Edge Runners
C A P S U L E S
oice
RAISE
the
T R A N S F O R M I N G
H E A L T H C A R E
P O L I C Y A N D P R A C T I C E
T H R O U G H N U R S I N G
K N O W L E D G E
Dear Colleagues and Friends of Nursing:
Nursing has the answer to the many problems that plague our healthcare system.
In preparing for this year’s Annual Meeting, we challenged the members of the
American Academy of Nursing to give us a few rich examples of interventions,
programs and projects that nurses have designed and used to integrate mental and
physical care for patients, families and communities.
We called these nominees, Edge Runners, based on
the work of health futurist and motivational speaker,
Leland Kaiser. Convinced that their ideas will produce
results, Edge Runners push them forward — sometimes
against formidable resistance. The momentum and the
results often lead to necessary and permanent changes
in systems and practices. Thanks to Edge Runners, inno-
vative experiments become permanent solutions.
The response we received after one call for nomina-
tions was overwhelming. We immediately realized
the depth and demand for alternatives to traditional
healthcare options. As a result, we are choosing to share many of these nomina-
tions because they reflect innovations that are effective, relevant and represent a
broad range of perspectives. And yet, the story of how nurses everywhere are rev-
olutionizing our healthcare system is far from complete.
Nurses have always understood that the delivery of healthcare must be holistic, incor-
porating body and spirit. And nursing practice and theory have always centered care
Nurses have
always understood
that the delivery
of healthcare
must be holistic,
incorporating body
and spirit.
on the patient, their family or community. Nursing knows the importance of this
focus and has solutions to help the American healthcare system.
Still, nurses have not always done their best in telling this story. Often we haven’t been
heard above the noise in the healthcare debates.
Consequently, today