CNCC nurses obtain Certified Educator status

RBC | The Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) Nursing program is pleased to announce that Julie Alkema MS, RN; Kathy Fagan MS, RN-BC; Kelly Martin-Puleo MS, RN; and Charlene Opper MSN, RN have all earned the designation of Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) after meeting strict eligibility criteria and successfully completing a rigorous certification examination developed and administered by the National League for Nursing.
“The NLN’s Academic Nurse Educator Certification program has conferred new visibility and stature upon the academic nursing community that is long overdue,” said Dr. Beverly Malone, CEO of the NLN. “Through the certification program, we have made clear to the ranks of higher education that the role of nurse educator is an advanced professional practice discipline with a defined practice setting and demonstrable standards of excellence.”
In years to come, she added, it is hoped that certified nurse educators will command higher salaries and be first in line for promotions and tenure.
The newly certified nurse educators reflect the spectrum of their academic colleagues in the United States: As of August, 2012, there are 3,415 certified nursing educators in the continental United States. Many academic nursing programs in colleges and university settings have recognized the importance of the certification and encourage all eligible nursing faculty to become certified.
With nearly half (42.8 percent) of nurse faculty projected to retire within the next decade and nearly three-quarters (69.7 percent) within 15 years, replacing them is of grave concern, to nursing and nursing education.