The Ohio State University College of Nursing has been named an NLN Center of Excellence (COE) for 2014 to 2018, the National League for Nursing Board of Governors has announced.
The selection is by competitive application reviewed by a panel of leaders in nursing education, with only 35 programs holding the designation. Six, including Ohio State, were added this year.
“Our core goals include supporting faculty, staff and students to achieve their highest career aspirations by sustaining a positive and extraordinary culture of wellness and excellence to the point where everyone wants to come here to teach, conduct research, practice and learn,” said Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FNAP, FAAN, associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer and dean of the College of Nursing. “We are honored that NLN recognizes these efforts and has selected the [Ohio State] College of Nursing as a center of excellence.”
Since 2004, the NLN has issued an annual invitation to apply for COE status. Applicants are then judged on their ability to demonstrate in concrete, measurable terms sustained excellence in faculty development, nursing education research or student learning and professional development. Schools, and since 2012, healthcare organizations eligible in a separate category, must also have a proven commitment to continuous quality improvement. Of the current 35 NLN Centers of Excellence, 31 are schools of nursing from across the spectrum of higher education, from diploma and associate degree-granting programs to colleges and universities offering bachelor's and advanced degrees. Four are healthcare organizations.
"These deserving nursing education programs model excellence in the science of nursing education and providing environments that enhance student learning and professional development," said NLN President Marsha Howell Adams, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, newly appointed dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. "Their visionary leadership sets the standard for nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the health of the nation and the global community, guided by the [NLN's] four core values: caring, integrity, diversity and excellence."
Ohio State and the other new COEs will be formally recognized at the NLN's Annual Education Summit during the NLN Banquet.
Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants and public-policy initiatives to its 40,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members. NLN members represent nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education, and healthcare organizations and agencies.
