By Erica Techo
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Assistant Professor Bryan Combs, PhD, CRNP, FNP-BC, ONP-C, CNL, ATC (MSN 2010, 2012, PhD 2019), is one of 30 nursing faculty to join the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s inaugural 2021 Digital Academy: Building the Essentials Tool Kit with Digital Innovation.
“I am so excited to have been selected alongside such an amazing group of individuals and I look forward to representing the UAB School of Nursing and the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a whole,” said Combs, who is also the School’s Interim Assistant Dean for Graduate Clinical Education. Combs was selected from a highly competitive pool of 150 applicants.
This initiative brings together innovative nursing faculty and Apple Distinguished Educators to develop digital projects. It builds on AACN’s Essentials — an outline of the necessary curriculum content and expected competencies of nursing programs.
Through the 2021 Digital Academy, taking place in late Fall 2021, the nursing faculty selected will utilize technology to develop new approaches to teaching and learning, and projects developed at the academy may then be selected for including in the Essentials implementation kit.
“Building on our longstanding collaboration with Apple Education, we are excited to launch the Digital Academy, which helps to advance AACN's mission to serve as a catalyst for excellence and innovation in nursing education” said AACN President and Chief Executive Officer Deborah Trautman. “We look forward to seeing the creative tools and resources that faculty will develop to help schools implement the new curriculum standards for entry-level and advanced-level nursing education programs.”
For more information about the 2021 Digital Academy, view the press release from AACN.
