Why would you like to serve as Chairperson-Elect on the Academy of Emergency Nursing Board and what would you like to contribute while serving in that office?
As the AEN Chairperson-Elect, I will strive to strengthen our collaborative relationship with ENA so that we are recognized for our excellence and enduring contributions to advancing emergency nursing. Guided by our pillars of excellence, I am committed to supporting and inspiring the next generation of nurses.
Please share your perspectives and strategies on how the Academy of Emergency Nursing can help advance the profession of emergency nursing.
The Fellows of the Academy of Emergency Nursing make an enduring and substantial contribution to emergency nursing, providing a body of excellence in the areas of advocacy, education, leadership, practice, professionalism and research.
It is imperative that we explore new opportunities to interact formally and informally through collaboration with ENA and our colleagues nationally and internationally. Fellows provide expertise in one for multiple areas. We must ask ourselves “ How can we assist our colleagues and our organization”. In order to assist, we first must be visible. This can be accomplished by identifying opportunities to become more easily accessible.
Strategies to increase our visibility begin with being assessable and recognized in our areas of expertise. We should explore opportunities to advance the profession of emergency nursing by developing a resources program where emergency nurses can access those Fellows with similar interests. This would differ from the mentor program, which we need to reinvigorate, as this encompasses a single interaction or short-term guidance. A nurse may have a question or need – who better to help than a Fellow. This program could be from a link on the ENA home page where headers could link you to a volunteer FAEN.
Other areas of visibility could include a FAEN on ENA Committees, if they meet the committee requirements, an AEN Corner in the ENA Connection, and Liaison to states and international nurses. These and other ideas could decrease the apprehension expressed in approaching members of our group. We need to show nurses that we have many similarities.
The Academy’s Vision includes “advancing the profession and cultivating the next generation of nursing leaders at every level”. We need to look at our group and explore how we can share the experience and knowledge of the Fellows of the Academy of Emergency Nursing to embrace this vision.