The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has announced it is embarking on work to re-envision nursing education in light of the systemic changes occurring in both higher education and health care. A leadership team has been assembled to help with this effort by revising the three Essentials documents for baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral nursing education.
Dr. John McFadden, professor and dean of Barry University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, has been selected to serve as the Chair of the AACN Essentials DNP Task Force Work Group.
The Task Force is charged with the development of three separate but aligned documents that delineate the expected competencies of graduates of baccalaureate, master’s, and DNP programs, as well as the essential curricular elements that are to be present in these programs. McFadden, supported by consultant Dr. Jean Bartels, retired provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Georgia Southern University, will lead the work of the group revising the DNP Essentials. He will be joined by Dr. Jean Giddens, dean at Virginia Commonwealth University, Chair of the Baccalaureate Essentials Work Group, supported by consultant Dr. Linda Caldwell; and Dr. Cynthia McCurren, dean at Grand Valley State University, Chair of the Master’s Essentials Work Group, supported by consultant Dr. Nancy DeBasio.
The work of the team will begin immediately and will continue through approval by the membership March 2020.
AACN is the national voice for academic nursing education. AACN works to establish quality standards for nursing education; assists schools in implementing those standards; influences the nursing profession to improve health care; and promotes public support for professional nursing education, research, and practice.
AACN represents 814-member schools of nursing at public and private universities nationwide. These schools offer a mix of baccalaureate, graduate, and post-graduate programs.