AACN Board of Directors Approves Two New Statements

At its July meeting, the AACN Board of Directors approved two new statements that affirm the association’s support for the master’s degree in nursing and expectations regarding the preparation of nurse faculty. As part of its governing responsibility, the Board issues statements as needed to address issues requiring a timely response on the part of the organization.

Since the approval of the Essentials in April 2021, members have raised questions about the future of master’s education and how to approach preparing faculty given the new competency guidelines. The Board considered AACN’s mission, strategic goals, and current positions in its deliberations and moved to develop statements that:

• Affirm AACN’s support for the master’s degree in nursing.
• Affirm AACN’s position that all faculty must have advanced education in the discipline and strongly recommends that faculty have opportunities to gain competencies in the educator role and pedagogies.

These affirmations are consistent with AACN’s longstanding positions, including the 2017 statement on The Preferred Vision for the Professoriate in Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs. The newly approved Board statements include:

• AACN Statement Supporting the Master’s Degree in Nursing
• AACN Statement on Faculty Preparation and the 2021 Essentials

We encourage you to share these statements with your faculty and other stakeholders with a role in implementing the new Essentials. Please direct any questions to rrosseter@aacnnursing.org.