The call is out.

The call is out. As soon as two nurse educators--one from Montana and one from Vermont--earn the CNE credential, we will reach our goal of having a certified nurse educator in every state of the United States. At this moment, less than two years after the initial offering of the CNE exam, more than 500 nurse educators have already earned the credential.

At the NLN, we are very proud of these statistics. We are especially proud that at long last, academic nursing education is recognized as a specialty area of practice and an advanced practice role within professional nursing. Such recognition will have a positive impact on all aspects of nursing education as well as the profession of nursing.

At this time, registration is open for those interested in taking the Certified Nurse Educator[CM] exam via computer-based testing between August 6 and September 26, 2007. The NLN offers an Internet-based, 65-item, Self-Assessment Examination (SAE) as a learning tool as well as a number of preparation courses in different areas of the country. For example, there will be a course on June 2 in Villanova, Pennsylvania, co-sponsored with Villanova University; another on July 18-19, a preconference workshop at the International Nurse Educators Conference in the Rockies; and still another on September 26 in Phoenix, a preconference at the NLN Education Summit 2007. Upcoming workshops and details about registration for the CNE exam are announced biweekly in the NLN Faculty Development Bulletin.

I want to acknowledge and call your attention to the work of our many volunteers. Items writers, the Test Development Committee, and the Certification Committee are involved in each rigorous step of the examination development process. Like our advisory councils and task groups, these volunteers represent faculty from all program types and all regions of the country. What they do to advance our profession is admirable and appreciated!

This week, the May/June issue of Nursing Education Perspectives is in the mail with the first findings of the NLN/Carnegie National Survey of Nurse Educators. These findings point to serious problems in job satisfaction and retention resulting from excessive workloads. Certification by itself will not alleviate these endemic problems. However, we can all be proud of how certification fosters excellence in the advanced specialty role of the academic nurse educator. Now, more than ever, our newest nurses require the best teachers--teachers who are engaged and creative and caring. And it is time that we honor these teachers and capitalize on their wisdom. Visit our website and read all about certification at www.nln.org/facultycertification/index.htm.

Colleagues, our certification initiative is just another example of the NLN's focus on excellence. As we end this academic year and begin our summer, let us give voice to the joy and excitement of not only being nurses, but professionals in nursing education.

With all my best wishes,

Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN 

Chief Executive Officer