This message is not from me as National League for Nursing (NLN) president. Rather, it is from the new NLN Board of Governors installed at the 2019 Education Summit. Prior to the Summit, I asked each continuing and newly elected member of our Board of Governors to participate in a message to the attendees. Specifically, I asked all members to respond in their own words to one of the NLN core values: Diversity, Integrity, Caring, and Excellence. The values were assigned in order to form the word DICE - an appropriate acronym for a Summit situated just down the street from a casino. The following identifies each person's message to the membership in attendance. You can view the actual presentation at https://youtu.be/EqfTT6NtN7A.
President Pat Yoder-Wise: Diversity
I will begin with D. Diversity is the first step in the process of moving toward inclusion and then to belonging. We are in the business of creating the feeling of belonging - the full recognition of each of us and our contributions within an organization in order to best serve the people we care for: learners and people with health care needs.
President-Elect Kathleen Poindexter: Integrity
Integrity comes from the Latin word meaning "whole and complete," representing visibility, authenticity, and consistency in actions, words, and decisions. The Board of Governors is committed to act with intention to advance integrity in nursing education, respecting the dignity and moral wholeness of every member without conditions or limitations through transparency, authenticity, open communication, ethical decision-making, and consistency in actions.
Beverly Malone (on Behalf of Secretary Cheryl Killion): Caring
Caring is the embodiment of love for humankind and other living beings. It is the manifestation of respect, authentic concern, and positive regard for others, as well as for self.
Treasurer Anne Krouse: Excellence
Aristotle wrote the following: "Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny." This quote represents how the NLN and the Board of Governors work together to create a strong organization that is poised for success in the future. We choose the path to excellence for nursing education.
Governor John Lundeen: Diversity
We foster diversity and inclusion in everything we do, and we know this is shared by the membership. This is evident in the Board you see before you today - the Board you elected. Together, we represent diversity of race, gender, religion, political belief, educational preparation, geographic location, and thought and opinion. As General George Patton once stated, "If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody is not thinking."
Governor Ann Marie Mauro: Integrity
As your NLN Board, we advance the core value of integrity through our unconditional commitment to honesty, fairness, ethics, and respect for people from diverse backgrounds and ideologies. We exemplify integrity in our words and in our actions to promote the NLN core values of caring, diversity, and excellence in nursing education on behalf of our members.
Governor Angela McNelis: Caring
Caring is our moral commitment to protect and enhance human dignity by practicing and honoring wholeness of mind, body, and spirit in ourselves and others. We commit to human interaction that is meaningful, authentic, and intentional and is inclusive of others' worldviews in order to demonstrate our ability to understand the needs of others and to act always in the best interests of those entrusted to our care.
Governor Linda Moneyham: Excellence
Excellence is not a place where one can arrive, but much like the North Star, it can be seen in the distance and guides our journey. Excellence gives meaning to our endeavors and, when fully embraced and shared with others, engages us in a process rich with meaning that defines who we are, what we believe, and what we are about.
Governor Michael Newsome: Diversity
To embrace diversity is to understand we have been given a gift - a wonderful gift made up of different sizes, shapes, forms, and colors. To embrace diversity is to take comfort in knowing that even though each gift is different; we are all created equally in His or Her image.
Governor Mark Vogt: Integrity
Integrity is an essential and fundamental value for the profession of nursing. It guides nurses as they care for patients when no one is looking and directs educators as they prepare our future professionals. The NLN exemplifies its commitment to principle, trustworthiness, honesty, and adherence to our values.
Governor Launette Woolforde: Caring
Caring is a cornerstone of nursing and an important core value for the NLN. Caring inspires us all to reach for the stars, to advance nursing education to new heights, and to never cease in our passion for learning. We recognize the words of Florence Nightingale: "Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses. We must be learning all of our lives." And so, we do that and all that we do - because we care!
Governor Mark Hand (Our Newest Governor): Excellence
The NLN core value of excellence represents the advancement of the science of nursing education. It embodies greatness in teaching, clinical practice, scholarship, and leadership.
CONCLUSION
I am so honored to serve as your president, to serve the NLN along with my stellar colleagues. We are committed to NLN's values and hope that you see how they affect us and how they can affect you. These words, etched in our hearts and inscribed in the glass around the NLN's central meeting room, are the drivers of our decisions for the organization.
We are your Board, and we look forward to serving the organization in advancing our service to the profession. We thank you for being a part of us. We all are the NLN!