Certified Nurse Educator Review Course Conference Held Virtually

On Friday, July 17th, the School of Nursing held a virtual conference with Dr. Linda Caputi, the Editor of the Certified Nurse Educator Review Book (2nd ed.). This Certified Nurse Educator Review course conference would have occurred in May and was scheduled to coincide with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses national conference (which was slated to be held in Indianapolis for the first time). According to organizer Diane Smith, “The idea was to offer a program for nursing educators
who spend their time meeting the education needs of nurses, but often neglect their own needs.” However, due to COVID-19, all the conferences were canceled.

The CNE Review course conference was rescheduled for July 17 and had approximately 60 participants attending the conference from across the country.

In order to go virtual, the organizers had to start by changing the information that they were collecting during the registration process. The original grant awarded by Indiana Organization of Nursing Leadership (IONL) License Plate Fund allowed the purchase of Dr. Caputi’s book; Certified Nurse Educator Review Book, 2nd edition for the first 50 people to sign up for the conference. The grant was also covering travel expenses for the speaker and food for the conference.

All of those arrangements were canceled, and permission was obtained from IONL to divert funds so books could be purchased for all participants and to cover
the cost of mailing them. Handouts and link for the zoom were sent
out a few days prior to the conference, so participants had time to print the handouts
if they desired hard copies and as a reminder of the conference.

“Due to the grant from INOL, the conference was free to attend! One of the stipulations for the grant is that nurses are invited from across the state. Because we moved to a virtual format, nurses were included from across the country.” said Smith.

Arrangements for continuing education credit had already been arranged through
Indiana University Health. Instead of providing a paper evaluation form and certificate,
IU Health developed an online evaluation form and sent certificates to participants’
email addresses.

The content of the conference was focused on professional nursing certification and nurse education.

“Professional certification is the process by which a person proves that he or she has the knowledge, experience and skills to perform a specific job and the tasks in which they have been trained. The National League for Nursing administers the Certified Nurse Educator exam. A Nursing Educator who has passed the Certified Nurse Educator exam is highly respected and certification is encouraged in the School of Nursing,” said Diane Smith.

There are six categories on the CNE test blueprint which Dr. Caputi covered in the
conference. Some of the themes included were:
o Facilitating learning
o Facilitating learner development and socialization
o Use of assessment and evaluation strategies
o Participation in curriculum design and evaluation of program outcomes
o Pursuing continuous quality improvement in the academic nurse educator role
o Engagement in scholarship, service, and leadership
o Functioning as a change agent and leader
o Engagement in scholarship of teaching
o Functioning effectively within the institutional environment and the academic
o community.

This conference additionally was able to focus on critical care nurses as well and their roles in promoting public health during the global pandemic.

“Critical care nurses should be our last line of defense in fighting COVID-19. Their job
demands precise monitoring and treatment of patients who are fighting for their lives.
I have seen all kinds of messages on social media from nurses explaining that the
pandemic is real and encouraging the public to follow all the guidelines in order to
prevent spreading the virus; measures such as frequent handwashing, wearing masks
properly, social distancing, staying home and avoiding crowds,” said Smith.

“I am proud we could provide this opportunity for our faculty members as well
as educators across the country.”