Is Your School a Center of Excellence?

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

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from nln update:

is your nursing education program outstanding? do you think it may have the attributes of an nln center of excellence in nursing education™ (coe)? if so, i hope you will file your initial application for this program, which must be submitted by december 1. details about the application process are on our website at www.nln.org/profdev/excellence.htm.

last year, the first year of the program, we were delighted with the quality of the applications we received. we were even more delighted at the summit, when we presented awards to representatives of three very different schools of nursing -- each recognized for extraordinary accomplishments in creating environments that promote student learning and professional development:

• the associate degree program at the university of south dakota, which serves a largely rural area with four outreach campuses and a "virtual campus."
• the community college of philadelphia, the largest point of entry for students of color in the state of pennsylvania, which consistently implements exciting curriculum innovations, accelerated career ladder options, and co-learner relationships between students and faculty.
  
• and villanova university college of nursing, which encourages faculty to research the effectiveness of learning strategies and has a new doctoral program designed to prepare teacher-scholars.
  

the superiority of each of these programs became apparent in the course of a thorough application and review process. this process will be followed again in 2005. i believe you will find it very interesting.

after we receive initial applications, carefully selected individuals are assigned to visit with faculty at each program in what we describe as a "collegial consultation visit." this visit is designed to engage faculty in discussions about excellence in nursing education and identify what each school is doing that reflects excellence. you will discuss award criteria and how best to prepare the final application to showcase your program's initiatives. final applications, with supporting material, are reviewed by a panel of well-respected, nationally and internationally known leaders in nursing education and nursing education research. the panel's recommendations are submitted to the nln board of governors, which makes the final decisions. please review the information on our website about the coe program's goals, eligibility criteria, fee structure, and all other information you will need to get started. then, consider putting your school's name forward. it is entirely possible that you and your colleagues will be invited to come to the stage at the education summit 2005 in baltimore and hear your school described as an nln center for excellence in nursing education.™

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

the nln assessment and evaluation business unit is developing graduate-level pathophysiology and pharmacology exams to help schools of nursing assess the student's ability to synthesize, integrate, generalize, and expand upon all knowledge gained in these content areas. [color=#495eba]we have issued a request for proposals to develop test plans for two 100-question, four-option multiple-choice exams. the pathophysiology exam will focus on advanced pathophysiologic processes that underlie diseases and infections. the pharmacology exam will focus on the nurse's role and responsibility in prescribing, administering, and evaluating pharmacological and other therapeutic treatment regimens. please visit www.nln.org/testprods/rfpaande.pdf to view this rfp. we hope that you will be interested in working with a&e on this important project.