VA Nursing Academic Partnership:Building Bridges to Care for Veterans
Kimberly Froelich, PhD, RN, ARNP, NE-BC, VHA-CMChief Nurse, Outpatient & Staff Development
Birmingham VA Medical Center
Cynthia S. Selleck, PhD, RN, FNPAssociate Dean, Clinical Affairs and Partnerships
UAB School of Nursing
History of VANAP• 15 initial academic/service partnerships (VA Nursing
Academies) selected between 2007-2009 with goals of:– Expanding faculty and professional development– Increasing nursing student enrollment and clinical training
capacity– Providing opportunities for educational and practice
innovations aligned with transformational goals of the VA and academic nursing community
– Increasing the recruitment and retention of VA nurses
• Currently 26 VANAP partnerships exist
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• Relationship-Building• Engagement• Governance• Evaluation of Outcomes• Sustainability
Framework for Partnership Building
VANAP Relationship-Building2009 and Beyond
Strategic Planning• Birmingham VAMC and
UAB SON • SWOT Analysis• Preparation towards
writing VA Nursing Academy proposal
• Organizational linkages between faculty and executive nursing leadership
Leadership• Organizational resource
allocation and incentives• Coalition-building across
partnership• Participatory governance
and commitment to partnership through shared vision
• Culture/Values
VANAP Relationship-Building
• Executive Council (Dean, CNO, Program Directors)– Provides leadership related to
structure, processes and outcomes
• Program Directors– Direct and manage all aspects
of the program for students, faculty and VA nursing and professional staff
• Birmingham VA Executive Leadership and UAB SON Faculty– Assigned to specific functions
and initiatives associated with VANA program outcomes
• Advisory Council– Provides oversight and guidance
on strategic initiatives associated with Quality and Safety, UAB and VA initiatives relative to VANA
VANAP Engagement: “Getting to know one another”
• Commitment phase• Cannot underestimate• Revisit project goals and
outcomes at every level regularly for CQI
• Anticipate setbacks and work through issues/problems
• Ongoing changes in team members requires reorientation and recommitment to VANAP Program and Initiatives
• Formulate guiding principles for working together
VANAP Engagement: Project Planning
• Link project participants including faculty, staff, students around critical events
• Celebrate early/interim outcomes• Orient both cultures to project mission/goals,
structure, process and outcomes• Continually reorient based on changes in team
membership
Project Implementation and Evaluation
Project Outputs/Outcomes• Clinical Goals• Educational Goals• Program Goals
Clinical Outputs• Veteran-specific simulations/
protocols• VA CPRS added to clinical
simulation lab for students• “Psychiatric Simulations” DVD
and Guidelines• Veteran-specific content
inserted into courses across curricula
• “Caring for America’s Heroes” elective
• Scholarly presentations and publications
Education Outputs• Select VA nurses prepared as
faculty annually• Select faculty annually integrated
into VA for practice• VA Nurse Scholars involved in
Dedicated Educational Unit (DEU) at VA annually
• 83 students enrolled as VA Nurse Scholars including generic BSN and RN to BSN; 66 graduates to date
• All undergraduate nursing students exposed to Veteran-centric curriculum annually
Program Outputs
• Evaluation plan and cost avoidance• Nurse Scholars become Student
Nurse Technicians at VA• Media outcomes• VA Quality Scholar outcomes• Establishment of an Endowed VA
Nursing Scholarship in the UAB School of Nursing
• Increased number of VA Nurse Scholars hired by VA Medical Centers
Overall Outcomes
• Improved quality of care for Veterans/families• Increased culturally competent workforce for
Veterans/families• Increased number and competence of nursing
faculty educated in Veteran’s health care• Increased patient satisfaction by Veterans and
their families• Increased numbers of BVAMC nurses enrolled in
UAB SON graduate programs (MSN, DNP, PhD)
Other Outcomes• “Painting A Moving Train: Working with Veterans
from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families”– Co-sponsored AHEC Conference– Now co-sponsoring required MH Summits
• Veterans CAN! – Career Advancement in Nursing– UAB SON - 1 of 7 “Veterans to BSN” grant awardees
• Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Residency – BVAMC/ UAB SON – 1 of 4
• VANAP-Graduate Education Applicant for PMHNP training
• Joining Forces Campaign
Lessons Learned • Collaborative leadership from chief
officers is crucial • Keep focused on mission and goals• Continual partnership evaluation
and reflection; conduct perception checks with partners
• Be prepared for conflict and negotiation
• Need to embed faculty and VA staff at every level
• Changing team membership requires constant reorientation to VANA initiative to stay focused on achieving goals and outcomes
Let’s hear from some of our VANAP Scholars
Questions?