National Survey on Excellence in Nursing Education

WHAT IS THE STATE OF CONTEMPORARY NURSING EDUCATION? What the most pressing issues educators must address to achieve and sustain excellence in nursing education? How will we know if we making progress? These questions that the Nursing Education Advisory Council (NEAC) has considered since it was established by the Board of Governors in 2001. NEAC was charged with providing the leadership that transforms nursing education and supports innovation in all types of nursing education programs in order to achieve excellence and prepare graduates for practice in the 21st century. In collaboration with its task groups, NEAC's track record of initiatives to promote excellence and innovation is impressive. (See Some Initiatives of the Nursing Education Advisory Council.) In particular, a NEAC-sponsored task group developed the Hallmarks of Excellence in Nursing Education[C], qualities that serve to define a level of outstanding performance or service. These hallmarks have been widely disseminated. (See NLN's Hallmarks of Excellence in Nursing Education[C].) They online with indicators at www.nln.org/excellence/hallmarks_indicators.htm. As momentum toward promoting and sustaining excellence builds in schools of nursing across the nation, there is a need for national benchmarks to measure progress. It is difficult for faculties to determine the extent to which their schools reflect excellence, the relative strengths and weaknesses of their schools, and those aspects on which they should focus their efforts for reform. Benchmarks will enable the and nurse faculties to assess the effectiveness of their ongoing efforts. To begin the critical process of monitoring the growth of excellence and innovation, NEAC conducted a two-part national survey to determine the extent to which faculties perceive that the Hallmarks of Excellence currently reflected in their schools of nursing. The response to this web-based survey was tremendous; 1,796 teachers responded to part I, and 743 to part II. The majority of respondents were female, Caucasian, United States citizens, nontenured, full-time instructors or associate professors teaching in the Northeast or upper Midwest. The survey focused on every element identified in the Hallmarks of Excellence, asking teachers to respond on a four-point Likert-type scale (responses ranged from strongly agree to strongly disagree). Data currently being analyzed and will be reported in a series of Headlines from the NLN in Nursing Education Perspectives. It is important to note that data will also be analyzed against other data sources such as Trends in Registered Nurse Education (1998-2008) and the National Study of Faculty Role Satisfaction 2003 (1,2). Reporting data in this way will provide readers with a comprehensive picture of the current state of nursing education. As we collectively pursue excellence and innovation in nursing education, it is hoped that the promotion of talking points among faculty members will lead to ongoing dialogue. Re-thinking Our Common Concerns The Hallmarks of Excellence include elements related to students, faculty, curricula, teaching/learning/evaluation strategies, the environment, resources, continuous quality improvement activities, innovation, nursing education research, and leadership. Each of these items was examined separately in this survey. Findings demonstrate that, overall, faculty perceive their schools to be reflective of the Hallmarks of Excellence. For example, the vast majority of faculty members responding to the survey across all programs believe that students in their program are excited about learning and exhibit a spirit of inquiry and a sense of (See Student Engagement). On one hand, this is great news. As a discipline, we can be proud of the next generation of nurses and the excitement they bring to the profession. Clearly, continuing to sustain and extend students' spirit of inquiry and wonderment about nursing will equip these new nurses with the vital skills required for engaging in evidence-based practice and contributing to nursing research and scholarship. …