When I assumed the presidency of the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD) in July 2018, Barb Brunt asked me what I hoped to accomplish during my tenure as ANPD president, and I responded that I wanted to "work with the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers to operationalize the strategic plan, with particular attention to NPD role clarity" (Brunt, 2018, para. 5)-in other words, advance our specialty. When as president-elect I attended the Nursing Organizations Alliance (NOA) 2017 Fall Summit with then President Chris Wilson, we were continuously explaining our specialty and our specialty association to others. Just 2 years later, at the NOA's 2019 Fall Summit, not one person asked us what ANPD was or asked what an NPD practitioner does. What a difference 2 years made! This difference was the result of a committed effort by the Board of Directors, NPD team, staff, and volunteers to advance our specialty through partnerships, certification, and celebration.
ANPD has extended partnerships that advance our specialty. Our goal of incorporating NPD into graduate nursing curriculum is being realized through the Meritorious Academic Partnership designation program (https://www.anpd.org/page/map-designation-program). More progress toward this goal has been made through our partnership with Walden University in the development of a webinar and position paper on NPD content in graduate nursing curriculum (https://www.anpd.org/page/anpd-position-statements). The Ohio State University College of Nursing invited ANPD representatives to provide NPD curricular input into the development of the Doctor of Nursing Education degree program. We have also started conversation with the National League of Nursing on possible educational partnerships. We most recently initiated a partnership with Sigma Theta Tau to produce a series of webinars on NPD plans. These webinars will address curriculum vitae and resume development, professional portfolio creation, scholarship dissemination, self-care, and advocating for NPD positions through negotiation.
One of the hallmarks of a specialty is a body of knowledge that can be verified through certification. Over the last 2 years, we have advanced our specialty through needed improvements in certification. We petitioned the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to change the NPD certification practice requirements from 4,000 hours over 5 years to 2,000 hours over 3 years, and we supported changing our certification credentials to NPD-BC instead of RN-BC. ANCC has approved our requests with the timeline for implementation to be determined. We have tremendous demand for our in-person NPD certification preparation courses. Although the in-person classes receive rave reviews and have increased in number, our members requested an asynchronous NPD Online Certification Preparation Course (https://www.anpd.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1401&blogaid=1675), which we implemented in late 2019. We also have a steering committee and a several workgroups moving forward with an advanced certification in NPD that will be administered by the Competency and Credentialing Institute.
One way to advance our specialty is to celebrate it. Many NPD practitioners do not realize they are part of a specialty with a long, proud history. Celebrating that history and the contributions of NPD practitioners to nursing and health care not only advances our specialty but also leaves each of us with a sense of pride. Our last convention was a celebration of 30 years as an association. This celebration included a walk through our proud history. If you did not get a chance to attend the 2019 convention in Phoenix, it is not too late to walk through our history (https://www.anpd.org/timeline) on our website.
Recognizing that we are limited in our ability to advocate for our specialty and tell others our story, last summer, we celebrated our specialty and the work of NPD practitioners by publishing Making a Difference: An Anthology of NPD Stories (https://www.anpd.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1401&blogaid=1614). We also worked with our marketing team to develop a marketing plan to increase our social media presence, transform the TrendLines newsletter to a digital newsletter easily accessed on mobile devices, and highlight NPD Week celebrations. The 2020 NPD Week Celebration is September 14-18. Get geared up for 2020 by viewing the videos Day in the Life of an NPD Practitioner (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOuaxwLk3E6f1np-VhPn1nUodxk17RgsL) from the 2019 NPD Week celebration on our website. The team also markets our many great education products such as the fifth edition of Getting Started in Nursing Professional Development (https://www.anpd.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1401&blogaid=1337) and our rapidly growing NPD Quick Guide Series (https://www.anpd.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1401&blogaid=1328).
Advancing our NPD specialty is not the job of one leader or one board. It is the work of every member of the specialty, past and future. Immediate Past President Chris Wilson has been elected to the Nursing Organizations Alliance's Coordinating Committee. This committee plans the educational activities for the annual fall summit where representatives from nearly 60 nursing organizations gather to share best practices. Chris obtained a seat for ANPD in NOA's Counterpoint: Debating Hot Topics alongside presidents and executive directors from much larger and older associations, such as the American Nurses Association, the Emergency Nurses Association, and the American Association of Nurses Anesthetists.
Advancing our specialty is a shared responsibility. I urge you to volunteer, learn the NPD history and take pride in your specialty, prepare for and certify in NPD, tell your NPD stories, mentor others into the specialty, and take every opportunity to celebrate NPD. We have a lot to celebrate!
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