The Nursing Professional Development (NPD) Leadership Academy, a 12-month mentored program offered by the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD), recently concluded its 2019-2020 course of instruction. The academy prepares NPD practitioners to fulfill leadership roles within their organization. The leader role is one of the seven essential NPD practitioner roles identified by the Nursing Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice (Harper & Maloney, 2016).
NPD practitioners who are accepted into the academy have undergone a rigorous application process. Each applicant is required to submit their curriculum vitae, a letter of support from their organizational leader, and a letter of interest explaining how the program will help the applicant reach their professional goals. In addition, applicants submit a proposal describing a best practice initiative they will develop as part of the NPD Leadership Academy program that aligns with the strategic plans for both the ANPD and their organization. Finally, the ANPD's Education Committee selects participants based on a rubric focusing on the proposed best practice initiative, alignment with the ANPD's strategic plan, alignment with leadership and quality standards within NPD's scope and standards, and level of the applicant's organizational support.
This year's nine 2019-2020 NPD Leadership Academy participants completed a variety of best-practice initiatives that explored innovative ideas to solve frequently experienced challenges common to NPD leaders in practice. Examples of best-practice initiatives included the improvement of evidence-based competencies for healthcare professionals, onboarding and orientation processes, preceptor development, NPD policies, NPD certification preparation, and human-trafficking protocols. These best-practice initiatives resulted in measurable outcomes, as highlighted in Table 1.
Typically, upon graduation from the NPD Leadership Academy, cohort participants present their projects in a poster exhibit at the ANPD's annual convention. In addition, four graduates are awarded the distinction of presenting their outstanding projects in one of the convention's concurrent panel sessions. Furthermore, all graduates and mentors are formally recognized at the convention and receive a well-earned pin acknowledging their dedicated participation in the NPD Leadership Academy. Because of COVID-19, this year's convention was moved to a virtual platform, and the 2019-2020 NPD Leadership Academy's nine graduates and their mentors will be recognized at a future live convention. Also, this year's cohort was given a choice to disseminate their evidence at the 2020 Aspire[horizontal ellipsis]to Envision virtual convention or postpone their presentation until the 2021 Aspire[horizontal ellipsis]to Inclusivity live convention.
Despite the difficulties presented by COVID-19, ANPD welcomed 17 new participants to the 2020-2021 NPD Leadership Academy cohort. The program launched on May 1, 2020, with an asynchronous kickoff webinar outlining the expectations of the academy and explaining the requirements for the best-practice initiative. The academy will also host several live webinars, presented by subject matter experts, focusing on leadership in NPD practice, NPD department operations and budget considerations, and the legal and technology-based aspects of NPD services. Participants will interact with their mentors throughout the year to garner expertise and discuss the best-practice initiative they plan to implement within their organization. For the upcoming 2020-2021 cohort, the NPD Leadership Academy is excited to have several graduates from previous cohorts return to the Academy to join the prestigious mentor roster.
The call for applicants for the 2021-2022 annual NPD Leadership Academy will go out mid-September 2020. If you would like more information on the inception of the NPD Leadership Academy or its application process, refer to Preparing Nurse Leaders in Nursing Professional Development: Association for Nursing Professional Development Leadership Academy (Bodine, 2019). If interested in participating in an upcoming NPD Leadership Academy or becoming a mentor, please e-mail Jennifer L. Bodine at mailto:[email protected] for more information.
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