A Remarkable Journey: Why the Magnet Recognition Program® Continues to Resonate Today.

It has been more than 30 years since an enterprising team of American Academy of Nursing researchers unearthed groundbreaking findings that led to the creation of the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet Recognition Program®. Dr Muriel Poulin, EdD, RN, FAAN, a coauthor of the original Magnet® hospital study, recalls how she and her colleagues opted to take their research in a different direction and address pressing questions that spoke directly to the needs and desires of staff nurses. She shares her thoughts on why the Magnet Recognition Program continues to resonate today.

Back to the future: learning from the past to prepare competent nurse leaders for the future. Interview by Franklin A. Shaffer.

If today's need for highly competent nurse leaders is urgent, and there seems to be no controversy about this fact, what will be the need in the next few years? And what will ensure the availability of these highly competent persons? Between the opportunities offered by the Accountable Care Act, and the IOM Report on the Future of Nursing's recommendations, the consensus is that the need will be great. This is not a new concern: During the 1960s, the pendulum in graduate education in nursing swung from functional preparation in teaching, supervision, and administration to clinical specialization. While the change was a logical one, inadequate consideration was given to the preparation of people who would fill these roles in the real world.