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A Call to Leaders in Research

Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Leadership Conference


4 hartford leadership projectsDr. Patricia Archbold leads a peer networking session "Life after Hartford" at the 2008 Nursing Leadership Conference.

Recognizing the centrality of nurses to the care of older adults, the John A. Hartford Foundation, in partnership with the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), launched the $7.8 million Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) Initiative in 2000. This Initiative addresses the critical shortage of leaders in geriatric nursing education and research through the funding of nine Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, a coordinating center housed at the AAN, and a scholarship program with an annual Leadership Conference for pre-and postdoctoral nurses focused on aging.

Clair M. Fagin, PhD, RN

Patricia Archibold

(Above) Dr. Patricia Archbold, Director, and (below) Patricia Franklin, Program Manager

Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity www.geriatricnursing.org

Claire M. Fagin, PhD, RN, served as program director from 2000 to 2005. Under her leadership and guidance, the program generated a groundswell of interest in geriatric nursing. In 2005, Patricia Archbold, DNSc, RN, and Elnora E. Thomson Distinguished Professor at the Oregon Health & Science University, assumed the position of Program Director. Under her leadership, the program continues to influence geriatric health care. Patricia Franklin, MSN, RN, serves as Program Manager.

Building Geriatric Nurse Leaders for Education, Research, and Practice

Through the scholar and fellow awards, the BAGNC Initiative provides two-year awards for predoctoral nursing scholars and postdoctoral nursing fellows who have been identified as potential academic leaders of the future. The program prepares them to conduct influential research, train the next generation of gerontological nurse leaders, and influence health policy related to older adults. The goal is to create sustainable change in schools of nursing and the health care system. To date, 70 fellowships and 104 scholarships have been awarded to nurses from 35 states.

Simply increasing the numbers of academic geriatric nurses is not sufficient to change systems of care for older adults. Therefore, the initiative also focuses on leadership development in geriatric nursing. “All doctorally prepared nurses, particularly those with postdoctoral research experience, must function as leaders,” says Angela McBride, PhD, RN, Distinguished Professor and Dean Emerita, Indiana University School of Nursing, Indianapolis, and director of the annual BAGNC Leadership Conference. BAGNC offers the only conference targeted specifically to develop leadership among academic geriatric nurses—a unique and effective strategy for building capacity.

Leadership Development

The approaches to leadership development for BAGNC scholars and fellows include the four strategies of formal training, mentoring, peer networking and encouraging nurses to answer the call to leadership. “The primary guidance we offer is strong mentorship,” says Dr. Archbold. Scholars and fellows select a well-regarded nurse researcher to mentor them during the two-year program.

As the principal venue for leadership training and peer networking, the annual Leadership Conference allows BAGNC scholars and fellows to develop leadership skills to advance the field of gerontological nursing and ultimately improve care for older adults. The Leadership Conference is held each year as a pre-conference to the annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

Leadership Conference Formal training at the 2008 Nursing Leadership Conference, National Harbor, MD

Dr. McBride designs the annual Leadership Conference in collaboration with BAGNC leadership and the planning committee, which includes alumni and second-year scholars in the program. Attendees of the leadership conference include predoctoral scholars, postdoctoral fellows, mentors, BAGNC alumni, directors of the Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, members of the BAGNC advisory council, and leaders in the field of nursing. “This is an opportunity for scholars and fellows to develop specific knowledge and skills, to meet each other and established geriatric nursing leaders, and to realize they are part of a national movement in academic geriatric nursing,” says Dr. Archbold. “Scholars and fellows begin to see themselves as part of this larger community of national leaders.”

Hartford Foundation Trustee John H. Allen addressing the 2008 Leadership Conference.

“I used to be intimidated about approaching nursing leaders,” says Nancy Chu, PhD, GCNS-BC, FNGNA, Associate Professor, University of Oklahoma College of Nursing and a BAGNC postdoctoral fellow (2006 to 2008). “By attending the Leadership Conference I found they were very encouraging and wanted to nurture my potential so I, too, can become a leader.”

The 2008 Leadership Conference included a session titled “POWER: It’s Not a Dirty Word.” During this session, Margaret P. Moss, PhD, JD, RN, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota, noted that nurses have a lot of responsibility and accountability, but often little power. She challenged participants to recognize that having knowledge is power and to use this power effectively. “There are over two million nurses in the United States,” she said. “When they recognize the power of their knowledge and expertise, they become a significant force in transforming care for older adults,” said Dr. Moss.

The Leadership Conference combines both formal training sessions and informal interaction. The conference brings leaders in the field and budding scholars to a forum where networking is supported and relationships develop. The scholars and fellows come away with a network of colleagues and professional resources that they build on throughout their careers.

For Todd Ruppar, MSN(R), RN, PhD student, Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri, Columbia, being a Hartford-funded scholar provided oppor-tunities for leadership within his institution. He was tapped to serve on a dean’s search committee and on a strategic planning committee for the medical center. He has also been asked to provide peer mentoring for other doctoral students. “Because I’m in this program, I’m seen as someone who can be relied on to serve in ways that are outside the expected roles of a doctoral student or a new faculty member,” he says.

In her closing remarks at each Leadership Conference, Dr. Archbold effectively anoints the scholars and fellows as tomorrow’s nursing leaders. “In whom a lot has been invested a lot is expected,” she tells the participants. “We know you will be the leaders of the future,” she adds. “This conference and the other components of the program are designed to provide you with the skills to assume that role.”

“The leaders of the BAGNC program have high expectations that we will excel,” says Dr. Chu, who is just finishing her fellowship. “These leaders give us extra motivation to increase publishing, apply for grants, and to become strong mentors to students and junior faculty in the future.”


(Top) The 2008 Mary Starke Harper Distinguished Lectureship featured Gloria Smith, PhD, RN, being interviewed by Phyllis Beck Kritek, PhD, RN.

(Bottom) Reception in honor of Dr. Gloria Smith.

Lessons Learned

Since the program’s inception in 2000, several important lessons about building leaders in geriatric nursing have been discerned. For example, conference leaders found that having panel discussions with audience interaction was more valuable than simply planning a series of talks by experts. They also learned that providing a subtle structure, such as having cohorts sit together or setting aside time specifically for networking, facilitated engagement in peer networking.

Outcomes

BAGNC alumni are a highly productive and effective group of academic nurses whose influence is already strong in the field. As of June 2008, an analysis of 132 of the 137 fellows and scholars in the first seven cohorts found that they had obtained over $27 million in grant funding during or after their BAGNC award. They’ve taught over 12,000 nursing students and published a total of 587 peer-reviewed articles.

Alumni of the BAGNC Initiative are taking their places as leaders in geriatric nursing regionally and nationally. For example, Corrine Jurgens, PhD, RN, (2004 to 2006 postdoctoral fellow) serves on the Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Committee of the American Heart Association—the prestigious group that sets national standards of care for persons with heart disease. Deanna Gray-Miceli, DNSc, (2002 to 2004 postdoctoral fellow) chairs the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Fall Prevention Workshop.



Lazelle Benefield Dr. Lazelle Benefield speaking at the 2008 Nursing Leadership Conference while Dr. Ann Kolanowski looks on.

Collaboration with other Funders

The BAGNC program has attracted additional partners, also committed to improving care for older adults. The Atlantic Philanthropies has provided the coordinating center with $5.4 million to support additional postdoctoral fellowships.

The Mayday Fund provided $60,000 to supplement funding for scholars and fellows whose research focuses on improving pain management in older adults. The mission of the Mayday Fund is to alleviate the incidence, degree, and consequence of physical pain.

“Collaborating with the Hartford Foundation was intriguing for the board of the Mayday Fund because these nurse leaders will be changing practice,” says Christina Spellman, Executive Director of the Mayday Fund. “At the Leadership Conference you see nurses working together in ways that demonstrate how they want to change the overall level of the field, as opposed to focusing only on individual careers.”

Ms. Spellman also has high praise for the organizers of the conference. “These nurse leaders have heavily invested their time and expertise to shape the world of geriatric nursing for generations to come.”

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Laying the Groundwork
Dana L. Carthron, PhD, RN ›