President’s Message

Article Outline

• Council purpose
• Steering Committee functions
• Accomplishments and future directions
• Copyright

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• Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPH, RN, FAAN

The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) is committed to creating, synthesizing and disseminating knowledge for the purpose of improving healthcare practices, providing evidence that shapes policy and responds to crucial issues affecting the health of the public. We conduct this important work through our Expert Panels and the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science (the Council), a national program of the Academy. The Council was established in 2000 to be the unifying voice for nursing scientists across the profession. It is structured as an open membership council of the Academy reporting to the AAN Board. The Council Steering Committee comprises representatives from the nation’s 4 regional nursing research societies (the Southern Research Society, the Midwest Nursing Research Society, the Eastern Nursing Research Society, and the Western Institute of Nursing) as well as Sigma Theta Tau International, the American Nurses Foundation, and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).

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Council purpose 

The purpose of the Council is to advance the goals of the AAN related to nursing research and to serve as a national networking and advocacy entity for nursing science, nursing scientists, and supporters of nursing science. Functions include:

Membership benefits include registration at reduced rates for the Council-sponsored State of the Science (even years) or Special Topics (uneven years) nursing science conferences. Members can celebrate, nominate or win biennial recognition awards for “AAN/CANS Outstanding Nursing Scientist” and “AAN/ CANS Investigator with a Brilliant Future.” Applications can be made for seed money grants—up to $25,000 for Council-sponsored research and dissertation awards for doctoral students—jointly sponsored by the Council and each of the regional nursing research societies.

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Steering Committee functions 

Steering Committee members act as a governing body to enact the programmatic functions of the Council. These functions include but are not limited to:

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Accomplishments and future directions 

Since its formation, the Council has sponsored 3 biennial State of the Science congresses in nursing research and 2 Special Topics conferences. These meetings have drawn together thousands of nurse and aligned scientists for exciting learning, dialoguing, and networking opportunities.

The Council’s growth into an organization that serves as a national voice for nursing science has been quite remarkable. While the State of the Science Congresses have become the anchor for Council activities, support from the Academy, individual members, and constituent partners has allowed the Council to expand to include a significant program of research funding in the form of dissertation and new investigator grants. The Council has also facilitated partnerships with specialty organizations and the regional research societies, and looks forward to a stronger national network of organizations that support nursing science. It is energizing to see the acceptance of the Council by other research and practice professional organizations as a catalyst for knowledge and information exchange among us in nursing and with those outside of our discipline. For the future, through the Council, we will “raise the voice” for nursing research that will promote “better health through nursing science,” particularly through activities for leveraging nursing research visibility and support, ensuring the synthesis and translation of nursing science into health care practice and policy, and fostering career development for the next generation of nursing scientists.

The Academy Board is working with the Council Steering Committee on upcoming conferences. The Academy’s November 8–10, 2007 Annual Meeting and Conference, Breaking Barriers: Changing Policy and Practice with Evidence, will focus on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation’s healthcare system and real-time solutions that use evidence to improve clinical practice, strengthen educational curricula, and change health policy.

The Council’s October 24, 2007 Special Topics Conference, Practice-Based Evidence: Another Side of the Knowledge Development Coin, will provide a forum for describing practice-based evidence as a complementary paradigm to generate knowledge for practice. This paradigm may expand the knowledge base that underlies practice and facilitate a more seamless approach to evaluate processes of care and associated performance-based measures.

The Academy applauds the accomplishments of the Council and plans to work with the Council to achieve our shared vision of improving health care through science.