UNC’S TAPP and NC Future of Nursing Action Coalition Receive Award to Make Nurses Safer in the Workplace
Chapel Hill, N.C. — A UNC-led partnership is the recipient of a $25,000 grant from the AARP Health Equity and Nursing Innovation Fund to create a simulation training program that can better address violence in healthcare settings, an occurrence that can jeopardize not only nurses’ safety, but also their work-life satisfaction.
UNC’s Tar Heel Academic Practice Partnership (TAPP) and the NC Future of Nursing Action Coalition (NC FON AC) together are one of 12 recipients nationwide of the award. With this $25,000 grant, combined with $25,000 in matching funds from UNC Health’s Robert A. Ingram Institute for Equitable Healthcare Access, TAPP and NC FON AC will bring together nurse educators, chief nursing officers, clinical content experts, simulation experts and more to develop essential simulation training for nurses at UNC Hospitals and UNC Health Rex, and the UNC School of Nursing’s students. This award recognizes that strengthening the workforce and sustaining healthy, equitable work environments are required to ensure a strong nursing workforce.
The project – “Promoting Healthy Work Environments and Confronting Workplace Violence Through Simulation Training” – will aim to decrease workplace violence across the UNC system and equip nurses with the skills needed to address it. By updating current training to meet the most recent American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) Standards for Healthy Work Environments, UNC nurses and nursing students will receive simulation training with effective de-escalation tools, accurate reporting strategies and post-situation support. The simulation scenarios will be filmed and disseminated as educational resources that can be integrated into training across the UNC Health system and UNC schools.
“We are immensely grateful to the AARP Health Equity and Nursing Innovation Fund for their support and the Ingram Institute for their generous matching funds,” said Valerie Howard, dean of the UNC School of Nursing. “This combined funding enables us to expand our efforts in creating safer work environments for nurses.”
The Tar Heel Academic Practice Partnership (TAPP) is a new partnership between UNC Hospitals, UNC Health Rex, and the UNC School of Nursing. The grant’s team consists of UNC School of Nursing Dean Valerie Howard, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN; UNC School of Nursing’s TAPP Coordinator and Associate Professor Ashley Kellish, DNP, RN, CCNS, NEA-BC; UNC Hospitals’ Chief Nursing Officer Jacci Jacobs, MHA, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC; and UNC Health Rex’ Chief Nursing Officer Lorie Rhine, MSN, NE-BC and Director of Practice, Julia Aucoin, DNS, RN-BC, NPD-BC.
“TAPP was established because we recognize the importance of working collaboratively with our practice partners to meet the future needs of our profession,” explained Dean Howard. “By combining our strengths, we are not only addressing the critical issue of workplace violence but also setting the standard for future nursing education and practice.”
“This collaboration allows for the partnership between academia and the practice setting to strengthen the systems by which nurses are prepared for practice and the active areas of nursing practice,” Jacobs said. “This benefits new nurses, life-long learners, nurse leaders, as well as the health and well-being of the public whom nurses serve.”
Rhine said “UNC Health Rex has a continuous and intentional focus on work culture and on diffusing situations that lead to workplace violence”.
“We want to provide the safest work environment, so our nurses are supported and knowledgeable in dealing with workplace violence,” Rhine said. “The partnership with UNC Hospitals and the UNC School of Nursing can advance our understanding and support the system’s mission to improve the health and well-being of North Carolina and our frontline teams.”
NC FONAC, co-chaired by Catherine Sevier, DrPH, RN, is a driving force transforming health and healthcare through nursing in the state. It is North Carolina’s arm of The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“We are excited to collaborate on this program,” said Sevier. “Assisting nurses to be more capable and effective in their work environment is an important mission of the nursing school and the NC FONAC. This grant will fund a much-needed tool for that work.”
AARP, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical Care), the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, have awarded nearly $275,000 for projects offering promising solutions to strengthen and diversify the nursing workforce through innovative nurse recruitment and retention strategies that establish and sustain healthy, equitable work environments. Read more about the projects here: https://campaignforaction.org/2024-innovations-fund.
About the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing
Established in 1950, the UNC School of Nursing is part of a cutting-edge, research-intensive university with top-ranked schools of medicine, public health, pharmacy, dentistry and social work located just steps away and adjacent to the renowned UNC Hospitals.
A globally top-ranked public school of nursing, Carolina Nursing provides a diverse, energetic and collegial environment for participating in world-class interprofessional education, scientific inquiry and practice opportunities. The school offers BSN, MSN, DNP and PhD degree programs, as well as post-graduate certificate programs.
As a leading provider of bedside nurses and nurse practitioners, educators, researchers and leaders devoted to public health and access, the UNC School of Nursing is uniquely positioned to serve the front lines of the most pressing health care challenges we face today.
For more information, visit nursing.unc.edu.
About UNC Health
UNC Health is a state entity and an affiliated enterprise of the University of North Carolina system, comprised of 15 hospitals, including UNC Health Rex in Raleigh and Holly Springs, 19 hospital campuses and more than 900 clinics along with the clinical patient care programs of the UNC School of Medicine (SOM). It exists to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others we serve and to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina SOM. UNC Health provided more than $522 million in charity care during the last five years. Our hospitals have received numerous awards and recognition for quality care, patient safety and the overall patient experience. For more information, please visit unchealth.org.
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability, and personal fulfillment.
AACN Critical Care is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, with over 130,000 members and nearly 200 chapters in the United States. To achieve its vision of a health care system driven by the needs of patients and families, where nurses make their optimal contribution, AACN Critical Care’s advocacy priority is to establish and sustain healthy work environments that support nursing excellence.
The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action is an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and RWJF. Through its state Action Coalitions, the Campaign works with policymakers, health care professionals, educators, and business leaders to respond to the country’s increasing demand for safe, high-quality, and effective health care. The Campaign’s vision is that everyone in America can live a healthier life, advanced by equity-minded nurses as essential and valued partners in providing care and promoting health equity and well-being.
