Creating Bridges and Embracing Opportunities

Kari L. Schmidt, MS, RN-BC, ACC

©2015 Photograph by Rand Schmidt, used with permission. 

"What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude towards it. Every opportunity has a difficulty and every difficulty has an opportunity." —J. Sidlow Baxter

As I stop and reflect on 2016, I take pause. What an incredible year for our nursing professional development (NPD) specialty! I am truly in awe of the impact of ANPD and our members—the impact on nurses, patients and families.  We have embraced the opportunities unique to NPD. Dr. Susan Bindon challenged us in her closing address at the 2016 ANPD convention, “Building Bridges: One Question at a Time.” I reflect on continuing to meet that challenge and create bridges and embrace opportunities.

Through the leadership of Drs. Mary Harper and Patsy Maloney, our Nursing Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd edition was published in July 2016. The Scope and Standards is the result of four task forces, evaluating the evidence that impacts our practice and guides us for the future. Input from ANPD members provided valuable feedback as the Scope and Standards were finalized. Significant changes to the Scope and Standards were featured in the opening session at the ANPD 2016 Annual Convention. Those of us who attended that session were also energized by the comments and call to action as Persephone Munnings of Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas, and the University of The Bahamas, spoke during the comments portion of the session. Drs. Harper and Maloney shared insights and examples of practical application in the Scope and Standards of Practice column in the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, beginning with the May/June 2016 issue. If you have not yet had the opportunity to read this column, I very much encourage you to do so—these are our standards.

I have the honor of facilitating some of our ANPD Certification Preparation Courses across the country. I met so many inspiring NPD practitioners last year, who approach their practice with enthusiasm and passion. I was humbled to see how course participants shared examples of how they apply evidence-based practice, and how they brainstormed ideas to help and support other participants—new colleagues they had just met, but would now have in their networks.

As Co-Editor with Dr. Susan Bindon for the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, we see the research our NPD colleagues are conducting—literally across the globe. The 2-part series on return on investment for NPD has become core to planning for many of our NPD colleagues. This series was published in the May/June and July/August 2016 issues of the Journal. Dr. Bindon and I also have the opportunity to mentor new authors, and see their competence and confidence grow as they are actively engaged in the publishing process for the first time. Their enthusiasm energizes me.

The spirit of inquiry and collegiality at the 2016 convention, Aspire to Inspire, was amazing. In Pittsburgh, the city of bridges, I could see bridges being built in new professional relationships throughout convention. I attended the concurrent session featuring the panel of some of the authors for the ANPD text Leadership in Nursing Professional Development: An Organizational and System Focus. Again, I took pause at the wealth of expertise of the panel members. We truly were aspiring to inspire at convention.

As a charter member of ANPD, I am proud and humbled to be part of our NPD specialty and our organization. We continue to grow as a specialty—nurturing each other and advocating for our specialty. We will take that energy and expertise into 2017, and the 2017 ANPD Annual Convention as we Aspire to Transform. We will continue to create bridges and embrace opportunities.

References

Harper, M.G. & Maloney, P. (2016) Nursing professional development: Scope & standards of
     practice, 3^rd Ed.  Chicago: Association for Nursing Professional Development.

Opperman, C., Liebig, D., Bowling J., Johnson C.S. & Harper, M. (2016). Measuring return
     on investment for professional development activities: A review of evidence. Journal for
     Nursing Professional Development, 32(3), 122-129.

Opperman, C., Liebig, D., Bowling J., Johnson C.S. & Harper, M. (2016). Measuring return
     on investment for professional development activities:  Implications for practice. Journal
     for Nursing Professional Development, 32(4), 176-184.

Smith C.M. & Harper, M.G. (2016). Leadership in nursing professional development: An
     organizational and system focus. Chicago: Association for Nursing Professional
     Development.

Journey to Nursing Professional Development

Persephone Munnings, MSN, RN-BC, CM is Manager of the Continuing Nursing Education Department at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas, as well as Adjunct Nursing Faculty at the University of The Bahamas.

As a little girl growing up on the rural island of Mayaguana in The Bahamas, I observed the nurse as she delivered quality care to the residents throughout the island. Her skill and high level of professionalism fascinated me. I dreamed of one day being a nurse just like her and upon graduating from high school, I entered the nursing program at The College of The Bahamas.

I graduated with an Associate’s Degree from a rigorous nursing program and as a graduate nurse experienced a lack of mentorship with one of my clinical assignments. This moved me to mentor all nursing students who rotated through my ward. Working with the students ignited my passion for education and I returned to college to pursue a BSN which would qualify me for a faculty position at the local school of nursing.

Three years after obtaining my BSN degree, I began searching for a new assignment, a new job, a new challenge, a new level of fulfilment, something new. This search landed me in a meeting with the Principal Nursing Officer and a temporary deployment to the Continuing Nursing Education Department. It turned out that this assignment was my best one ever. In fact, it was the start of my journey to NPD certification. Up to this point I didn’t know much about continuing nursing education; so, I took to the internet seeking to augment the principles I had learned in the teaching and learning course in the BSN program. My research led me to the National Nursing Staff Development Organization’s (NNSDO) website which was a great resource. Further search led to a book by Barbara Brunt called Competencies for Staff Educators. This book became my go-to resource for my work within the department.

The NNSDO later became the Association for Nursing Professional Development. After following ANPD for a few years and realizing that the organization catered to the needs of nurses in staff development, I became a member in July 2015. Immediately I began accessing recorded webinars and registering for the upcoming sessions. Two months later, The Princess Margaret Hospital saw its first NPD Week celebrations in September 2015. The week of activities included an opening ceremony, NPD display within the hospital, a church service, a seminar for NPD staff, and a nurturing day for nurses with outstanding participation in continuing nursing education. We even submitted our decorated board to the ANPD decorated space contest; we did not win, but we participated.

By July 2016, I was on my way to my first ANPD convention. The theme for the convention was “Aspire to Inspire.” There were so many workshops that I wanted to attend but they ran concurrently. After much deliberation, I registered for the NPD Certification Prep Course. Was I ready to sit for the certification exam? Of course not! My goal was to attend the 2-day course to gain more insight into the role of the NPD practitioner, particularly the leadership role.

The Certification Prep Course, which was facilitated by the energetic, humorous, and engaging Mr. Gregory Durkin, was much more than certification prep. Participants shared work-related experiences and best practices, and Greg shared success tips and resources for successful management of NPD. By the end of day one, a Facebook page had been created for participants to stay connected and support each other in the quest to become certified. By the closing of day two I felt ready to begin studying for the NPD certification exam; instead I returned home and completed an application to test. 

The entire convention exceeded my expectations. Speakers were inspiring; the session on the revised scope and standards of the NPD practitioner was very informative; the poster display was clearly the largest I had seen and covered a variety of themes from orientation and onboarding, to mentorship, to use of technology, to bridging generational gaps, to interprofessional education. I attended every networking session, purchased resources, and interacted with as many vendors as time allowed. One of the main highlights for me was mingling with the authors of the book Leadership in Nursing Professional Development: An Organizational and System Focus. I felt proud to be a member of ANPD.

Post-convention, I returned home inspired and with a new zest to inspire other continuing education staff members in my organization. We again celebrated NPD Week and agreed to make it an annual event. I shared my convention experience with staff members of my team and added my collection of new ANPD publications to our library of resources. I knew more than ever that I was a specialist, that not anyone could do what I did. I felt a need to validate my role and bring awareness to the value of nursing professional development to the organization.

On October 24th 2016, I passed the NPD Certification exam. I shared the good news with my fellow workshop participants. Oh, I had to tell my colleagues, Greg, and Mary, and anyone else who cared to listen. To my knowledge, I was the first person in The Bahamas to achieve NPD Certification. What an accomplishment! Of course, when I shared the news at home the popular response was: “Congratulations, what does that mean and what is NPD?” I had to educate my colleagues about my specialty. I realized that I had to prepare an elevator speech on the role of the NPD practitioner.

Today, I am proud to be a certified Nursing Professional Development Practitioner. I value my specialty because my Master’s Degree in nursing education focused more on the roles and responsibilities of the educator in an academic setting. The NPD specialty has a unique scope of practice different from that of the academic educator and requires unique competencies. Through achieving certification, a nursing professional demonstrates that he/she has achieved advanced knowledge and skills in a chosen specialty and is dedicated to improving patient outcomes. I am committed to advocating for the NPD specialty in The Bahamas, and as far as my influence reaches. I aspire to enhance my ability to articulate the value of NPD as a specialty and, as a nurse leader, use my expertise to enhance nursing practice and, ultimately, better patient outcomes.

I am grateful for the vision of the pioneers of ANPD. The current leaders inspire me; they are talented, committed, reachable and approachable. Dr. Mary Harper, Director of Nursing Professional Development, is but an instant message away. The resources and networking opportunities available through the ANPD website are limitless. The publications are specific to the needs of NPD professionals. It is my hope to one day serve on one of the ANPD committees. Who knows, one day a Certification Prep Course or even the ANPD Annual Convention could be held in the beautiful Bahamas. 

Celebrating NPD Week 2016

ANPD celebrated NPD Week on September 18 – 24, 2016. Each year we devote an entire week toward celebrating our members' achievements and shining a spotlight on nursing professional development. This year during NPD Week we held a decoration contest for our members, offered a free webinar, "Wisdom, Passion, and Transformational Leadership," and sold NPD Week merchandise in our online store. Browse through the photos below, posted by your peers on social media, to see how some of your fellow NPD practitioners celebrated (and make sure to check out the winner of the decoration contest!). Next year NPD Week will take place from September 24 – 30, 2017. 

Adventist Health celebrated NPD Week with a workshop for staff from several of their hospitals. 

NPD Week decorations at Florida Hospital

NPD Practitioners from McGuire VA celebrate NPD Week

Cone Health celebrated with cupcakes, complete with the NPD Week logo!

Congratulations to Aultman Hospital for winning the NPD Week decoration contest!

The 2016 NPD Scope and Standards: Began with Florence

Patsy Maloney, EdD, MSN, RN-BC, CEN, NEA-BC is a Senior Lecturer of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership at University of Washington Tacoma.

"Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses...we must be learning all our lives."

                                                                                                  -Florence Nightingale

There has been much excitement about the release of the 2016 Nursing Professional Development (NPD) Scope and Standards. The workgroup of NPD experts did a great job. The workgroup stood on the shoulders of the nursing and NPD leaders that went before us. This blog entry will briefly describe what a scope and standards document is, the history of our current scope and standards, a brief overview of the major changes in our current scope and standards, and a call to implement the standards by advancing the NPD specialty.

What is a Scope and Standards document? A nursing specialty scope of practice describes the specialty practice, its boundaries, and its practitioners (Anderson, 2011).  The American Nurses Association (ANA) (2015) publishes a Nursing Scope and Standards that applies to all nurses, including all specialty nurses. The scope is an overview of nursing and answers the who, what, when, where, how, and why questions of nursing practice. The standards of professional practice have two parts, a description of each standard followed by a list of competencies (Strong, 2016). The second edition of Nursing Scope and Standards (ANA, 2010) is available online. The third edition (2015) can be purchased online.

History of the NPD Scope and Standards. The history of our scope and standards begins with the history of our specialty. The roots of our specialty go back to the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. Ms. Nightingale’s belief that life-long learning was crucial influenced her opposition to registration (licensure) of nurses. She believed that if nurses were licensed after completing their training program, they would consider themselves “finished nurses” and would not continue learning (http://www.austincc.edu/adnlev1/rnsg1413online/mod_prof/history_notes.htm).
Pfefferkorn stated “The improvement of the nurse in service, in its broadest implications is as old as nursing…but the improvement of the graduate nurse for professional or cultural growth, is yet in its infancy”  (1928, p.700). So the improvement of nursing practice “in service” of the patient is as old as nursing, but including the professional development of the nurse beyond the immediacy of care of the patient was in its infancy in 1928 (88 years ago). The word in-service and in-service education took hold and articles about in-service education started to appear in the nursing literature. As more nurses moved from independent practice to hospital employees and the need for nurses increased, in-service education to orient and refresh nurses became even more important. By 1953 the in-service education role began to separate from that of nursing administrator, and divisions of in-service education were established within departments of nursing service (Abruzzese & Yoder-Wise, 1996).

Concurrent with the development of divisions of in-service education within hospitals, ANA started to develop the forerunners to scope and standards. These documents were called statements of functions. One of the earliest mentions of these was in the American Journal of Nursing in 1954. These statements of functions were developed by ANA committees. The 1954 statements included education, but not in-service education. By 1956 the statements of functions had evolved to statements of functions, standards, and qualifications for practice. Over the next few years American Journal of Nursing published these statements for a variety of nursing areas. They did not use the term specialties. Although in-service education was not included in the first statements of functions, standards, and qualifications, the specialty was included in The Yearbook of Modern Nursing 1956. It was not until 1966 that the Nursing Service Administrators section of ANA developed a “statement of functions and qualifications for in-service educators (Abruzzese & Yoder-Wise, 1996). This document was the precursor of our scope and standards.

By 1970 in-service education was subsumed under continuing education, which had come to include all education that took place outside degree granting nursing school programs. The Journal of Continuing Education published the ANA’s landmark statement on in-service education in 1970 and in 1972 published ANA’s landmark statement on continuing education. The Council on Continuing Education was organized with members from both in-service education and college continuing education programs in 1973. In 1974 ANA published the first standards for continuing education and in 1976 published guidelines, not standards for staff development. (Abruzzese & Yoder-Wise, 1996). With the publication of these guidelines the term in-service education was replaced with the term nursing staff development. Instead of referring to an area of practice, in-service education came to mean education and training delivered in the practice setting to facilitate an individual’s ability to function within a given agency (ANA, 2000). 

Finally, in 1990 ANA published Standards for Nursing Staff Development (ANA, 1990). This was followed in 1994 by Standards for Nursing Professional Development: Continuing Education and Staff Development. Nursing professional development had become the umbrella term to encompass both continuing education and staff development. Embracing this new term, the Scope and Standards of Practice for Nursing Professional Development was published by ANA in 2000. The 2010 Nursing Professional Development: Scope and Standards of Practice was published jointly by ANA and National Nursing Staff Development Organization (NNSDO) (ANA & NNSDO, 2010). Our scope and standards led the way for the re-naming and re-branding of our specialty from NNSDO to the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD) in 2012.

The nursing and NPD leaders on whose work the 2016 NPD Scope and Standards of Practice is built are too numerous to name. But I think it is really important to acknowledge Ms. Barb Brunt, who served with the 1994, 2000, and the 2016 standards work groups. Her contributions to our current scope and standards are immeasurable. Another NPD giant is Dr. Dora Bradley, who led the work group for the 2010 NPD Scope and Standards of Practice. This work group created the NPD Practice Model as a systems model that maintained much of its relevance and only required the 2016 workgroup. The 2010 Scope and Standards was an outstanding foundational document for the 2016 scope and standards work group.

Overview of the revisions in the 2016 NPD Scope and Standards. The significant revisions in the NPD Scope and Standards of Practice (ANPD, 2016) include expanding the settings in which the NPD specialty is practiced beyond acute care and even including virtual environments, replacement of the intertwined elements with seven NPD roles, identification of general (NPD Generalist) and advanced levels (NPD Specialist) of NPD practice. NPD practitioner became the umbrella term that incorporates both the NPD generalist and the NPD specialist (Harper & Shinners, 2016). Two standards of performance (Collegiality and Advocacy) were removed and integrated throughout the other standards. Change Management and Mentorship/Advancing the Profession were added in response to the NPD Role Delineation Study (Warren & Harper, 2015).

Conclusion. The seeds of the 2016 NPD Scope and Standards of Practice were planted by Florence Nightingale when she emphasized the need for life-long learning.  These seeds started to take root when Blanche Pfefferkorn addressed the National League for Nursing Education’s convention and discussed the deliberate pursuit of professional growth post-graduation from nursing school (Pfefferkorn, 1928). After the publication of Pfefferkorn’s address articles on in-service education started to appear in the nursing literature. In the 1950’s in-service education divisions started to appear in hospitals and by the 1960’s the predecessor of the current scope and standards was developed. Our current 2016 Scope and Standards is the result of the work of well over 100 years of thought leaders. The last, but not least standard of performance, Standard 16: Mentoring and Advancing the Profession, calls us to advance our specialty. Our specialty is one of the oldest of nursing specialties. Be proud. Call your specialty by name, Nursing Professional Development. 

References

Abruzzese, R. S., & Yoder-Wise, P. S. (1996).  Staff development: Our visions.  In R. S. Abruzzese (Ed.).  Nursing staff development: Strategies for success (pp. 3-14). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Yearbook.

American Nurses Association. (2000). Scope and standards of practice for nursing professional development. Washington DC: Author.

American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

American Nurses Association and National Nursing Staff Development Organization. (2010). Nursing professional development: Scope and standards of practice. Silver Spring, MD: ANA.

ANA Statements of functions. (1954). The American Journal of Nursing, 56(10), 1305-1309.

ANA Statements of functions, standards, and qualifications. (1956). The American Journal of Nursing, 56(8), 1027-1030.

Anderson, T. (2011). Nursing professional development: Scope and standards of practice (2010). Nebraska Nurse, 44(3), 8-9.

Harper, M. G.  & Maloney, P. (2016).  Nursing professional development:  Scope and standards of practice (3^rd ed.).  Chicago, IL:  ANPD.

Harper, M.G. & Shinners, J. (2016). Overview of nursing professional development. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 32(4), 228-229.

History Notes. (n.d.). Nursing as a profession. Retrieved from http://www.austincc.edu/adnlev1/rnsg1413online/mod_prof/history_notes.htm

Pfefferkorn, B. (1928). Improvement of the nurse in service: An historical review. The American Journal of Nursing, 28(7), 700-710.

Strong, M. (2016). Maintaining clinical competency is your responsibility. American Nurse Today, 11(7), 46-47.

Warren, J. I., & Harper, M. G. (2015, July). Nursing professional development role delineation study. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for Nursing Professional Development, Las Vegas, NV

Future of Nursing Report Calls for Nurses to Join Healthcare Boards

Do you or any of your colleagues serve on a board? One of the key messages in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Future of Nursing report is, "Nurses should be full partners with physicians and other health professionals in redesigning healthcare in the U.S." Being a full partner translates to the health policy arena, where the report suggests, "Nurses should also actively serve on advisory committees, as commissioners and on boards where policy decisions are made to advance health systems to improve patient care." Nurses need to exercise leadership competencies in a collaborative environment in all settings, including hospitals, communities, schools, boards, and policy and business arenas both within nursing and across the health professions. The Nurses on Board Coalition (NOBC), created by the collaborative efforts of 21 nursing organizations, has a goal of placing 10,000 nurses on governing boards by 2020.

Let your voice be heard! If you are serving on a board now or would like to serve, go to www.nursesonboardscoalition.org and register by clicking on the "Be Counted" link at the top of the page.

References
Institute of Medicine. (2010). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.


Nurses on Boards Coalition. (2016, May 10). Re: NOBC Nurse Leader Letter. Retrieved from: https://mail.goggle.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=8f28728c50&view=pt&search=inbox&th=1549c290 71fd8b08&siml=1549c29071fd8b0&siml=154a65c5e5050950&siml 

Developing Leadership Skills

Barbara Brunt, MA, MN, RN-BC, NE-BC is an Education Consultant and past ANPD President.

 Leadership is not a title - anyone can be a leader.  All NPD specialists, regardless of our role, can continue to develop leadership skills.  I have used the letters of the word leadership to outline some of the characteristics of a leader.

          Learning is critical to leadership – learning and competence matter.  We need to be lifelong learners and constantly seek out new knowledge.  We learn by making mistakes – they help us grow and are NOT failures.  Thomas Edison said “I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that will not work”, and “our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”  There are multiple resources for your professional development, such as webinars, books, online courses, etc, available through ANPD.

          Empowering others is important.   Webster defines empowerment as “giving power or authority to or give ability to”.  We need to help our coworkers and others feel significant, showing concern and caring.  Pierre de Chardin said, “The most empowering relationships are those in which each partner lifts the other to a higher possession of their own being.”  We need to lift others up to fully develop our own leadership skills.

          Accountability and aspiring for excellence are other characteristics of leadership.  Leaders take accountability for their decisions, and constantly aspire to be the best they can be.  We need to continually strive for excellence, even though we realize we may not get there.

          Driving innovation is another component of leadership.  Webster defines innovation as introducing new methods or devices.  All of us need to question why – because we have always done it that way is not an acceptable answer.  There is an increasing amount of literature providing the best evidence for our care – leaders need to constantly look for better ways of doing things.  Consider applying for a research grant, if you want to validate an innovative approach to teaching or NPD practice.

          Embracing change is a critical skill in today’s ever-changing health care environment.  Change is a constant, and we need to accept that fact.   John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life.  And those who only look to the past or present are sure to miss the future.”  Not only do we need to accept change, but we need to serve as change agents to help others cope with change.  A few of my favorite quotes about change are:

Gandi – Be the change you wish to see in the world

Socrates – The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not into fighting the old but on building the new

Norm Brodsky (Entrepreneur) – Either you are an agent of change or you are destined to become a victim of change.  You simply can’t survive over the long haul by standing still. 

I think these quotes emphasize the importance of your reaction to change.

          Resolving conflicts is essential to success when applying leadership skills.  Conflict is inevitable and we need to deal with it rather than letting it fester.  Resolving conflicts is often not pleasant and we tend to procrastinate when there is something we don’t want to do; however, that will not make the conflicts go away.  The first step to conflict resolution is to recognize what factors contribute to conflict.  Some of these are:  differences in values, fear, miscommunication, treatment of others, honesty, and attitudes.  Four basic strategies for resolving conflicts are accommodation, assertion, avoidance, and negotiation. 

          Serving others and seeking out a mentor are two other leadership characteristics.  Servant leadership can be helpful in getting others to work towards a common goal.  Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid.” By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first, and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.  People love to follow servant leaders

          A mentor can open doors and present opportunities for your personal and professional growth.  A mentor is different from a preceptor.  Mentors do not have to work in the same facility or even be in the same state.  Belinda Puetz is one of my mentors.  When I was actively involved in the National Nursing Staff Development Organization, she was the Executive Director of that group.  The American University of Beirut in Lebanon was looking for a staff development consultant to do an on-site visit, and she suggested they contact me.  I went there back in 1999 and helped them further develop their staff development program.  Gladys Mouro, who was the CNO at that time, became a board member of STTI later.  I believe her letter of support helped me receive one of the STTI Founders awards, because of the emphasis on global impact.

          Honing collaboration and teamwork skills are critical skills for leaders.  With the focus on interprofessional education and teamwork, we need to work closely with other members of the healthcare team.  With the complexity of health care today, it takes a village with multiple skill sets to most effectively care for our patients. Research has long suggested that interprofessional collaboration improves coordination, communication and, ultimately, the quality and safety of patient care. It utilizes both the individual and collective skills and experience of team members, allowing them to function more effectively and deliver a higher level of services than each would working alone.

          Inspiring others and getting involved is important.  Providing a clear vision can motivate others to become more involved.  Great leaders inspire others.  John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”  ANPD has a lot of opportunities for you to get involved in whatever activities resonate with you.  You can become involved by being a part of a committee, or volunteering for a task force or specific task, such as reviewing chapters in ANPD publications.

          Providing feedback is the last leadership characteristic.  The important of clear and frequent communication, both written and verbal, can’t be overemphasized.  You need to let your coworkers know what they are doing well, or if there are things they could be doing better.  My background as an English teacher has served me well throughout my career – I love to write, and my initial education provided me with the tools to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing. 

          You never know what difference you will make in someone’s life. I challenge all of you to develop your leadership skills and make a difference.  

ANPD President's Message

Joan Warren, PhD, RN-BC, NEA-BC, FAAN - President of ANPD

I can’t believe how fast this year has gone! I hope you had an opportunity to participate in our Annual Business meeting webinar.  I’m so proud of all the accomplishments ANPD has made throughout 2015, and I’m excited for the direction that the NPD specialty is headed. The Board of Directors met last week and finalized the 2016-2018 strategic plan, and we are adding the finishing touches before unveiling it in the new year. I believe the plan is very aggressive and robust and will continue to grow and advance our specialty. 

As we prepare for the new year, I want to delve into NPD specialists’ role as leaders in their organizations, a topic that has been top of mind lately. I recently attended several conferences for nurse leaders, educators and staff, each focused on the importance of nursing leadership to advance healthcare and the profession. As you know, ANPD has been working tirelessly to promote the role of the NPD specialist as a leader. Yet, we often do not have or know our organizational data to demonstrate how we impact quality, patient safety, patient experience or contain costs.  In our recent research study, the NPD Organizational Value Demonstration Project, we discovered that the majority of NPD specialists’ time is spent in orientation and mandatory education. Is this the best use of our time and talents as leaders in our organizations? Or would our time be better spent affecting care to improve quality and patient safety while reducing costs and improving patient experience? It is essential that, as NPD specialists, we know where we are spending our time and how our activities are aligned with the mission and vision of the organization. To best ensure our activities are aligned with those of the organization, we must know organizational metrics and understand what keeps our leaders up at night.  With this information, we can align our educational activities with the organization’s goals to position ourselves as leaders. As leaders we need to speak up at meetings about how we can support organizational initiatives and demonstrate irrefutably our value to our organizations.

I encourage each of you to take the leap and put yourself out there! Take a global perspective, know your metrics, and align yourself with the goals and missions of your organization, focusing on quality and patient safety to ultimately result in cost reductions for your organization. And don’t spend all your time in areas that don’t show your true value as a leader.

While I’m excited for this opportunity to talk about our leadership role, I also recognize that we may still have some barriers to achieving it. To promote the role of NPD specialists, your leadership team wrote an article for the Career Sphere column in the American Nurse describing the role of the NPD specialist and how it differs from that of academic nurse educators. In this article, we explain that NPD specialists serve as leaders within their healthcare organizations, as we hold the key to understanding the direction our organization is going. The publication will be out in the near future.

As members of ANPD, we need to have a discussion about how we remove ourselves from activities adding little value and position ourselves as leaders. How do we innovate so we put our energy in the right areas? To foster this conversation, I ask that each of you leave a comment to tell how you have been able to innovate and position yourselves as leaders in your organization. We will post some of the ideas shared in the next issue of our bimonthly newsletter, TrendLines.