Baptist Healing Trust, Belmont University, Cyber Healthcare Solutions, East Tennessee Foundation, HCA Foundation, Memorial Foundation, Nashville Career Advancement Center, Tennessee Board of Regents, Tennessee Center for Nursing, Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development, Tennessee Hospital Association, The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing

Kaki Friskics-Warren, Program Officer

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

KFWarren@cfmt.org, 615.321.4939

Lois J. Wagner, Executive Director

Tennessee Center for Nursing

lois@centerfornursing.org, 615.242.8205

Brief Project Synopsis: 

Connecting generosity to need in order to address emerging community issues is a part of the mission of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT). Since inception in 1991, CFMT has administered more than $290 million in grants to over 7000 grant recipients that supported community projects and organizations in TN, Southern Kentucky, and across the United States. Our strategic plan states that “in addition to its role as a major grantmaker, CFMT will continue to expand its philanthropic leadership by serving as a catalyst and convener identifying and addressing philanthropic opportunities and unmet and emerging needs”. Our discretionary funding is used to respond to new programs, emerging needs, and innovative services that might not be started or might not continue were it not for CFMT.

In 2006, in its first grant addressing the nursing crisis in TN, CFMT awarded our maximum discretionary award of $5000 to the Tennessee Center for Nursing to support the pilot implementation of their online clinical placement program to improve access to clinical placement opportunities for nursing students in Middle Tennessee.

Our project will address needs identified in “Curing the Crisis in Nursing Education: A Master Plan for Tennessee” (2005). Through collaboration among our multiple partners and others, we plan to increase the supply of RNs in Tennessee by expanding our educational capacity in nursing and by improving our capacity to retain practicing RNs through workforce initiatives that foster a positive nursing work environment and a culture of retention.

Project Goals and Objectives:

1. Increase educational capacity by increasing the number of clinical placement opportunities

and enhancing the student learning environment.

• Expansion of our existing online Clinical Placement and Clinical Orientation Programs in

         six additional regions beyond Middle Tennessee.

• Enhance our online orientation program to include a state-of-the-art learning platform

         with interactive clinical scenarios and student driven decision-making pathways.

         2007

2. Increase the supply of qualified nurse educators and enhance the skills of current faculty to

meet the needs of the 21st century.

• Implement a Teaching Institute to develop the informatics and simulation technology skills of current nursing faculty.
• Recruit and train expert clinical nurses to become qualified faculty “extenders” under the supervision of qualified faculty of record.

3. Create a culture of retention that promotes a positive nursing work environment and retains

practicing RNs.

• Implement a collaborative between nursing leaders and the healthcare industry to identify and implement best practices that promote a culture of retention.
• Implement a Nurse Manager Institute to enhance management skills that foster a culture of retention in the nursing work environment.