2011 to 2012, according to new survey data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. These findings are based on data reported from 664 of the 856 nursing schools in the U.S. with baccalaureate and/or graduate programs.

The survey also saw a 3.5% increase in entry level Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs. The number of students enrolled in RN-to-BSN programs increased by 22.2% from 2011 to 2012, which, according to the AACN, signals a growing interest for baccalaureate-prepared nurses from both nurses and employers.

"AACN is pleased to see across-the-board increases in nursing school enrollments this year, given our commitment to encouraging all nurses to advance their education as a catalyst for improving patient care," said AACN President Jane Kirschling in a press release. "As the national voice for professional nursing education, AACN is committed to working with the education and health care community to create a highly qualified nursing workforce able to meet the expectations and challenges of contemporary nursing practice."

A few other interesting survey findings:

• Enrollment in master’s and doctoral degree programs increased “significantly.”
• Survey data indicated an 8.2% jump in enrollments for nursing schools with master’s programs (432 institutions reported data).
• Doctor of Nursing Practice programs saw a 19.6% enrollment increase (166 schools reported data).
• Baccalaureate nursing graduates are more than twice as likely to have jobs at the time of graduation than those entering the workforce in other fields.
• Graduates from master’s degree programs (MSNs) were most likely to have secured jobs at graduation (73%).

"Momentum is clearly building for advancing nursing education at all levels,” Kirschling said in a press release. “Given the calls for more baccalaureate- and graduate-prepared nurses, federal and private funding for nursing education should be targeted directly to the schools and programs that prepare students at these levels."

"Further, achieving the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations related to education will require strong academic-practice partnerships and a solid commitment among our practice colleagues to encourage and reward registered nurses committed to moving ahead with their education."

This post was written by Erica Moss, who is the community manager for the online masters in nursing programs at Georgetown University.

Last week I had the privilege of speaking with Carole Eldridge, RN, DNP, CNE, NEA-BC, Director of Graduate Programs at Chamberlain College of Nursing. This fall, Chamberlain is launching a new Masters of Science in Nursing Healthcare Policy Track and I was particularly interested in learning more about Dr. Eldridge, as I’ve been following her on twitter for years (@Nerdnurse), and about this new MSN track.

I was more than impressed when I asked Dr. Eldridge to share her nursing background with me. In a nutshell, after about 15 years in acute care (including critical care, post-surgical care, hemodialysis, and transplant), Dr. Eldridge and her husband moved to Africa for about a year to run a health clinic. When she returned to the U.S., she started a Home Health and Hospice Agency which grew into about 50 agencies in 4 states! After selling this business, Dr. Eldridge became interested in education and saw a need for training nurse aides. She started her own publishing company which developed training packets. After selling this company, Dr. Eldridge returned to school herself for her MSN in Leadership and Healthcare Business, and later her DNP. She taught for about 3 years, and since then has held various titles including Director of a Master’s program, Dean, and Campus President. Wow!

In her current role, Dr. Eldridge oversees all of the graduate programs at Chamberlain College of Nursing. As previously stated, this fall, a new Healthcare Policy track is available for MSN students. The development of this track is timely in the wake of the report from the Institute of Medicine – The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health – and as we approach a Presidential election here in the United States. An MSN in Healthcare Policy will prepare nurses to be active in bill and policy writing, foundations, education and training, academia and research, disease investigations, health services, and other positions where one can “Impart the voice of nursing to direct the path of healthcare policies that benefit patients, the community, our nation and the world.”

This particular program involves 6 core courses (foundational concepts, theory, informatics, leadership, research, and basic healthcare policy) and 6 specialty courses (healthcare systems, economics, global health, nurse leadership and healthcare policy, healthcare policy practicum, and a capstone project).  When asked for more details about the capstone project, Dr. Eldridge gave me several examples that students from similar programs have done, such as global health projects, legislative proposals, and oral testimony collaboration. The coursework is flexible, can be completed in 2 years, and is completely online.

My favorite part of our conversation had to be discussing the upcoming election. Dr. Eldridge reminds us that as nurses, we have a responsibility to be politically engaged in order to best advocate for our patients. In particular, we need to be alert to the following:

• Economics – how will healthcare be funded? 
• Affordable Care Act
• The aging population, including funding their care & medical devices
• “Equitable access”
• Epidemiology
• Vaccines
• Global Healthcare 

Remember, Florence Nightingale was our first political activist. As nurses, let’s remain educated about the issues and share our voice. We are more than 3 million strong – it’s important that we are heard!

Resources:

The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health 

Keeping Health Care Reform Healthy, Patients Informed (American Nurses Association) 

ANA’s Policy and Advocacy page 

ANA's Nurses Strategic Action Team (N-STAT)

I am very excited to introduce our new microsite, the Skin Care Network! This site was developed by the clinical and editorial team of Lippincott's NursingCenter.com in collaboration with the Dermatology Nurses' Association and the American Society of Plastic Surgical Nurses. Our goal is to share with you all the dermatology and skin care content from Lippincott's vast collection of nursing journals and keep you up-to-date with the latest research, news, and information your patients may be reading or hearing about in the media.

Here are some highlights of the Skin Care Network that I don't want you to miss:

• In News, you'll discover the latest research findings and evidence-based practice recommendations, as well as links to related mainstream media items that your patients may ask about.
• In Tools & Resources, we've organized content by clinical topic, created a page with all our dermatology and skin care continuing education opportunities, and compiled patient education tools for you to share with your patients.
• In Multimedia, find podcasts of presentations from Lippincott's nursing conferences. More resources will be coming soon to this section!
• Also learn more about the Dermatology Nurses' Association and the American Society of Plastic Surgical Nurses on our Society Partners page and the Journal of the Dermatology Nurses Association (JDNA), Plastic Surgical Nursing (PSN), and The Nurse Practitioner by visiting the Journals page.

Take some time to explore the site ~ I hope you find the Skin Care Network to be a valuable resource to meet your professionals needs!

The National Conference for Nurse Practitioners (NCNP), sponsored by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, the publisher of The Nurse Practitioner Journal, is well under way at the Las Vegas Hilton. NCNP began on Wednesday, May 11 with a keynote address on The Implication of Health Care Reform for Nurse Practitioners by Eileen T. O'Grady, PhD, RN. Dr. O'Grady is a visiting professor at Pace University's Graduate School of Nursing in New York City where she teaches health policy. Her energizing presentation outlined the many opportunities that nurse practitioners have in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 including funding for education and nurse managed clinics.

Also at NCNP, the conference chairperson, Margaret A. Fitzgerald, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP presented the Nurse Practitioner of theYear Award to Margaret L. Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Professor at Wayne State University. Dr. Campbell is noteworthy for her contributions, not only to nursing, but to health care for her pioneering work in the palliative care specialty.

Through Saturday, May 14 nurse practitioners will engage in hands-on workshops to build skills in common office procedures, orthopedic procedures, dermatology procedures, and suturing. Participants will also update their practice at numerous sessions on the latest evidence-based diagnostic and treatment recommendations for acute and chronic care for patient populations from children through older adults. For more information about the National Conference for Nurse Practitioners, visit www.ncnpconference.com.

On March 22, 2011, the Editors-in-Chief of the top LWW nursing journals got together for a roundtable discussion about the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Report on the Future of Nursing. For those of you who listened in, I hope you enjoyed the conversation about how these nurse leaders interpret and understand the key messages and recommendations from the report. For me, the task at hand is now clearer. It is now up to us nurses to bring our profession and our own careers to the level we deserve. I’d like to share some of what I took away from this discussion.

Anne Dabrow Woods, MSN, RN, CRNP, ANP-BC, Chief Nurse of Wolters Kluwer Health/ Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Ovid Technologies, moderated the discussion and reminded me that there are 3.1 million nurses (which is the largest group of health care providers) in the United States and we “need a seat at the table” to “make changes happen.” Anne then went on to explain in detail the key messages and recommendations in the report.

Maureen "Shawn" Kennedy, MA, RN, Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Nursing, spoke next about what the Report means to “nurses at the point of care” - which includes staff nurses, nurses practicing in home care, nursing homes, and other areas where direct patient care is occurring. She speaks about professional practice and having a voice when it comes to priorities of care.  Later in the webcast, Shawn talks about the education of nurses being for the public good and she includes good points about responsibility for funding.

Rich Hader, PhD, NE-BC, RN, CHE, CPHQ, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief of Nursing Management and Senior Vice-President and Chief Nursing Office of Meridian Health System gave his take on the report and what it means for managers and other nurse leaders. Some of his great words included “forge partnerships with academic colleagues” and “produce lifelong learning.” He commented on the timeliness of the report and brought up the idea of economic incentive for nurses going back to school. Rich also lists some key ideas for leaders and managers.

Jamesetta Newland, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, DPNAP, Editor-in-Chief of The Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Associate Professor at New York University shared her views on the report with regards to advanced practice nurses (APNs). She commented about APNs being trained holistically and the push to move the healthcare system to one of wellness, instead of illness.

Janet Fulton, PhD, RN, Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Nurse Specialist and Associate Professor at Indiana University spoke about clinical nurse specialists in acute care. Her comments about all APNs collaborating with each other to provide inpatient and outpatient care were eye-opening, especially her quote “nursing collaborating with itself.” Another good one…for all APNs to “push the boundaries to meet the public’s need.”

Suzanne Smith, EdD, RN, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Nursing Administration and Nurse Educator spoke about the meaning of the report for educators and students. She suggested that we refer to guiding reports from organizations such as the NLN and the AACN. Specifically, Suzanne refers to the AACN’s “call for imagination” and the need for “dramatic change in Master’s education.” This discussion proceeds to the issue of cost.

The entire webcast has been archived and will be available until March 22, 2012. Take some time to listen in to the words of these nursing leaders!

I enjoyed putting together our first Editorial round-up last month and I hope you enjoyed reading them! Here are the latest thoughts and opinions from our editors. All are free to read ~ take a moment or two to learn from these leaders of our journals!

• In Get on the road to professional development, Richard L. Pullen EdD, RN shares his views on the importance of clinical experience, maintaining CE credits, and certification. In his editorial you’ll also find special tips for developing career goals.
• In Building healthy bodies one child at a time, editor-in-chief of The Nurse Practitioner, Jamesetta Newland, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, asks “Why is federal legislation needed to address concerns about child nutrition?”
• In This is The Decade For Nursing, Kathy A. Baker PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CGRN, FAAN encourages us to be involved in shaping the future of our profession and shares ways that we can.
• Did you know that there are only 12 states in the U.S. that allow APNs to practice without arbitrarily assigned limitations? In It's time: Lift restrictions on APN practice, Richard Hader PhD, NE-BC, RN, CHE, CPHQ, FAAN shares his views about this.
• From the Journal of Infusion Nursing, Mary Alexander MA, RN, CRNI®, CAE, FAAN updates us on The New Gold Standard in Infusion Nursing.

That’s all for now ~ enjoy!

When I receive a new issue of a journal, I eagerly turn to the editorial right away. I like to feel that connection with the person bringing me the content within the pages (or through the links of online journals.) I find that editorials often tell me more than what is featured in the issue. Oftentimes, editors share their views and opinions on current events, clinical experiences, and sometimes personal stories. I thought I’d share some of my favorite editorials from recent issues here in this “Editorial Round-Up.”

• In Defining a Culture of Safety, OR Nurse2011 editor-in-chief Elizabeth M. Thompson, MSN, RN, CNOR, shares her beliefs about leadership and how a team approach by perioperative nurses has impacted the patient safety movement.
• In Leading Change, Advancing Health, AnneMarie Palatnik, MSN, RN, APN-BC writes “If we don't control our practice, someone else will. If we stay focused on the goal of providing accessible, affordable, quality care, and promoting health, how can we go wrong?”
• In LACE, APRN Consensus... and WIIFM (What's in It for Me)?, Kelly A. Goudreau DSN, RN, ACNS-BC teaches us about the LACE (Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, Education) model and how advanced practice nurses are stakeholders in this regulatory movement.
• In the January issue of Nursing Management, Richard Hader PhD, NE-BC, RN, CHE, CPHQ, FAAN reminds us in Circle Back Before Moving Forward that “No one knows everything and you don't have to either!!”
• In Year of Pain, Year of Promise, Maureen Shawn Kennedy MA, RN  reflects on events of 2010 and looks ahead to 2011 while asking the question “There's a way to move forward, but are we willing?”

This is just a sampling of what our editors are writing about. I hope you enjoy reading them!

Have you made any adjustments in your career goals or education plans based on the RWJF and IOM Report , The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, released last October?

I have been away from clinical nursing since 2001. I can’t believe that it has been 10 years. I’ve always believed that someday I would go “back to the bedside” and I really do miss taking care of patients. It’s been a little more noticeable to me lately just how much I miss the clinical side of nursing. I’m not sure if it’s because the fact that it’s been 10 years overwhelms me or because I am excited about the direction in which our profession is headed. Perhaps it’s a little of both.

The question that really gets to me is where do I want to be? Critical care was my home for most of my clinical career.  I loved the thrill of caring for acutely ill patients and their families. Titrating vasoactive drugs, assisting with invasive procedures, using the latest technologies - all so cool! Admissions from the ER, “road trips” to diagnostic tests, end-of-life discussions, and the list goes on…

However, my “other list” is quite impressive to me also. As a women’s health NP, it was so fulfilling to be in the community and make a difference educating women about preventive care. Also, contraceptive counseling, prenatal care and teaching, helping someone find some relief from her symptoms of menopause, and so on…. Primary care practitioners have so much to offer and the need is so great.

The very first key message from the IOM report states “Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training.” Does this mean that it is my duty to practice as an NP because I have the degree and license? Would I be disregarding this message by returning to staff nursing in the ICU? I sure hope not. Then again, I could always pursue another degree…critical care NP might be the answer. Now there’s something for me to think about!

Perhaps as we prepare for the future of our profession, we should all take this time to look at our individual goals as well. What is your future in nursing?

I'm very excited now that I am less than two weeks away from starting a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program at George Washington University. In reflecting on my decisoin to pursue this practice-focused degree, I thought it would be helpful to share my journey through the decision-making process with you.

It is 15 years since I completed a master's degree and became certified as adult NP. When I started, I was sure I would continue my education to the doctoral level, but I was struggling, to decide on what degree I should pursue. I really didn't think I wanted to go into the academic role, nor did I think I would fully take advantage of the years of research training, not to mention the blood sweat and tears of a dissertation. Therefore, I never applied to any PhD programs. Until the recent emergence of DNP programs, I did not find any doctoral program that were going to help me in my practice and professional development roles. "Finally..they created a doctoral degree for me!" 

Boland, and others in the April 2010 issue of The Nurse Practitioner journal did an excellent job in providing the background on the history and process of developing DNP programs. In summary, the doctor of nursing practice is intended to provide advanced education to clinical leaders and advanced practice nurses. Don't worry if you are not a nurse practitioner. DNP's can be in varying roles including: nurse executive, clinical nurse specialist, or nurse informaticist. In contrast, the PhD prepares prepares nurses for a research-focused role. In addition to clincial roles, the authors expect that DNPs will also be an essential part of the nursing faculty in BSN, master's, and doctoral programs.

What some master's prepared NPs are concerned about is whether they should go back to school. With the expectation that new NP graduates have DNPs by 2015, it is a job security issue. I recall, when I was beginning my master's program, there were several NPs and nurse midwives who had certificates who were grand-fathered and allowed to practice. But they were challenged by the employment market or pressured by employers to return to school. Therefore, if you have a career of 10 years or more left, it might be the logical conclusion. Nursing may not have come to terms on entry into practice; however, it is clear that a doctoral degree is where we are going.