2025-2026 Education and Career Guide

Each year, American Nurse Journal curates a range of content relevant to nursing careers and education. And this year is no different. You’ll find an article about the nurse faculty shortage with suggestions for addressing it, another on the role of shared governance in training and supporting nurse leaders, and another how mentorship—when implemented appropriately—can engage and motivate nurses of all races and ethnicities. Other topics featured in this year’s Education and Career Guide include home health nursing, leadership pitfalls, and U.S. Navy nursing.

The evolving landscape of nursing leadership

What’s the impact of the doctor of nursing practice? Two landmark reports have shaped the future of nursing leadership: the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s…

Preceptors: Essential to nurse retention

The learning that occurs when a student or new nurse works with a preceptor can prove pivotal in their professional journey. Preceptors—who educate students, new graduates, and new employees in the clinical environment—continue to demonstrate a positive effect on recruitment,…

Foot care nursing

The foot, a complex structure, has 26 bones and 33 joints, which all have to work properly to allow each person an average of 115,000 miles in their lifetime. Our feet carry us through this world, and their ability to…

Games nurses play

The landscape surrounding nursing education in the acute care setting continues to evolve, in part to accommodate the influx of Generation Z nurses born between 1997 and 2012. This tech-savvy generation grew up during the internet era, using app-based services…

Mentorship and structural empowerment

The effects on novice clinical adjunct nursing faculty According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current national nursing shortage leaves many nursing roles—in acute care, long-term care, and community settings—unfilled. To prepare more future nurses, pre-licensure nursing programs…

Benefits of interprofessional collaboration

Nursing and bioengineering students team up. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) describes interprofessional partnerships (Domain 6 in The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education) as intentional collaboration across professions as well as among care team members,…

Injury prevention coordinator: A multifaceted role

From motor vehicle collisions and geriatric falls to domestic abuse and community violence, incidents that lead to injury negatively impact individuals, families, and communities. These incidents also have pronounced detrimental outcomes on public health and perceptions of well-being. Understanding the…

Thoughtful career transitions

As nurses, endless job and career possibilities exist for us—in clinical practice, leadership, entrepreneurial pursuits, and even in non-healthcare industries. The unfortunate reality is that many of those opportunities won’t make us any happier or more fulfilled than our current…