National League for Nursing, Wolters Kluwer Health, and Laerdal Medical to Collaborate on Programs to Better Prepare Nursing Students for Practice

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The National League for Nursing (NLN) today announced the launch of an important initiative of the NLN Center for Academic and Clinical Transitions. The center is supported by grants from Laerdal Medical, the leader in healthcare education equipment, and Wolters Kluwer Health, publishers of Lippincott nursing content. This unique partnership of not-for-profit and private enterprise will develop collaborative programs to better prepare nursing students for the increasingly complex requirements of nursing practice. 

"The demands placed on today's practicing nurses are intensifying, with sicker patients, more complicated treatments, and electronic medical records all adding new layers of complexity to basic nursing care," said Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, CEO of the NLN, whose members comprise more than 38,000 nurse faculty and 1,200 schools of nursing. "This center will build a bridge between those providing nursing education and those directing nurses in practice. Together, we can develop the solutions and tools today's students need to flourish in this demanding field."

NLN President Judith Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF announced that the NLN Center's inaugural program, Accelerating to Practice, will focus on building partnerships to improve the transition of new nurses from education to practice. A team composed of leading nurse educators and hospital nursing administrators will draw on active research to define the specific competencies that new nurses need to ensure job success.  Then, in conjunction with Laerdal Medical and Wolters Kluwer Health, the NLN will develop an Accelerating to Practice program courses and content, which will be available for adoption and implementation by 2015.  

"Leveraging our Lippincott nursing content and learning tools, and Laerdal's simulated patient case solutions, we will help the NLN develop a program that can be quickly incorporated into college curriculum, be implemented as a new hospital staff orientation, or be offered by third parties," said Susan Driscoll, president and CEO, Wolters Kluwer Health, Professional & Education. 

"Together we can develop a standardized, affordable, and inspiring way to help nurses be as successful as possible when they enter practice," said Clive Patrickson, CEO, Laerdal Medical.

Wolters Kluwer Health and Laerdal Medical have previously partnered on products that integrate electronic health record learning tools with patient cases and manikin simulation, helping students master the skills of patient record interpretation, patient care, and follow up documentation. The integrated products link to Lippincott textbooks, reference and eLearning content, to improve clinical knowledge and judgment, and create engaging student experiences. 

The Accelerating to Practice working group includes experts from many of the nation's leading nursing schools, academic health systems, and community health systems.

About the National League for Nursing
Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. Founded in 1893, the NLN offers faculty development programs, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 38,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members across the spectrum of nursing education.

About Wolters Kluwer Health
Wolters Kluwer Health is a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Serving more than 150 countries and territories worldwide, Wolters Kluwer Health's customers include professionals, institutions, and students in medicine, nursing, allied health and pharmacy. Major brands include Health Language^®, Lexicomp^®, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Medicom^®, Medknow, Ovid^®, Pharmacy OneSource^®, ProVation^® Medical and UpToDate^®.

Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company. Wolters Kluwer had 2012 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.6 billion), employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Follow our official Twitter handle: @WKHealth.

About Laerdal Medical
Laerdal Medical, one of the world's leading providers of Healthcare Solutions, is dedicated to helping save lives with products and services for Simulation, Airway Management, Immobilization, Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support, Patient Care, Self-Directed Learning, and Medical Education. Laerdal is pleased to serve all healthcare providers and educators, from the lay rescuer to the medical professionals. Laerdal operates sales and support offices in 23 countries worldwide, and with the head office located in Stavanger, Norway.

SOURCE National League for Nursing