Nurse Educator Interest Groups

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What do the interest groups do?

The CASN Canadian Nurse Educator Interest Groups provide nurse educators, students, and nurses in non-educator roles with an opportunity to discuss ideas; exchange information; build research and scholarship capacity; and enhance the quality of a specific area of nursing education at a national level.

What CASN interest groups currently exist?

The 2024–2025 Nurse Educator Interest Groups are the following:

• BIPOC Nurse EducatorsBIPOC Nurses:This interest group acts as a place of mentorship for BIPOC Nurses in academia to advocate and support front line nurses and students of color. The interest group will coach, address key issues on racism, develop anti-racist and anti-oppressive curriculum and pedagogy (jointly with the leadership/faculty team of nursing school programs as needed) that serves students in this category while help with health promotion and prevention of diseases, resulting in positive outcomes for members and their communities.
• Clinical InstructorClinical Instructor:This interest group focuses on sharing approaches to clinical instruction to support nursing students’ clinical learning as well as how to support clinical instructors in their approaches to provide quality clinical instruction to students in a post-pandemic health care setting. The discussions provide members from across Canada the opportunity to discuss challenges and share creative approaches to support clinical education.
• Clinical Placement CoordinatorsClinical Placement Coordinators:This interest group is for individuals involved in coordinating clinical placements to discuss the challenges and innovations in clinical placements from a variety of perspectives and will aim to seek solutions in overcoming the barriers and challenges that exist. The interest group will service as a community of support where members can network, explore challenges more deeply, exchange ideas, and brainstorm. This group will identify and share best practice and innovative approaches in clinical placements that support suitable learning and practice environments for today’s nursing students. Please note, this interest group’s focus will not be on clinical teaching and learning.
• Community HealthCommunity Health:This interest group works to advocate for and provide leadership to schools of nursing on the need for community health in nursing education, focusing on nurses’ important role in primary health care and in promoting health in home, public, primary care, and other community health settings.
• Digital HealthDigital Health:This interest group is focused on topics within digital health including but not limited to nursing informatics, health information technology, information and communication technologies, telehealth and telemedicine, and the diverse technologies, methodologies, and approaches through which health care professionals are able to better support patient care and integrate technologies into nursing education and curricula.
• Gerontology/Long-Term CareGerontology/Long-Term Care:This interest group discusses new research around healthy aging, supportive care for the elderly, and educational initiatives to support students and staff in caring for older adults and their families. The group will give participants an opportunity to engage with colleagues from across the country who are working in this area of practice and education. 
• Leadership, Management, and Policy in EducationLeadership, Management, and Policy in Education:This interest group supports nurse educators teaching in areas of leadership, management, and policy. The group will focus on equipping the current and next generation of nurses with the necessary skills to lead and manage the charge in improving the delivery of health services and influencing and shaping policy.
• Mental HealthMental Health:This interest group aims to address the importance of mental health training for nurses in education and clinical spaces and the necessity of providing mental health care to all.
• Nurse Practitioner EducationNurse Practitioner Education:This interest group is comprised of educators from across Canada and focuses on sharing innovative approaches to address the ever-changing needs of NP education. We address the current political pressure to expand programs within the existing educational complexities. Programs nationwide are working creatively to meet the demands placed by government and regulators, and this group is where sharing, brainstorming, and supporting occurs.
• Nursing Education ResearchNursing Education Research:This interest group invites all scholars and graduate students who are interested in conducting research looking at a broad spectrum of nursing education topics in undergraduate and graduate nursing education. We welcome any who would like to be part of conversations about nursing education research and make connections with other nursing education researchers with similar interests across Canada.
• Planetary HealthPlanetary Health:This interest group focuses on discussing how the transdisciplinary field of planetary health can be integrated into the nursing curriculum, nursing practice, research, and policy.
• Remote/Rural Nursing EducationRemote/Rural Nursing Education:This interest group focuses on the role of rural/remote nursing in providing access and equitable health services to rural settings with discussions around best practices, current research, and ideas to implement or spread evidence-informed innovations and interventions for education, practice, or research.
• SimulationSimulation:This interest group brings together scholars in the field of simulation as well as the less experienced nurse educators to explore innovative ways in which technology and simulation could accompany the student’s learning process for skill acquisition, decision-making, and critical thinking before entering clinical settings.
• Social Justice and Anti-RacismSocial Justice and Anti-Racism:This interest group aims to create a community to advance the ongoing conversation regarding Social Justice and Anti-racism approaches in research, education, and clinical practice. The group looks to build and move beyond conversations of equity, diversity, and inclusion toward anti-oppression, anti-racism, decolonization, and social justice.

Note: The primary language for communications and meetings is English.

What are the benefits in taking part?

• Strengthen the voice of nurse educators and build an interest-focused base among nurse educators.
• Participate in a forum for knowledge translation and idea exchange to raise awareness and call attention to practice issues, current trends, evolving challenges, successes, and key milestones in the area of interest.
• Share resources and tools pertaining to the area of interest.
• Foster capacity among faculty in Canadian schools of nursing in the area of interest by participating in ongoing relevant conversations and offering webinars, presentations, and talks on topics of interest.
• Explore potential collaborations, such as joint initiatives, research projects, and publications.

How often do members meet?

Members meet virtually four times per year between September and June.

What kind of activities might members undertake?

Members may select one or more key issues toward which concerted group action may be valuable and undertake any of the following activities:

• Share information and practices in a key area within the group.
• Create an article to heighten visibility, celebrate successes, and advance knowledge of key areas.
• Plan a webinar (limit of one per year) to deepen understanding of critical issues and engage in national discussions on hot topics.
• Collaborate on abstracts or presentation development.
• Collaborate on a joint project or publication.

How do I become a member?

Registration is only $55.00 ($30.00 for students) (per person, per group, per year).
The 2024–2025 CASN membership year runs from July 2024 to June 2025.
***Cancellation Policy: Interest group membership is non-refundable. CASN reserves the right to cancel any group activity that does not meet minimal group requirements.

Looking for more information?

CASN Nurse Educator Interest Groups Terms of Reference (2024)
CASN Nurse Educator Interest Group Publication Policy

 

Interested in creating a new interest group?

Please review the Terms of Reference for how interest groups are structured. Note that new interest groups must have at least 10 members.

To submit an interest group proposal, email Keith Beriault (kberiault@casn.ca) with the following information:

• Proposed title of the group
• A brief description of the group’s subject area and intentions
• The name of a participant who will fulfil the group’s role of chair
• Number of members

New interest groups must have 10 members. Pending approval, further information may be requested.

For more information or to submit a proposal for a new interest group, contact Keith Beriault at kberiault@casn.ca.