Back to News ÐÔÊÓ½çAccelerates Innovation in Nursing Education through a New Project Funded by the American Nurses Foundation Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | Essentials, Grant Initiatives, Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C., May 24, 2022 – The ÐÔÊÓ½ç (AACN) was awarded $1.5 million in funding through the American Nurses Foundation’s Reimagining Nursing Initiative to launch a three-year project titled . This project is designed to accelerate transformation in nursing education by supporting innovative approaches to competency development and skills assessment for new nurses. This groundbreaking work will help schools of nursing nationwide to more rapidly adapt their programs to meet AACN’s new competency expectations for nursing graduates outlined in The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. “The bold decision by the nation’s academic nursing leaders to move toward a competency-based model for nursing education has sparked a new era of innovation that will require fresh approaches to teaching, student assessment, clinical learning, and engagement with our partners in practice,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, ÐÔÊÓ½çPresident and Chief Executive Officer. “We applaud our colleagues at the American Nurses Foundation for recognizing the importance of changing how we prepare nurses to better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population, changes in higher education, new learner expectations, and the evolving healthcare system.” As outlined in the new Essentials, ÐÔÊÓ½çbelieves that competency-based education will help clarify the significant and unique c