The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) Secretary, Dr. James D. Fielder, announced that $195,000 was awarded to full-time nurse faculty at higher education institutions in Maryland.
Each of the 39 nurse faculty who received the Academic Nurse Educator Certification (ANEC) award will receive $5,000 to complete the professional development and continuing education requirements to maintain their Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) credential, which is a symbol of expertise in the specialty practice of nursing education.
“Our nurse educators are more in demand than ever before, due to the pandemic,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “These awards offer faculty the ability to receive additional certification, keeping them updated on cutting edge technology.”
MHEC’s Nurse Support Program II (NSP II) provides funding for the awards, which is based on faculty who demonstrated excellence as an academic nurse educator through achieving and maintaining the National League for Nursing’s (NLN’s) Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) credential. The recipients were nominated by their own institutions, which included six community colleges and seven universities throughout Maryland:
· Baltimore City Community College
· Carroll Community College
· Community College of Baltimore County
· College of Southern Maryland
· Frostburg State University
· Harford Community College
· Johns Hopkins University
· Notre Dame of Maryland University
· Prince George's Community College
· Salisbury University
· Stevenson University
· Towson University
· University of Maryland, Baltimore
“It is critical that MHEC continues to support our nurse faculty by providing new and innovative ways to keep them ahead of the curve when it comes to rapidly changing trends in medicine,” Secretary Fielder said.
Since inception of the ANEC award in 2019, a total of 125 full-time nurse faculty completed the requirements to be recognized as Certified Nurse Educators (CNEs). In order to renew, faculty must demonstrate continued excellence in the specialty practice of nursing education.
NSP II has sponsored four NLN CNE Workshops with Diane Billings, Ed.D, RN, ANEF, FAAN, a nationally recognized leader in nursing education in FY 2021. These 8-hour workshops offer a review of the NLN Nurse Educator Competencies and a blueprint for faculty test preparation for successful achievement of the CNE credential. NSP II has a statewide goal to increase the number of full-time faculty with the credential to 300 nurse faculty by 2025.
“Increasing the number of certified nurse educators and demonstrating excellence in the specialty practice of nursing education, communicates to both students and the general public that the highest standards are in place for student success in Maryland’s nursing programs,” said Dr. Peg E. Daw, NSP II Administrator.
For more information on the Nurse Support Program II (NSP II), go to https://nursesupport.org/nurse-support-program-ii/grants/statewide-initiatives/-academic-nurse-educator-certification-anec-/