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Happy New Year!  I trust 2023 is off to a great start for everyone.  At the OADN Headquarters we are fully engaged and working on our organizational strategic direction plan, which the Board of Directors developed last February. While all three strategic direction priorities are equally important for our organizational health and success, I would like to highlight what I believe is one of OADN’s most important member benefits: advocacy.  As you know, OADN is the national voice and a pivotal resource for community college nursing and the associate degree pathway. You, our extraordinary members, embody this mission of OADN through the work you do each day at your colleges to cultivate a robust nursing workforce that reflects the rich diversity of the communities you serve. Advocating for you is paramount to our ongoing efforts to engage in, and strengthen, inter-professional collaborations that collectively advance community college nursing education and amplify the voice of associate degree nursing.

My esteemed predecessor, OADN CEO Emeritus Donna Meyer, worked tirelessly to ensure OADN had a seat at every national table where education and health care policy decisions impacting associate degree nursing programs were made. Promoting diversity and inclusion in the nation’s nursing workforce to improve health equity for our patients and our communities is central to the advocacy work we do at OADN. To achieve this, OADN partnered with the George Washington University and Fitzhugh Mullan Institute’s Social Mission Alliance, which is a national movement focused on transforming health professions education to advance health equity.  In 2019, OADN and SMA collaborated to assess the feasibility of adapting the Social Mission Metrics Initiative (SMMI) Self-Assessment Survey, which had been disseminated to baccalaureate and masters’ levels nursing programs, to ADN programs. The OADN Social Mission Task Force assisted with the development of the SMMI Self-Assessment Survey for ADN programs, and a small pilot program for OADN program members launched in 2021. Now, we have an unprecedented opportunity to capture much needed data on health equity in associate degree nursing programs through dissemination of the SMMI Self-Assessment Survey to all OADN program leaders across the country.

We see the significant impact our ADN graduates have in our communities and how they are uniquely positioned to address the social determinants of health and health inequities through their nursing practice. However, we do not have national data on social mission in associate degree nursing education, which is essential in any effort to drive meaningful change. As OADN President Karen LaMartina, stated “This data will help amplify the voice of community college nursing education and call attention to the importance of the associate degree pathway in addressing racial and social inequities and address the social determinants of health affecting the communities we serve across the country.” Over the next few months, we will be sending out communications about the SMMI Survey for Associate Degree Nursing with an urgent request that our OADN member school leaders participate in this important and timely initiative. You may ask, what’s in it for me?  Great question! SMMI survey participants will be provided a mechanism to assess their individual program’s social mission as well as a benchmark tool to compare it with national norms. This data may be used in your own institutional self-study for annual reports to your national nursing accrediting body.  As you know, many of the national nursing accrediting bodies have specific criterion that must address how programs meet these criterion/elements in their curriculum. Having this specialized social mission data for your program will allow you to identify strengths and development opportunities while also meeting your programmatic accreditation needs.

I understand that time is our most valued commodity, so I would like to thank you in advance for your participation with the SMMI Self-Assessment Survey when it launches in the coming weeks. Your contribution to this critically important effort will generate the data we need for OADN to strengthen our advocacy role in promoting the value of the associate degree pathway as an entry point into the nursing profession. It will also amplify our collective voice and impact by demonstrating how essential community college nursing programs are to our nation’s health care workforce.

With heartfelt appreciation,

 

 

 

 

Rick García, Ph.D., RN, CCM, FAAOHN, FAADN
Chief Executive Officer
OADN and OADN Foundation

The George Washington University Social Mission Alliance Receives $50,000 Award to Advance Health Equity Through Nursing

One of 16 Recipients Nationwide of AARP & RWJF Health Equity Innovations Fund Awards

The George Washington University’s Social Mission Alliance, of which OADN is a member, is among sixteen organizations to receive a Health Equity Innovation Fund award. The awards from the AARP Center for Health Equity through Nursing^SM and the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), are for projects offering promising solutions aimed at eliminating structural inequities, particularly structural racism, within the nursing profession, health systems, or community, and for projects that help improve access to care and services for those most disproportionately impacted by health disparities. The 16 projects sharing the over $700,000 in awards also support the advancement of one or more of the recommendations in the National Academy of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity.

The Social Mission of Associate Degree Nursing Programs project will be led by Social Mission Alliance (SMA) team member Sonal Batra, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Health Policy and Management at the George Washington University, in collaboration with New York State Action Coalition (NYSAC) and the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN).

Throughout the project, the team will administer a social mission self-assessment survey to associate degree nursing program leaders across the country in order to provide a mechanism to assess their program’s social mission and benchmark it to national norms. This process will establish a social mission performance baseline, identify strengths to build on and improvement opportunities for ADN programs to advance health equity and social justice, and allow for evaluation of the effectiveness of subsequent performance-improving changes.

“As the national advocate for the over 1,100 associate degree nursing (ADN) programs across the country, OADN has been proud to partner with the Social Mission Alliance over the last several years to lead the effort to address social mission in nursing education and develop the Social Mission Metrics Initiative (SMMI) for associate degree nursing. The majority of new nursing graduates from diverse backgrounds are entering the profession through the ADN pathway. Nurses who reflect the individuals living within their local communities are better prepared to deliver culturally congruent, equitable health care to their patients. The ADN SMMI Survey is a critically important tool to help capture much-needed data, which is currently lacking on social mission within associate degree nursing education. This data will help amplify the voice of community college nursing education and call attention to the importance of the associate degree pathway in addressing racial and social inequities and address the social determinants of health affecting the communities we serve across the country.”
–Karen LaMartina, PhD, RN, OADN President

With initial support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity and the Social Mission Alliance began the Social Mission Metrics Initiative (SMMI) in 2016. The project started with the development of a novel social mission self-assessment tool to measure school-level social mission that was implemented nationally in 2019. This interprofessional work initially focused on dental schools, medical schools, and baccalaureate and masters level nursing schools. Schools received a benchmarking report for their performance in educational programming, community engagement, governance, diversity and inclusion, institutional culture and climate, and research.

In 2019, OADN and SMA began a collaboration to assess the feasibility of adapting the SMMI self-assessment to ADN programs. These programs contribute to the largest segment of the U.S. health care workforce who are at the front line of patient care and are a critical mechanism for diversifying the nursing workforce. This work was led by members of OADN’s Social Mission Task Force and began with piloting the original SMMI survey at 5 ADN programs, followed by focus groups with participating program leaders. After promising results from the initial pilot, an associate degree version of the SMMI survey was fielded to 17 ADN programs in 2021. The survey was adjusted at each step based on participant feedback, lessons learned from the broader SMMI, and input from the Social Mission Task Force. The result of this process is a ready-to-go ADN Social Mission Self-Assessment survey.

Through this project, SMA will deepen our partnership with OADN and expand the collaboration to include the New York State Action Coalition (NYSAC) to

• conduct a national implementation of the SMM Survey with OADN member programs,
• develop a baseline for social mission in associates degree nursing education, including an assessment of difference in program performance by characteristics including geography, institutional structure, size, and student body characteristics
• provide program specific benchmarking for ADN programs to advance targeted health equity promoting education, training, and institutional policy strategies, and
• elevate the social mission conversation among ADN programs through turning data into collaborative efforts to facilitate structural change in nursing education.

 

About the Funding: 
The 16 winning projects for this funding are from: California (3), the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland (2), Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin (2) and West Virginia.

The awards will be administered by CCNA at the AARP Center for Health Equity through Nursing. (Read more below.)

Read more about the projects here.

  

About the AARP Center for Health Equity through Nursing and the Campaign for Action:
The AARP Center for Health Equity through Nursing serves as a vehicle for change and national resource for advancing health equity. CCNA is an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and it runs the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of the same organizations building a healthier America through nursing. Since its founding in 2007, CCNA has created national and state multi-sector networks to stimulate collaboration, innovation and spur for better health and well-being through nursing.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN) has named Rick García, Ph.D., RN, CCM, FAAOHN, FAADN as its new chief executive officer, effective January 3, 2023. Dr. García most recently served as vice president of nursing, regulation, and program expansion for Unitek Learning, in Newport Beach, CA. Appointed by the OADN Board of Directors, Dr. García will replace Donna Meyer, MSN, RN, FAADN, FAAN, who has served with distinction as OADN’s CEO for 7 years. Donna Meyer announced her retirement last June 2022.

“We are so pleased to announce that Dr. Rick García will serve as OADN’s next CEO,” said OADN President Karen LaMartina, PhD, MSN, RN. “He brings a wealth of experience in Associate Degree Nursing education, health care policy, clinical practice, and association leadership.  As an Associate Degree Nursing graduate himself, Dr. García has a profound appreciation for the work that OADN members do to ensure the strength of our nation’s nursing workforce.”

“I’m humbled and honored to take the helm of this important and respected organization,” Dr. García said. “My goal is to amplify OADN’s longtime mission of serving as the national voice and a pivotal resource for community college nursing education and the associate degree pathway,” Dr. García added.

In his recent role at Unitek Learning, Dr. García worked with health systems in communities with education deserts by bridging the gap between practice needs and regulatory boards of nursing to address and increase the RN workforce supply in these diverse communities.   His work in regulation and program expansion fostered strategic collaboration with health system leaders to address the needs across multiple points of care delivery nationally.

Prior to his work at Unitek Learning, Dr. García served as the Director of Nursing Education at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.   He also holds a founding Ph.D. faculty member appointment at the School of Nursing at Georgetown University, and a courtesy faculty appointment at New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing.

Dr. García ‘s regulatory experience has allowed him to serve as an RN member on the District of Columbia Board of Nursing (DCBON), chair of the DCBON education sub-committee, and as a professional liaison board member on the American Midwifery Certification Board.

Dr. García received his ADN from Miami-Dade Community College, his BSN from the University of Miami, an MS from Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. in nursing science with a minor in nursing education from Barry University in Miami Shores, FL.

 

About the Organization of Associate Degree Nursing (OADN)

Representing the over 1,100 associate degree nursing programs across the country, OADN is the national voice and a pivotal resource for community college nursing education and the associate degree pathway.  OADN works to expand networks that promote leadership, collaboration, and advocacy to further enrich nursing education and the communities we serve. Online at www.oadn.org

As the new year begins, I find myself reflecting on the past while contemplating all that lies ahead in the future. This year, in particular, marks a significant transition for me as I step away from my role as OADN Chief Executive Officer. As I have said many times over the last few months, it has been an honor to serve this incredible organization and humbly represent all of you. I endeavored to lead with a collegial approach, listening to all points of view, developing strategic partnerships, and creating an environment of cohesion that allowed OADN to speak with a unified, powerful voice. This approach paved the way for greater collaboration among education and practice, along with innovative programs to support our advocacy efforts and leadership development. Advocating for associate degree nursing education is my passion and representing all of you as OADN’s inaugural CEO has certainly been the highlight of my professional career. I would like to thank the OADN Board of Directors and staff, as well as each of you, for your support. The hard work we have done together has reinforced our collective vision and will continue to strengthen our impact in the future. Nursing education has embraced immense change over the past few years with determination, courage, and resiliency. I have no doubt it will continue to advance and adapt to what lies ahead. I look forward to not only a new year, but the next chapter in OADN’s remarkable history.

 

It is my great pleasure to welcome this next chapter by introducing the new OADN Chief Executive Officer, Rick García, PhD, RN, CCM, FAAOHN, FNYAM, FAADN. Dr. García’s personal journey as an associate degree nursing (ADN) graduate provides him with a keen understanding and passion for the ADN pathway. His exemplary background in education, regulation, and association management along with a proven track record of exceptional leadership and advocacy for nursing education make him the perfect individual to lead OADN. Dr. García embodies the values of inclusivity, authenticity, and collaboration that have guided OADN over the years. I feel extremely fortunate to have this rare opportunity to introduce my successor and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the OADN Board of Directors for their thoughtful consideration and selection of Dr. García, who I unequivocally support in this critically important role. I have known Dr. García for some time, and I am excited to pass the baton over to such an amazing individual. This will be a transformational year for OADN, and I look forward to seeing all the wonderful work that will occur under Dr. García’s leadership.

We are all frequently reminded of the fragility and preciousness of life, and so as I conclude my final message to you, I would like to wish each of you good health and all the blessings that life has to offer in this new year and beyond. I would also like to thank you for the opportunity to represent you. It has been an honor. You will forever remain a cherished part of my professional journey.

 

 

Donna Meyer, RN, MSN, ANEF, FAADN, FAAN
CEO Emeritus, OADN

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson once remarked, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” While perhaps Emerson was not directly addressing Donna Meyer, there is no doubt she emulates his words. OADN has been blessed to have Donna as our beacon, speaking on behalf of associate degree nurses (ADN) and ADN nurse educators everywhere. She created new “paths” and her “trails” have elevated associate degree nursing to new heights nationally and internationally. The relationships Donna built within national nursing circles paved the way for ADN representation to be invited to, and present at, multiple national decision-making tables, organizations, and meetings, lifting up ADN programs and giving them the voice they have long deserved. It is difficult to enumerate all of the amazing accomplishments, but suffice it to say Donna has worked tirelessly in front of and behind the scenes to forge new partnerships with industries, community colleges, universities, NCSBN, other nursing organizations, and many other groups by heralding the great work of ADNs. Yet, if you have also been around Donna, you also know she is warm, caring, a lot of fun, and always has a smile!

In John Glen’s 2009 keynote address at the Ohio State University commencement, Glenn stated “We are more fulfilled when we are involved in something bigger than ourselves.” There is no doubt that Donna has been involved in something bigger than herself, and as a result, we – all of the past, current, and future OADN membership and nursing as a whole – reap the benefits and are more fulfilled because of Donna’s work. She, indeed, has been transformational!

On behalf of myself and all of OADN, we wish Donna Meyer the best as she launches her next great adventure. Thank you, Donna, for creating new paths and leaving new trails and for sharing yourself and your talents on our behalf!

– Rhonda Hutton Gann, DNP, RN