August 5, 2015 - Leadership Activities

Colleagues, we can hear you. The anecdotal feedback we get is always terrific. NLN members love the professional development opportunities we craft for nurse educators, the publications we create, the Certified Nurse Educator credential we offer, and so much more. But we can always use more input. How can the NLN, the oldest professional nursing organization in the United State, best reach members and potential members? Do we communicate effectively about what we have to offer? And most important, are we meeting your professional development needs?

To get the evidence-based answers to these questions, we asked you to participate in a survey that closed on June 30. Some of the responses were not surprising. Male nurse faculty have increased significantly in number since 2007 when our last member survey was done (at that time, gender was not even reported in the findings), and nearly all our members are faculty, with 75 percent members through their schools of nursing. Although many members currently serve on NLN committees, 59 percent aspire to volunteer with the NLN, and that is good news indeed.

We were gratified about specific findings, for example, 75 percent of respondents find our professional development offerings valuable or very valuable. And 80 percent of respondents find our research journal, Nursing Education Perspectives , valuable or very valuable – a tribute to those engaged in cutting-edge nursing education research and innovative teaching strategies in their schools of nursing. But, 8 percent have not yet participated in NLN programming – a figure we are eager to change.

We were especially intrigued by the responses to the open-ended questions. We realize that communication is key, and we are listening.

One of our current goals is to better tailor how we correspond with members. After all, if you are an expert clinician who is new to the faculty role, you may not be interested in programs designed for senior faculty with years of experience. And vice versa. Or, you may be a department chair or administrator whose needs are very different from those of clinical faculty. We want all of you to engage with the NLN, but how?

Fortunately, we now have an updated software system, Lyris, that will allow us to better personalize our email blasts and ensure that they are clearly visible on any device you use. We have been testing it with the help of members of the NLN Constituent Leagues and were thrilled with the response from Lisa Jordan, the new president of the DC/Maryland League for Nursing. I quote: "Exciting tool, WOW!"

So keep your eyes open – we will be introducing changes gradually as we refine our system. And a heartfelt thank you to those who took the time to respond to our survey – your comments will help the NLN, as an inclusive organization faithful to our core values of diversity, integrity, excellence, and caring, fulfill our mission to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the health of our nation and the global community. Oh, by the way, the mission starts with promoting excellence.

I do have a request – when you meet any of us from the NLN staff or NLN Board of Governors, please introduce yourself and let us know what you love about the NLN and how we can better represent you. Chrissy Ward, director of membership and recognition programs, represents the NLN at many of the conferences you attend and will be glad to chat, or you can email her at cward@nln.org .

That leads me to staff intros. Danielle Carter joined the NLN as member relations coordinator in April and will be at the NLN Education Summit 2015 in Las Vegas, September 30–October 2. Danielle comes to the NLN from the US Department of State, where she worked in travel and transportation, largely for members of the Foreign Service, to ease their transition in overseas posts. Feel free to contact Danielle at dcarter@nln.org about your membership questions. And membership operations coordinator Kathy Young, who has been with the NLN for 20 years, has thorough knowledge of managing your school or individual member account to its fullest impact. Contact her at kyoung@nln.org .

Another behind-the-scenes new staff member is Charles Ross, our new IT assistant. Charles has a solid background in desktop support, most recently working for the Federal Aviation Administration. We are delighted to have him on board. As you can see we are growing, but only to serve you more effectively.

Before I close, a word about our amazing NLN Scholarly Writing Retreat , co-sponsored with Pocket Nurse, scheduled for November in Dallas: The application deadline has been extended to August 14. And a reminder – rates for the Summit will increase on August 31, so be sure to register now. Can’t wait to see you at the BIG SHOW. This translates into, see you at the Summit .