Kristen Ostrem-Niemcewicz, DNP, CNM, interim assistant dean of undergraduate education and executive director of undergraduate programs for The University of New Mexico College of Nursing, has been selected to serve on the Practice-Ready Advisory Group for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).
“I applied to serve on the AACN Practice Ready Advisory Group to gain insight into the application of the new Essentials,” Ostrem-Niemcewicz says.
The advisory group will develop and implement a review process for proposals for a project titled Competency-Based Education for Practice-Ready Nurse Graduates, funded by the American Nurses Foundation.
Schools will be applying to pilot curriculum from two domains of the Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education over the course of two years. Advisory group members will serve as reviewers for applications, in addition to providing guidance during the entire grant period.
The Essentials provides the educational framework for the preparation of nurses at four-year colleges and universities.
AACN was awarded $1.5 million in funding through the American Nurses Foundation’s Reimagining Nursing Initiative to launch the three-year project. It has been designed to accelerate transformation in nursing education by supporting innovative approaches to competency development and skills assessment for new nurses.