June 23 - Our Constituent Leagues and NLN Member Engagement

I say it again and again. The amazing work we do at the NLN is a direct result of member involvement. You serve on the NLN Board of Governors. You serve and work so brilliantly on our numerous and various committees. You elected our phenomenal president, Dr. Marsha Howell Adams. And you bring forth the ideas and concerns that lead to action, allowing our staff to partner with you.

I am pleased to report that membership in the NLN is robust and continues to grow. So far in 2014, 96 percent of our member institutions renewed their membership, and we have 40,000 individual members. As you read this you are in good company, with many fellow members throughout the United States and around the globe.

Member engagement is the key to NLN excellence. One initiative that contributes to our success is our Ambassador Program. NLN ambassadors help ensure that faculty and educational leaders in all schools of nursing are kept informed about our programs, grant opportunities, and member involvement initiatives. Each semester, members in schools that do not already have an ambassador are invited to submit an interest form; appointments are made in April and November. Adding 150 ambassadors this past April has brought our total to more than 850 ambassadors who represent schools of nursing in almost every state, plus Puerto Rico, Canada, Guam, St. Kitts, and the Virgin Islands.

August 8 Fall Scholarly Writing Retreat Applications Due August 28 Taking the Angst Out of Test Construction & Item Analysis Workshop September 17-20 NLN Education Summit September 30 Leadership Institute Applications Due October 24-26 9th Annual NLN/Elsevier Technology Conference National Institute of Nursing Research director Dr. Patricia A. Grady gives an overview of NINR and discusses the role that nursing research plays in advancing health. Scrub Magazine's 4 things NOT to do in a nurse job interview. The 90-Second Case for Nurse Practitioners Three Resources to Help Anyone Quit Smoking

Many of you are involved with the NLN locally, as part of our 26 affiliated Constituent Leagues (CLs), which represent 30 US states. The Illinois League for Nursing is the newest to join the NLN family.

We are now accepting applications for our two annual Constituent League Leadership Awards, for an individual leader and for innovation by a league. Our CLs are innovative, their members influential. For example, when the Virginia Board of Nursing issued proposed changes to regulations for schools of nursing this winter, its president, Nina Beaman, testified about accreditation. The Ohio League for Nursing, the Michigan League, the Missouri League, and the Connecticut League all play a vital role in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiative involving action coalitions. Involvement in your CL is a great way to become involved in critical decision-making in your area.

CLs offer interesting programming, sometimes in conjunction with the NLN or other organizations. The Connecticut League for Nursing (CLN) even offers online courses for nurses seeking to transition their roles within the profession. Nurses outside the state are welcome to take courses offered by the CLN.

Without our beloved Constituent Leagues, the NLN cannot achieve our goal of being the voice for nursing education. So please check out your local league. If you find that it can use some help, join in. If you find that you can use some help, join in. Being a part of your CL is a mutually beneficial relationship. If your state does not yet have an affiliated CL, we offer a comprehensive Constituent League Formation Toolkit with everything you need for getting started.

And if you are at a CL meeting, be sure to say hello to Andrea Hall, who now attends many meetings as a representative of the NLN. Relatively new to the Washington area, Andrea is a native of Florida and a graduate of the University of Central Florida. As NLN membership coordinator, she is available to answer your questions, and she will help you understand the benefits available to you as a member. Feel free to email her at any time. And be sure to talk with her about her new hometown. Andrea loves the vitality, the culture, and the history in our nation's capital. And she loves working with Tish Hess, our longtime director of membership and recognition programs.

Now I want to tell you about something new and exciting for the NLN. We are a participating strategic partner for the upcoming invitational "Nursing Ethics for the 21st Century" summit, sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and the Berman Institute of Bioethics. Although attendance at the event is limited, the organizers, including Dr. Cynda Hylton Rushton, very much want to hear your views about ethical issues that nurses confront in their daily practice. Therefore, they will be blogging within the Berman Institute's Bioethics Bulletin Blog and hosting a series of scheduled, one-hour "chats" on Twitter using the hashtag #NursingEthics. Join in and let your voice be heard.

I have some sad news to share with you, the death of Dr. Ethelrine Shaw-Nickerson, formerly professor of nursing at the Ohio State University. I knew Dr. Shaw-Nickerson as a board member of the ANA Ethnic Minority Fellowship Program, a select group of power leaders that included Drs. Hattie Bessent, Elizabeth Carnegie, Rhetaugh Dumas, Faye Gary, Grayce Sills, and Gloria Smith. I received funding for my doctorate in clinical psychology from this program, and through it, I met colleagues and mentors. A community nurse, Dr. Shaw-Nickerson's love and passion were obstetrics and mothers and children. She will be sincerely missed but never forgotten.

Well, it's very hot and sticky in Washington, DC, a sure sign that summer is really here. Let's hope you can take some time off and enjoy. I just returned from Maui where I was anointed Queen Babysitter of the island by my grandchildren. I'm so fortunate that being the CEO of the NLN still allows the life balance to excel in other areas of magnitude, like babysitting in Hawaii.

All best wishes,


Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer

Next Issue of the NLN Member Update: April 28, 2014. View previous issues of NLN Member Update »