The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)
Secretary, Dr. James D. Fielder, announced that a total of $145,000 was awarded
to 29 full-time nurse faculty at higher education institutions across Maryland.
Each of the 29 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.
“These awards are critical
to ensure that Maryland remains committed to the highest educational standards
for those nursing students, who will soon become the healthcare professionals
on the frontlines,” Governor Larry Hogan said.
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) CNE credential. The
recipients were nominated by their own institutions, which included nine
community colleges and six universities throughout Maryland:
·
Anne
Arundel Community College
·
Baltimore
City Community
·
Carroll
Community College
·
Chesapeake
College
·
Community
College of Baltimore County
·
College
of Southern Maryland
·
Frostburg
State University
·
Harford
Community College
·
Johns
Hopkins University
·
Montgomery
College
·
Prince
George's Community College
·
Salisbury
University
·
Towson
University
·
University
of Maryland, Baltimore
·
Washington
Adventist University
“Especially during these
trying times, when we are calling on our healthcare professionals to go above
and beyond, these awards showcase the selfless actions of our nurse faculty in
Maryland, always working to keep up with the changing trends and cutting-edge
technology, producing the next generation of healthcare providers in the
field,” Secretary Fielder said.
Since inception of the award in 2019, a total
of 86 full-time nurse faculty completed the requirements to be recognized as Certified Nurse
Educators. A total of 13 community colleges
and 10 universities nominated faculty for the award, showing an 83 percent
participation rate in Maryland. In
order to renew, faculty must demonstrate continued excellence in the specialty
practice of nursing education.
Due to NSP II sponsored NLN’s CNE Workshops with Dr. Diane Billings, a
nationally recognized leader in nursing education, Maryland is leading the way with higher
faculty pass rates than the national average, resulting in an increased
proportion of nurse faculty who hold the CNE credential, a mark of
excellence in nursing education.
“For academic nurse
educators, these credentials establish nursing education as a specialty area of
practice and creates a means for faculty to demonstrate their expertise in this
role,” NSP II Administrator, Dr. Peg E. Daw said.
“It also communicates to students, peers, and the academic and healthcare
communities that the highest standards of excellence are being met.”
The grants were
approved for funding by MHEC, as the administrator for the Maryland Health
Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC). The Nurse Support Program
is funded by HSCRC and administered by MHEC. Over the years, the Nurse
Support Program, both NSP I and NSP II (originally Nurse Education Support
Program) has been expanded to encourage new and innovative approaches to
address the challenges and demands facing nursing.
For more information on the Nurse
Support Program II, go to https://nursesupport.org/nurse-support-program-ii/grants/statewide-initiatives/-academic-nurse-educator-certification-anec-/