Helping Nurse Educators Give Every Student WINGS (Welcoming, Inclusive, Neurodiversity-affirming, Growth-oriented, Safe Space)

The WINGS Framework: A Continuing Education Intervention on Neurodiversity-Affirming Pedagogy for Nurse Educators is a blended course providing continuing education to nurses. This activity includes a pre-survey, 30-minute asynchronous video, a 30-minute virtual webinar, and a post-survey.

The program teaches strategies to support neurodivergent nursing students. Neurodivergent students may include students with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning or thinking differences. This project looks at whether the program helps nurse educators feel more confident using neurodiversity-affirming teaching practices and whether they intend to use these practices in their teaching.

1. Identify common myths or assumptions about neurodivergent nursing students.
2. Define neurodiversity and describe how neurodivergent differences may present as both strengths and challenges in nursing education.
3. Identify the five pillars of the WINGS Framework as a model for neurodiversity-affirming nursing education.
4. Analyze case scenarios to recognize neurodivergent student support needs in nursing education.
5. Apply at least two practical teaching strategies from the WINGS Framework to reduce barriers and support neurodivergent nursing students in classroom, clinical, or simulation settings.

This activity includes a pre-survey, 30-minute asynchronous video, a 30-minute virtual webinar, and a post-survey. Participants must register for one of the virtual webinar dates below:

• Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 4:00-4:30 p.m. ET

• Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 12:00-12:30 p.m. ET

• Thursday, October 15, 2026, 7:00-7:30 p.m. ET

• Thursday, October 22, 2026, 12:00-12:30 p.m. ET

Registration will close 24 hours prior to each session.

Credit Designation

Nurses: This activity is approved for 1.50 ANCC contact hour(s). Nurses should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

MedStar Health adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.

Individuals in a position to control the content of this CE activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others are required to disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies. An ineligible company is any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.

The following Planning Committee Members and Faculty have reported no relevant financial relationships: Evelyn G. Cutting, MSN, APRN, FNP-C | Katie DePalma, DNP, CNM, WHNP-BC, FACNM

Instructions for Registering and Completing this Activity:

1. Please click the Register button to complete the registration form. Return to the CloudCME homepage and click Online Courses.

2. Click on the hyperlink to Helping Nurse Educators Give Every Student WINGS (Welcoming, Inclusive, Neurodiversity-affirming, Growth-oriented, Safe Space).

3. Select the Content & Tests tab to begin the course.

4. Progress through each section in order. Select Complete Attestation to attest that you have completed each step, and to progress to the next step.

5. After submitting your attestation for the final content (Live Webinar and Post-Survey), review your results and click Complete Evaluation.

6. Once you have completed the evaluation, you will be able view, download and print your continuing education transcript by clicking My CE, then Transcript.

You may access your MedStar CE transcript anytime at medstar.cloud-cme.com. If you need these instructions later, please click the FAQ button to access them again. For additional questions regarding CE, please contact the Continuing Education Department at [email protected].

What is this project about?

The WINGS Framework is a short continuing education program for nurse educators. The program teaches strategies to support neurodivergent nursing students. Neurodivergent students may include students with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning or thinking differences.

This project looks at whether the program helps nurse educators feel more confident using neurodiversity-affirming teaching practices and whether they intend to use these practices in their teaching.

The WINGS Framework was developed by the project lead. It has not been used or evaluated before. This is a quality improvement project.

Who can take part?
You may take part if:
- You are a nurse educator, or you serve in a teaching role, at a nursing program that received this invitation
- You are 18 years of age or older
- You are able to complete the program in English
- You are not a member of the project team and did not help develop or review the WINGS materials

The program, surveys, and live webinar are offered in English only. Translated materials and interpreters are not available.

What will I be asked to do?

You will complete the program one time. There is no follow-up assessment and no repeat participation. You will complete the baseline survey and recorded module on your own time before the live webinar you choose. The webinar and post-program survey happen at a set time.

You will be asked to complete these steps:

1. Complete a pre-survey before the program
   This takes about 25 minutes. The survey asks background questions about your teaching.

   It also includes questionnaires about neurodiversity attitudes, confidence using neurodiversity-affirming teaching practices, and factors that may influence whether you use these practices in your teaching.
   

2. Watch a recorded educational module
   This takes about 30 minutes. The WINGS Nurse Educator Toolkit will be introduced and accessed as part of the recorded module. The toolkit is yours to keep.
   

3. Attend one live webinar on Zoom

   This takes about 30 minutes. You may choose the date that works best for you. You only need to attend one webinar. The link to the final survey will be given at the end of the webinar.
   

4. Complete a post-program survey right after the webinar

   This takes about 10 minutes. The post-program survey includes questionnaires about your confidence using neurodiversity-affirming teaching practices and factors that may influence whether you use these practices in your teaching.
   

5. (Optional) Complete the Continuing Education (CE) evaluation

   If you wish to claim Continuing Education (CE) credits for this activity, you must submit the online CE evaluation by November 22, 2026. This takes about 2-3 minutes.