Last fall, leaders of numerous schools and health and medical centers in Connecticut started working on creating more elegant systems to teach and train nurses. Sponsored by the Connecticut Nursing Collaborative-Action Coalition, the meetings produced more than was expected: Not only did the leaders in academics and clinical practice forge strong working relationships to help them strengthen nursing education in Connecticut, but a deal was struck with a leading journal to publish manuscripts submitted by other Action Coalitions as well.

The meetings were guided by a key message from the Institute of Medicine in 2010: Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.

Leading and writing about the event for Nursing Education Perspectives were the dean and assistant dean of Fairfield University’s Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies. When the time came to put pen to paper about the strides made, they realized there was much more to say about the Campaign’s people and efforts.

That’s when Dean and Professor Meredith Kazer, PhD, APRN, FAAN,  joined Associate Dean and Assistant Professor Audrey Beauvais, DNP, MBA, in proposing that the journal devote an entire issue to ways in which Action Coalitions were implementing the IOM recommendations, and the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action as a whole.

The message was sent in an email to other Action Coalitions by Connecticut’s statewide director Lisa J. Sundean, RN, MSN, MHA, PhD(c), Jonas Scholar: “Many of you are doing important and innovative work that is relevant. We would love to see our Action Coalitions well represented in this special issue.”

As Sundean made clear, the work of the Connecticut Nursing Collaborative-Action Coalition has created opportunities for Action Coalitions across the country. Kazer and Beauvais will be co-editors on the special issue of Nursing Education Perspectives next year, and Action Coalitions are invited to submit their manuscripts.