CLN Fosters Access to Nursing National Minimum Datasets to Accurately Compare Data on a State and National Basis

April 2016- North Haven, CT
 
The Connecticut League for Nursing (CLN) in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Schools and Programs of Nursing in Connecticut, the UCONN School of Nursing and the Connecticut Nursing Collaborative- Action Coalition publishes Infographics depicting RN and LPN Education demographics for nursing faculty and students enrolled in Connecticut Registered Nurse and Licensed Practical Nurse programs. 
 
As a member of the National FORUM of State Nursing Workforce Centers, CLN was the catalyst to bring access to the National Minimum Data Sets to Connecticut with the purpose of assessing:
 

• The current student capacity of our nursing programs at both educational levels,
• Availability of full time and part time faculty necessary to educate current & future students, and
• The demographics of our student populations in regards to age, gender and ethnicity in comparison to the demographics of residents within Connecticut.

 
In April 2016, the partnership will compare a new set of education data to create a year over year comparison to best inform our nursing and healthcare stakeholders should imbalances in nurse supply and demand to position Connecticut to proactively course-correct in response to changing conditions, and, ultimately, improve healthcare our resident.  (Attached are the two current Infographics for 2015.)
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The minimum datasets were created through a rigorous process of consensus-building. The Center to Champion Nursing in America, an initiative of AARP, provided financial support to supplement the in-kind contributions the Forum. Special Forum workgroups drafted the datasets and conducted a public comment period, soliciting input from experts and representatives from national organizations, both public and private. By a process of voting, the Forum ratified the collaboratively-created datasets in September 2009 with regular updates including the most recent update to the Minimum Data Set for Supply in 2016.