AACN Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy
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Nurses Leading Innovation
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About AACN CSI Academy
Nurses Transforming Healthcare Through Innovation
AACN believes direct care nurses are critical drivers in creating lasting change that optimizes quality indicators and, ultimately, transforms healthcare. Imagine decreasing hospital-acquired conditions, delirium and other adverse events as well as and improving retention, turnover and the health of the work environment just by having nurses — the care providers on the front line with patients — develop innovative solutions.
AACN CSI Academy aims to provide nurses with the knowledge, skills and support to lead their peers in creating unit-based change that is easily scaled for maximum impact. Their powerful results clearly show the return on investment of empowering nurses at the bedside.
AACN Clinical Scene Investigator (CSI) Academy is a hospital-based, experiential nurse leadership and innovation program designed to empower direct care nurses as clinician leaders and change agents whose initiatives measurably improve patient, staffing and fiscal outcomes.
At its core, AACN CSI Academy leverages nurses’ expertise to enhance patient care and their work environment, expanding that expertise with additional leadership skills gained through education, coaching and mentoring.
Unit-based teams of nurses immediately apply their learning by identifying priority patient care or professional challenges, then developing, implementing and evaluating solutions that result in quantifiable improvements.
AACN CSI Program Results
AACN CSI Program Results
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Program Reach
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Project Outcomes
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Fiscal Impact
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Nurse Impact
Nurse-led change is so empowering, and it inspires others to change as well, which is so important because as we know, nursing is ever-changing. I never thought that I would be able to identify a problem, implement a solution and create change. Not only that, but it allowed my team and I to grow both personally and professionally.
Felicia La Perla, North Shore University Hospital
I would definitely say CSI Academy was amazing because not only did I get to implement my Healthy Work Environment project, but I was able to get a lot of tools, like how to implement change, the steps to implement change, how to get frontline staff input, how to get people to be involved.
Rhea Persall, Los Angeles General Medical Center
Being part of the CSI Chicago cohort is something I remember vividly. I never could have imagined how our project would ultimately inspire and empower our team. The project had a meaningful impact on our patients and on reducing CLABSI rates, and we are continuing to disseminate our work not only within our site but also at additional conferences.
Angelica Cabrera, Advocate Christ Medical Center
We have had the most wonderful and life-changing experience through the CSI Academy. It really showed us how to make changes that are long-lasting, make an impact to our patients most importantly, but it also really showed us how the power that nurses have over finances at the end of the day too.
Alexandra Tyler Berger & Kayla Dunn, New York Presbyterian - Columbia University
I’m so proud to have been the first AACN president to have gone through our AACN Clinical Scene Investigator Academy Program. It’s a leadership and innovation training program and a solid financial investment. Not only does it produce improved clinical outcomes, but it improves your workforce satisfaction and nurse retention.
Rebekah Marsh, AACN Board President, 2025-2026, CSI Academy alumna
Explore How CSI Academy Can Fulfill Your Needs
Unlike other quality-focused programs, AACN CSI Academy goes beyond offering tools and processes by using implementation science as a framework to teach the theory and practice of creating and sustaining positive change.
CSI Academy curriculum consists of content delivered in an experiential learning environment, including on-site and virtual workshops, online education activities and faculty consultations. Topics include:
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Workplace Innovation
- Business Case for Advancing Quality
- Organizational Excellence
- Healthy Work Environments
- Project Identification
- Implementation Science
- Change Management Strategies
- Data Collection and Analysis
- Strategic Communication
- Scaling and Sustaining Projects