What happens when you bring together business officers from nursing schools across the country in one room? A few days of real conversation, practical insight, and the kind of peer exchange you can’t replicate anywhere else!
At this year’s BONUS Annual Meeting, discussions ranged from sustaining leadership wellness in demanding roles, to making sense of AI’s rapidly evolving impact across higher education, to rethinking how leaders protect time and energy for truly strategic work. The takeaway? Today’s challenges require not just operational excellence, but clarity, adaptability, and space to lead with intention.
In addition to this year’s sessions, BONUS Network members leaned into what makes this network so valuable: connecting face-to-face, collaborating in small groups, and experiencing Boston together, from historic streets to the Charles River. Thank you to all who joined us for such an engaging and energizing meeting! We’re already looking ahead to what’s next. #AACNconvenes
Hiring soon? This is the moment to post in AACN’s Career Center! AACN has maintained consistent Career Center job posting rates for eight years. Beginning March 17, a 15% rate adjustment will take effect to support continued value and service.
Before the adjustment, AACN member schools have a limited-time opportunity to post at current rates and receive added visibility.
Post a 30-, 60-, or 90-day job listing between now and March 17 at 12:00 pm (ET) and receive current (pre-increase) pricing and one complimentary monthly email distribution for each 30 days posted ($300 value per email). A 60-day posting includes two complimentary email distributions, and a 90-day posting includes three.
This offer applies to one job posting per member school.
Visit the AACN website to learn more and post your position.
The Department of Education’s proposed rule excluding nursing as a “professional degree” is still under review, and the public comment period remains open through March 2. If finalized as written, graduate nursing students could face up to $100,000 less in aggregate federal loan eligibility compared with other programs, creating a barrier to advanced education and threatening the nursing workforce. AACN continues to urge students, faculty, and nursing advocates to submit personalized comments as soon as possible to ensure that master’s, DNP, and PhD nursing programs are recognized as professional degrees in the final rule. Your voice still matters, make sure it is heard. Visit the AACN website to take action (link in highlights). #AACNadvocate #NursingIsAProfessionalDegree
With federal policymakers considering changes to how professional degrees are defined, a proposed rule would exclude post-baccalaureate nursing education. This would lower the amount for federal loans available to nursing students and threaten pathways to advanced practice, research, faculty, and leadership roles.
Nursing IS a professional degree. Federal regulation must make that clear. Visit the AACN website to add your voice in support of nursing.
We’re proud to share that our President & CEO, Dr. Deborah Trautman has been named a 2026 National Humanism in Medicine Medal recipient by the @goldfdtn .
Dr. Trautman’s leadership has helped advance humanism in healthcare and inspire compassionate, team-based care. This honor reflects her profound impact on nursing education and interprofessional engagement. She will be formally honored at the Gold Foundation’s 2026 Gala in New York City in June, and we’re proud to see her leadership recognized on a national stage.
AACN and Certiphi Screening®, the nation’s leading provider of screening solutions for health profession students, are pleased to announce the launch of a new scholarship program to support nursing students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees. Open to members of AACN’s Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA), this program will award two $5,000 scholarships each year through the Foundation for Academic Nursing. Visit the AACN website to learn more.
With heavy hearts, AACN mourns the loss of Alex Pretti, a critical care nurse whose compassion and courage touched so many. We extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones and the nursing community. As we remember him, we uphold the values that define our profession: caring, advocacy, and respect for human dignity. AACN stands with the nursing community in promoting health, justice, and well-being for all. Read full statement at aaccnursing.org.
AACN and @aonlnurseleaders are thrilled to announce the release of the AACN/AONL Academic-Practice Partnership Playbook: From Shared Vision to Action. This new guide provides academic and practice nursing leaders with expert insights, financial models, case models, and templates for developing successful, sustainable partnerships.
The Playbook is now offered as a free resource through AACN’s updated academic-practice partnership hub. Visit the AACN website to learn more and download.
#nursing #nursingeducation #academicnursing
These snapshots from last year’s Transform conference say it all: the shared purpose, the connection, the inspiration. There’s nothing like the energy of Transform! The enlightening conversations, the breakthroughs in sessions, and the feeling of being surrounded by fellow nursing faculty who understand the work you carry every day. With #AACNTransform25 just ten days away, now is the moment to secure your spot if you haven’t already. This year’s plenaries dive into resilience and risk-taking, healing incivility through connection, navigating AI-driven change through academic-practice partnerships, and understanding the needs of multigenerational learners. As our profession navigates ongoing shifts affecting us all, there’s never been a more important moment for the academic nursing community to stand together, learn together, and lead forward together. Visit our website to register. #AACNconvenes
AACN and national nursing organizations are leading the effort to ensure nursing is recognized as a professional degree as the Department of Education advances new proposed definitions that will determine federal loan limits. To protect post-baccalaureate nursing students’ access to essential federal loans, we’re urging the Department to recognize nursing as a professional degree. It’s imperative to act now. Add your name to the petition. (Petition link pinned to story highlights) #nursing #nursingeducation
Quality patient care requires nursing science. That was the message at Tuesday’s Congressional briefing co-hosted by AACN and the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), featuring insights from panelists Dr. Jeanne Alhusen from the @uvaschoolofnursing , Dr. Michael Cary from @dukeu_nursingschl , and Johane Joseph, a patient and advocate. Moderated by the @pennnursing ’s Dr. Antonia Villarruel and opened by AACN President/CEO Dr. Deborah Trautman, AAN President Dr. Linda Scott, and @repunderwood , the discussion underscored the critical role of nurse-led research and advocacy in shaping policy and improving care. Visit AACN’s Policy Watch webpage for more federal updates and opportunities for you to support AACN’s efforts to shape federal policy, including sharing your voice through AACN’s Face of Academic Nursing initiative. #nursing #nursingresearch #nursingscience
AACN is thrilled to reunite this inspiring cohort of deans for the second in-person session of our Advancing Academic Leadership for Deans (AALD) program. Designed for those new to the dean role or navigating a leadership transition, this 13-month experience blends in-depth assessment, practical leadership training, and a supportive peer network that lasts well beyond the program. Learn more about the AALD program and additional opportunities in the AACN LEADS leadership development portfolio at aacnnursing.org/leads. #AACNLEADS #AACNconvenes #LeadwithAACN
