Nursing Education

For many underrepresented students, nursing pipeline programs don’t start early enough or reach them at all. Meet the nurse who is working to change that, as a nonprofit founder raising awareness of nursing as a vital career choice and developing experiential education and long-term mentors for underrepresented students in Houston’s middle and high schools.

In this episode, we explore with Kimberly Gordon, DNP, CRNA, co-founder of the nonpartisan non-profit Healing Politics, why nurses and midwives need to get politically engaged, run for elected office up and down the ballot, what campaign training sounds like, and how to build a culture of civic engagement within the nursing professions

Anthony Fortenberry, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, is the Deputy Executive Director of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, which provides comprehensive health services to the LGBTQIA+ community. In honor of Pride Month, learn how nurse-led models are poised to strengthen community care, advance health equity, and improve outcomes.

The U.S. needs more nurses, which means it needs more nursing students. Many students, especially non-traditional, or those who may be first in their families to pursue higher education, may need additional types of support throughout their academic journey to prepare them to enter the workforce. Galen College of Nursing recognizes that every student has individual needs, which is why they employ a holistic approach to expanding access to nursing education.

Timiya S. Nolan, PhD, APRN-CNP, ANP-BC, is a nurse scientist at The Ohio State University focused on working in and with her community to reduce healthcare disparities. In honor of Minority Health Month, learn how she’s helping Black patients improve quality of life after breast cancer, boosting heart health in Black men, and bringing more nurses of color into community-based research.

When the nursing workforce is more representative of the communities they care for, access to quality care and patient outcomes improve for all. But building a diverse workforce requires intentional inclusivity across the professional pipeline – including the nursing school environment. Two unique programs funded by Johnson & Johnson’s Our Race to Health Equity initiative (ORTHE) are proactively working to improve the experience of nurses and nursing students of color.

Building well-being and leadership skills in nursing isn’t a new concept, but surprisingly, it hasn’t traditionally been a formal component of nursing education. As a result, many nurses enter the profession unprepared for what’s ahead. Beginning this winter, a new educational curriculum from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing will pilot a competency-based approach to developing the next generation of nurses at 10 nursing colleges nationwide, focused on empowering students with the skills needed to prioritize self-care, healthy behaviors and well-being in the healthcare work environment.

Meet the PA nursing student whose immigration experience inspired her to become a nurse to give back and help her community.

Meet the nontraditional nursing student inspired to join her daughter and son-in-law in the nursing profession.

Meet the first-generation nursing student balancing motherhood, work and school to achieve her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse.

Anna Young, the co-founder and CEO of MakerHealth, is bringing makerspaces into hospitals and putting technology and fabrication capabilities directly in the hands of frontline teams, such as those at UnityPoint Health Cedar Rapids, led by Nursing Research & Innovation Coordinator Rose Hedges, DNP, RN. In this episode, Anna and Rose share how makerspaces create the conditions that champion and recognize nurses as designers, device manufacturers, and app developers, and bring a sense of empowerment and autonomy to nurses.

Meet the nursing student who wants to become a last-line advocate for patients and a helping hand for new nurses on their paths to the profession.

Meet the nursing student who brings her most authentic self to the table—and hopes to make an impact from Jamaica to the U.S. and beyond.

Meet the nursing student led by faith and family, ready to face her fears head on and advocate for patients—and herself.

Meet the Mississippi nursing student who hopes to provide compassionate care and patient advocacy to those who need it most.

The future of nursing starts in the classroom. At Johnson & Johnson, we’re proud to amplify nurse-led programs and practices that find innovative ways to prepare, strengthen and empower the next generation of nurses. Below, read more about four best-in-class pilot programs investing in nursing education, funded by the American Nurses Foundation, so new nursing graduates are ready to practice.

Samantha Roecker, RN has a “track record” (pun intended) of breaking many barriers and stereotypes and her success in competitive running combined with her experience as a nurse drove her to combine her passions to raise awareness and drive change for nurses. In this episode, we talk with Samantha about the impact stigma has on nurses’ ability to reach their full potential, what really defines a nurse, the power of mental health support, and the surprising overlap between nursing and competitive running.

In this episode, we learn how a health system’s leadership demonstrates their commitment to the wellbeing and flourishing of their team members; the rather unlikely story of nurses, singing, and stardom; and the surprising healing power of the arts. Special thanks to nurse and tenor singer Winnie Mele, RN, BSN, NE-BC, nurse and soprano singer Keshia Jaboin, RN, BSN , and Allison Lowenfeld from Northwell Health’s corporate marketing team for sharing their story, experience, and voices.

Two Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellows hope to address the problem of attrition by mentoring nursing students and bedside nurses alike with the power of innovation.

We checked in with school nurse Liz Pray, MSN-Ed, RN, NCSN in Washington State to learn about the role of a school nurse during a pandemic, how she is experiencing this moment, learning from and gaining strength from the support of her national school nursing community, and why school nurses are more important and essential than ever.

Gina Brown, PhD, MSA, RN, FAAN, and Eileen Sullivan-Marx, PhD, RN, FAAN, are deans of two prestigious nursing schools in the U.S. Brown leads Howard University’s College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences and Sullivan-Marx leads New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Together, they aim to tackle health disparities through an innovative collaboration in the classroom.

Lack of access to primary and mental healthcare is an issue faced by many across the country, and a situation that is even more challenging for rural communities.

For nearly 30 years, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and dentistry students and more have taken healthcare to their surrounding community, perhaps where it’s needed most. The Farmworker Family Health Program, launched by a nurse leader at Georgia State in 1993, and carried on by Emory University in 2001, provides various students an opportunity to offer basic care for the underserved migrant farmworkers of Colquitt, Cook, Brooks, and Tift counties in southwest, GA. Learn about its inception and how it grew to a nurse-led, community-focused effort.

In this episode, as part of the growing Civic Health movement and its nationwide effort to expand and normalize healthcare settings as community touchpoints for voter access and engagement, we’re taking a closer listen to the experiences and insights of three civic health innovators who provide compelling evidence and data for why healthcare settings and healthcare professionals are particularly effective messengers and catalysts for voter engagement. Together, they have collectively created and built NursesWhoVote, Democracy at Discharge, Vot-ER, and the Healthy Democracy Kit.