This is the season when we think of family and close friends as we share our love, commitment, and gifts with one another. And, you—the nurses of America—are our family.
Over the last year, we have had the opportunity to meet and work with many of you as you’ve freely given your time on behalf of nursing, the American Nurses Association (ANA), American Nurses Foundation (ANF), American Nurses Credentialing Center, and American Academy of Nursing.
We also recognize the talents of nurses who give immeasurable gifts when caring for the sick during the most vulnerable times of their lives; who help people with chronic illnesses manage their conditions and enjoy a better quality of life; and who teach new nurses, providing leadership so nurses have the resources they need to focus on the best possible patient outcomes across the broad range of practice settings.
ANF depends on your gifts and support to continue its important work. This past year, ANF awarded more than $205,000 to new ANF Scholars. We at ANF express our gratitude to the individual donors as well as partnering organizations, foundations, and corporations that have made this valuable work possible.
ANF has changed the lives of many people through the application of knowledge generated by its scholars. The nearly 1,000 ANF Scholars who’ve been awarded research grants since ANF’s inception in 1955 have given back to the profession by advancing the science of nursing so that nurses can improve their practice.
Take, for example, Suzanne Bakken, DNSc, RN, FAAN, FACMI, who received an ANF grant for her research on knowledge acquisition for expert system development. Since then, her research has focused on decision support for patient safety, HIV/AIDs, depression, informatics for self-management, tobacco cessation, and obesity. Bakken also has used her considerable expertise to help ensure that the language used by nurses and advanced practice RNs will be captured in information systems.
Another ANF Scholar is Deborah Gross, DNSc, RN, FAAN, who received a grant for research into maternal confidence. Since then, her research has focused on behavior problems in toddlerhood and the best strategies for preventing behavior problems in preschool children from low-income neighborhoods and in fostering successful parenting programs. Gross developed the Chi-cago Parent Program, now being replicated in New York, and is using her expertise at the Institute of Medicine to provide guidance on policy initiatives related to measuring child health across the age span.
Ann Rogers, PhD, RN, FAAN, received funding for her research on memory and attention problems in patients with narcolepsy. Linda Scott, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, received funding for her early research on staff nurse fatigue and patient safety. Rogers and Scott have partnered to examine the working hours of nurses and patient safety, which served as the basis for the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that nurses work no more than 60 hours per week or 12 hours per day.
Please consider making a commitment to ANF this holiday season to enable us to continue to make important work like this possible. Think about the important role you can play in helping us advance our profession, the next generation of nurses, ongoing development of knowledge that we need to improve patients’ lives, and the work lives of nurses who deliver care day in and day out to ensure our patients’ health.
If you are already one of our esteemed donors, please renew your commitment to the profession. We invite you to continue your donations and ask that you invite others to add their own contributions. By supporting and donating to ANF, you are helping to create the next generation of nurse scientists who will provide us with the knowledge to improve our practice.
To learn more about how you can be part of ANF’s 55-year legacy of ensuring our future, visit us at www.anfonline.org.
Karen Daley, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN
President, American Nurses Association
Margarete L. Zalon, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC
Chair, American Nurses Foundation Board of Trustees
