HJNO Jul/Aug 2026

56 JUL / AUG 2026 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS NURSING COLUMN NURSING TO start off this month’s column, it is my pleasure to introduce the new executive director/chief executive officer of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing (LSBN), Shawn Wolkart, MSN, RN. Prior to starting her role at LSBNon June 15, Shawnwas vice president of patient care services at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, a position she began in 2021. During her tenure, she was responsible for over 500 team members across 12 departments, and, as a member of the executive team, helped plan the design of the first freestanding children’s hospital in Baton Rouge, which includes 35 NICU Level 3S beds. Shawn was also part of the team that helped the hospital gain a Lev- el II Trauma Center designation from the American College of Surgeons. She has a strong record of building high-performing teams and improving clinical, educational, and administrative outcomes. She earned her MSN in healthcare ad- ministration from Loyola University New Orleans and her BSN from University of Saint Mary. Shawnwill assume oversight for all regu- latory authority at LSBN. Some of the chal- lenges she will face over the next several years include the responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support clinicaljudgment;overcomingcommunica- tion failures that may lead to patient harm; supporting clinical/academic partnerships to improve nursing faculty recruitment and promote clinical learning; promoting reg- ulatory engagement as an organizational leadership priority for healthcare organi- zations; and reducing turnover for early career nurses. Let’s look more closely at the landscape of those challenges. Using AI: The American Academy of Nursing issued a position statement in March of this year on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The AAN agrees with the responsible and ethical use of AI in healthcare when it supports human wisdom and clinical judgment rather than supplants it. The AAN also believes that nursing should play a vital role in determining how AI is developed and used to ensure that patient-centered care is the focus and that using AI does not result in adverse effects on patients and clinicians. 1 Strengthening communication: A new study published in the May 2026 issue of the American Journal of Critical Care fol- lows up on the 2005 Silence Kills study to examine if remaining silent still stifles in- novation. The new study, which included nurses and other providers, examined how clinicians performed four behaviors relat- ed to crucial moments: speaking up, re- minding, holding others accountable, and challenging assumptions. Results demon- strated progress in breaking the culture of silence documented in the 2005 study. Twenty years ago, fewer than 10% of study respondents spoke up during crucial mo- ments; in 2025, 32% spoke up. 2 Partnerships and engagement: Leaders in nursing regulation, academia, and prac- tice agree that the profession won’t be able to grow the nursing workforce without im- proving collaboration among these groups to increase clinical faculty capacity. One model that shows potential is the Shared Nurse Academic Practice Partnership Ini- tiative (SNAPPI). The Texas-based program has demon- strated that experienced bedside nurses can teach nursing students without leaving the bedside. Faculty at Sam Houston State University School of Nursing convened a grassroots workgroup in 2023 which included educators, clinicians, human re- sources experts, legal experts, and finance professionals. They designed a time buy- back/shared appointee model that includ- ed a memorandum of understanding and operational playbook with grant support from the Texas Higher Education Coordi- HONORING LEADERSHIP, EMBRACING CHALLENGES: A MESSAGE TO OUR NEW NURSING CEO