2018 ASNA/AANS Annual Convention

More documents

Recommendations

Info

2018 Alabama State Nurses Association Annual Convention EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT 2018 ASNA HOUSE OF DELEGATES John Ziegler, D. Min., MA, BS The ASNA system of government prescribed by the bylaws insures that members elected to the office of President-elect and President serve two-year terms in each of those positions. Consequently, when receiving the gavel at the ASNA House of Delegates, the incoming president is prepared. It has been a privilege to work with President Rebecca Huie in her capacity as president-elect and president. She has led ASNA with integrity, vision and enthusiasm. She is a nurses’ nurse and highly respected both in the state and nationally. As we approached the conclusion of her ASNA presidential term, she made the decision to run for a national office at the American Nurses Association Membership Assembly in June. There were over 25 candidates running for only three open slots. Dr. Huie received the largest number of votes of all 25 candidates! She will serve in 2019 as vice-chair of the ANA Nominations and Elections Committee and as chair in 2020. This is a testimony of ASNA’s progress and the confidence professionals across the country have in Dr. Huie. Like Rebecca Huie before her, our incoming ASNA president, Dr. Sarah Wilkinson served faithfully as your president-elect for the past two years. She is prepared to lead ASNA in its mission to provide relevant benefits to members and advocate for expanded opportunities within the profession as a whole. In the 2017 HOD, ASNA’s vision was illustrated with the metaphor of a building with five large pillars in front. The five pillars were labeled: ADVOCACY, MEMBERSHIP, VISIBILITY, COLLABORATION and SERVICE. Correspondingly, I would like to summarize ASNA’s progress this year using these labels. ADVOCACY ASNA advocates for our members, nurses of all specialties and the profession as a whole. For our members, we provide opportunities for networking, engagement with nurse leaders, member discounts and privileges. We prioritize issues related to House of Delegate Resolutions, member survey input and collaborations with ANA or nurse specialty organizations. Typically, the Alabama Legislature starts their regular session early and ends the session as early as possible in an election year, such as 2018. Such was the case in early January of this year. ASNA led the Alabama Coalition of Nursing organizations in hosting Nurses Day at the Capitol. This year the educational sessions followed by the Capitol steps rally was a huge success. In fact, we had the largest crowd ever with about 750 in attendance! Legislatively, ASNA partnered with the Board of Nursing advocating for three bills that enhanced the board’s ability to do their job. We also partnered with NPAA to promote the passage of a bill granting signing authority for CRNPs on certain documents like death certificates and “handicap” auto tags. The session ended quickly and Legislators went home to campaign. At ANA Membership Assembly in June, our team visited House and Senate offices of the Alabama Delegation. We advocated for the Title VIII reauthorization act and safe staffing standards. The Title VIII act passed the House and is now in the Senate. MEMBERSHIP ASNA continues to grow at a healthy pace. Much of this is related to good district leadership and the harmonization of district social media and web platforms. Now, ASNA can communicate with members statewide or with and through districts to people in those areas. We broke the 1,900 members ceiling this year for the first time in decades. We are hopeful to reach 2,000 members before the end of 2018. 66
2018 Alabama State Nurses Association Annual Convention To engage our members, ASNA has published periodic quick surveys on key issues through social media. This has provided members with opportunities to personally weigh in on policy and practice issues facing the profession. In the past two years, ASNA has grown in membership by almost 40%. Some of the best membership benefits come through opportunities for personal interaction with other nurses in non-work settings where they can discuss key issues and solutions openly. The Membership committee, led by Vice President, Dr. Linda Gibson-Young has done a fine job in helping ASNA recruit and retain members. Our positive growth is the fruit, to a large degree, of their good work. VISIBILITY ASNA wants nurses to understand that if they participate in their professional organization in greater numbers, they can shape policy and legislation that nursing practice and quality patient care. How do we spread the awareness of what ASNA does and its relevance to each participating member? Visibility. We included “visibility” as a pillar because, for example, if a district has an event for award members and their families…but no one knows about it…what have we accomplished. Consequently, we have tried on a district and state level to make “VISIBLE” the work of ASNA so that people can understand what we do and how those things contribute to our members and the profession. For example, in the past two years we have set new attendance records at Nurses Day at the Capitol and other ASNA events. Our on-line presence has almost doubled. ASNA Facebook followers grew from 4,500 in 2016 to over 8,500 in 2018. We are seeking opportunities to open a SPEAKER’S BUREAU so that schools of nursing and other entities can have experts from ASNA present to their students/audiences. If we all consider capturing images of even the smallest service projects, meetings or advocacy efforts in our districts and making these VISIBLE through social media, this will help ASNA and nursing. COLLABORATION This is an area that is perhaps one of the most difficult and yet…one of the most rewarding efforts within our vision. ASNA collaborates with a dozen organizations in sponsoring Nurses Day at the Capitol each year. We also work with leaders from nurse specialty orgs in manning the Alabama Board of Nursing Nominating Committee. ASNA past president’s chair this committee and leaders from designated nurse specialty orgs participate in interviewing candidates for open slots on the ABN. Another area of collaboration includes participation in organization/institution events as an exhibitor or a presenter. Frequently, we participate with schools of nursing or nurse specialty groups at their meetings. During Nurses’ Week in May, ASNA exhibits across the state at selected events in hospitals or public venues. Legislatively, ASNA works whenever possible, with the ABN or nurse specialty groups to support legislation that we feel is beneficial to nurses or quality patient care. Often these groups reciprocate with ASNA legislative initiatives. SERVICE The fifth pillar emphasizes ASNA’s commitment to serve individual nurses, the profession and the community. Usually, resolutions adopted by the House of Delegates guide district and state projects related to service. For example, the environmental committee has spearheaded efforts to bring to light health hazards related to toxic waste and ground water, particularly in rural Alabama communities. Service projects of each district have ranged from providing nursing scholarships and rewards to community projects related to mental health or home healthcare. One of the most significant areas of service has been the program entitled, “Healthy Nurse – Healthy Nation.” This program, developed by ANA, uses social media to encourage participating nurses to live healthier lifestyles. Service, in essence, is one of the primary reasons for ASNA’s existence and should remain “top of mind” in all our endeavors as an association. 67
Page 3 and 4:
2018 Alabama State Nurses Associati
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18: 2018 Alabama State Nurses Associati
Page 55 and 56: Officers: President: Dr. Jacqueline
Page 65 and 66: Issues discussed: ASNA District-lev
Page 67: 2018 Alabama State Nurses Associati
Page 87 and 88: Section 3. Section 4. Section 5. Se
Page 95 and 96: Section 3. Section 4. Section 5. Ar
Page 97 and 98: Section 2. 2018 Alabama State Nurse
Page 105 and 106: Serve on an ASNA Committee for 2018
Page 107: We are dedicated to developing and
show all

2018 ASNA/AANS Annual Convention

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?