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

Click to add title

• 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?