From the dean: Embracing collaboration and co-creation

Dear Friends,

Visually, the cover of this Minnesota Nursing magazine might strike you as a departure from past issues. It is. To help illustrate the impact artificial intelligence (AI) is already having on our lives and across industries, we used AI to create our cover rather than using a photograph as has been our standard. AI has the potential to revolutionize nursing care, nursing research and nursing education. It also has the potential to cause tremendous harm. Our cover story introduces the initiative we have launched to develop a framework for the ethical use of AI in nursing.

This fall/winter issue includes articles on two other new launches at the school, the Center for Planetary Health and Environmental Justice and the Center for Indigenous People, Health and Nursing of North America. The former will promote planetary health practice, advance innovative research, and as its director Teddie Potter has said, help nurses proudly claim leadership roles in this space. The latter, led by Misty Wilkie, is related to our efforts to increase the number of doctorally prepared Indigenous nurses. The initial success of that pathway program, which welcomed 14 new American Indian/Alaska Native students to the Doctor of Nursing Practice program this fall is also featured in these pages.

At the School of Nursing, we approach the opportunity to partner with others with open arms for it is only through collaboration and co-creation that we can truly embrace the biggest challenges and opportunities. This issue includes recent examples of collaborations such as the Partnering for Health feature on our collaboratory with Essentia Health, our efforts to improve veterans’ care with the Minneapolis VA, and a new collaboration with the Mayo Clinic to expand the nurse-midwifery workforce in the Upper Midwest, just to name a few.

Looking ahead, 2024 will mark the 115th anniversary of the founding of our School of Nursing, the first nursing school established within an institution of higher learning. We look forward to celebrating this milestone with a new book on the school’s transformative journey, particularly over the past two decades.

We welcome your reflections, suggestions and shared wisdom to advance our school. We appreciate your continued readership and support.

In gratitude, 

Connie White Delaney
Professor and Dean