Arkansas Center for Nursing, Inc.

07/08/2025

We have posted an Executive Director position on indeed. Please follow the link below if you are interested in applying. The application will remain open until July 15th.

AR Center for Nursing

07/02/2025

Important & Exciting News for Arkansas Nurses!

The Arkansas Center for Nursing (ACN) wishes to acknowledge and celebrate the retirement of Sue Tedford, former ACN Board President and founding member, whose dedication to the Arkansas State Board of Nursing and the nursing profession spans decades.

Ashley Davis, ACN Executive Director, has been named Director of the Arkansas State Board of Nursing, following Sue Tedford’s retirement.

In the months ahead, the ACN will undertake the task of identifying and appointing a new Executive Director. Due to the ongoing transitional phase, the Leadership and Legacy Award Ceremony (40 Nurse Leaders Under 40) has been rescheduled for the Spring of 2026, with additional information to be shared in due course.

06/19/2025

The Arkansas Center for Nursing is excited to announce the 2025 BSN Young Leaders. These emerging leaders will be paired with a nurse and will complete a leadership project over the summer months.

04/21/2025

We are thrilled to release our latest "State of the Nursing Workforce in Arkansas" report.

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03/31/2025

Congratulations to our President-Elect Joanna Hall.

Joanna Hall, director of simulation and assistant professor of nursing at UA Little Rock, has earned a spot on AY Magazine’s list of the Best Women in Health Care. This ... Hall Honored as One of Arkansas’s Best Women in Health Care

03/11/2025

The Arkansas Center for Nursing is excited to announce that the 2025 BSN Young Leader Applications are now LIVE.

02/27/2025

We are excited to share that the National Forum has created an online journal to share the incredible work being done in the area of nursing workforce!

It is always wonderful to “brag on” someone or some entity, so today is the day to “brag on” and highlight a new Online Nursing Workforce Journal to be launched by The NATIONAL FORUM of State Nursing Workforce Centers on March 3, 2025- The only premiere collection of curated, peer-reviewed articles highlighting nursing workforce research, data, policy, and program initiatives in the United States.

The NATIONAL FORUM acts as a convener to tap into the expertise, knowledge, and talent amongst a group of national nursing workforce leaders who freely share best practices to build a robust nursing workforce… state by state. This is the first time that the NATIONAL FORUM has decided to create a vehicle to consistently share our best-practice research!

The Journal is a one-stop-shop saving you time and effort searching for nursing workforce best practices. This curated, peer-reviewed online resource with direct link to national expert showcases current nursing workforce research.

Topics contained in the Inaugural Edition of the Online Journal include:

Education, Legal, and Work Autonomy of Nurse Practitioners: A State Comparison- With primary care shortages continuing to impact the healthcare workforce, understanding the factors that shape a Nurse Practitioner’s autonomous practice is essential.

Building a Diverse Workforce: Professional Identity in Noncisgender Nursing Students- Noncisgender college students experience marginalizing behaviors in the academic classroom, impacting their mental health and college completion learn the critical elements to foster success!

Visit https://buff.ly/4igABgW to learn more about the Online Journal! Plus, browse the website to learn and access other events hosted by The NATIONAL FORUM in 2025!


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11/01/2024

We have rescheduled our Annual Membership Meeting for January 28th. We will be hosting regional watch parties for a face-to-face option. Registration information will be coming, but mark your calendars, you won't want to miss it!

This year we will present our 2024 Nursing Workforce Report findings as well as highlight the various opportunities for nurses to get involved in health policy in the 2025 Legislative Session.

10/18/2024

10/13/2024

Join us tomorrow for our 2024 Leadership and Legacy Awards Ceremony. The event starts at 3:00 pm. If you are unable to attend, we will broadcast the ceremony via Facebook Live.

10/11/2024

We are just days away from our 2024 Leadership and Legacy Awards Ceremony. We would love to have you join us to celebrate these nursing legends. Visit our website to purchase your tickets today.

Our next recipient of the 2024 Arkansas Nursing Legacy Award is Dr. Donna J. Middaugh.

Dr. Donna J. Middaugh began her career in healthcare as a Respiratory Physiotherapist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1974. She graduated with her BSN from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1996. She went on to earn her MSN from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in 1988 and her PhD from the University of Wyoming-Kennedy Western in 2005. Dr. Middaugh spent the majority of her career educating and developing nurses in leadership and risk management. Dr. Middaugh began her tenure at the UAMS College of Nursing in 1988 and was instrumental in the development of the Master’s in Nursing Administration Program, where she served as Associate Professor and Specialty Coordinator for the Nursing Administration Masters Specialty until her retirement in 2021.

Dr. Middaugh is best known as a role model and change agent and has received countless awards for her excellence in teaching and her example of professionalism. A colleague of Dr. Middaugh’s best described her legacy as:

“Dr. Middaugh has been an outstanding role model and change agent for nurses, as evidenced by her numerous awards/honors throughout her nursing career. These recognitions include UAMS Outstanding Woman Faculty Member, UAMS Phenomenal Woman, UAMS Faculty Excellence Award for Leadership, UAMS Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award, UAMS Faculty Excellence Award for Service, Recognition for Exceptional Commitment to Quality Nursing Continuing Education by AR Nurses Association, Best Professional Role Model Award given by students, and several UAMS Outstanding Faculty Awards presented by graduate students. Dr. Middaugh was the 2019 winner of the AJN Book of the Year award in the History/Public Policy Category. Dr. Middaugh also volunteered for a local school’s health screenings and health education activities. She coordinated the Christmas party for Camp Quality for 19 years. An average of $1200 was raised each year to buy gifts for 15-30 children with cancer.”

10/10/2024

We are just 5 days away from our 2024 Leadership and Legacy Awards Ceremony. We would love to have you join us to celebrate these nursing legends. Visit our website to purchase your tickets today.

Our next recipient of the 2024 Arkansas Nursing Legacy Award is Dr. Jean McSweeney.

Dr. Jean McSweeney began her career in healthcare as a Registered Nurse on a surgical floor at Akron City Hospital and quickly transitioned to the ICU. She graduated with her Diploma in Nursing from Akron City Hospital in 1966. She went on to earn her BSN from Cameron University in 1980 and her MSN and PhD from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1983 and 1990, respectively. Dr. McSweeney has had an impressive career in academia, holding titles of Professor, Director, Associate Dean, and Interim Dean. However, it has undoubtedly been Dr. McSweeney’s career as a Nurse Researcher that has forever shaped the profession of nursing and cardiovascular care of women. Dr. McSweeney was the first to identify different heart attack symptoms for women in her 2003 ground-breaking study that was published in the American Heart Association’s premier journal, Circulation.

Dr. McSweeney is an internationally known researcher with more than 25 years of experience in women’s cardiovascular disease. A colleague of Dr. McSweeney’s best described her legacy as:

“Dr. Jean McSweeney’s unique legacy is her research, and the knowledge generated, that changed the ways women recognize the symptoms of a heart attack and the way clinicians listen to women and their symptoms. In November 2004, the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation published the work she’s led documenting women’s heart symptoms. That was front-page news in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and around the world. CBS Evening News visited UAMS to interview her; she was on CNN and radio shows. As Dr. Cornelia Beck stated: ‘She is, indeed, the queen of hearts, women’s hearts.’”