VA Nursing Academic Partnership: Building Bridges to Care for Veterans

1. VA Nursing Academic Partnership:Building Bridges to Care for Veterans Kimberly Froelich, PhD, RN, ARNP, NE-BC, VHA-CM Chief Nurse, Outpatient & Staff Development Birmingham VA Medical Center Cynthia S. Selleck, PhD, RN, FNP Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs and Partnerships UAB School of Nursing

2. 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

3. Click to add title Framework for Partnership Building • Relationship-Building • Engagement • Governance • Evaluation of Outcomes • Sustainability

4. 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

5. VANAP Relationship-Building 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 • 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Project Implementation and Evaluation Project Outputs/Outcomes • Clinical Goals • Educational Goals • Program Goals

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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)

13. 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

14. 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

15. Let’s hear from some of our VANAP Scholars

16. Questions?