The mission of the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD) is to advance the specialty practice of nursing professional development (NPD) to yield improved healthcare outcomes. The goal of ANPD is to be acknowledged as the expert voice, advocate, and leading resource for NPD practice (ANPD, 2020b). ANPD desires to be the education leader for the nursing industry. To achieve the mission and goal of ANPD, the board of directors (BOD) will ask for committed members to volunteer their time and efforts to assist in elevating ANPD and the nursing profession by serving on committees and task forces.
ANPD committees and task forces are represented by members with diverse educational levels and backgrounds, while also representing a variety of geographical locations. ANPD defines committees as "permanent groups of persons appointed or selected to perform a function on behalf of the BOD and membership," whereas task forces are labeled as "temporary work groups typically comprised of persons appointed or selected to accomplish a specific objective, with the expectation that the group will disband when the objective has been completed" (ANPD, 2020c). Each committee has a chair and a chair-elect that is selected by the BOD. A committee team member can serve up to 12-18 months per term, with a two-term limit per committee.
Task forces may be appointed to accomplish a specified task identified by the BOD. A BOD member may serve on the task force team. The duration of time to be on task force team varies depending upon the nature of the project.
ANPD has six committees and currently four task forces that are very active within the organization (ANPD, 2020b). Committees include the following: Education Committee, Product and Services Committee, Nominating Committee, Recognition Committee, Convention Content Planning Committee, and Finance Committee. The task forces for ANPD include the following: Diversity Task Force, Multisite Leader Task Force, Simulation in Transition to Practice (TTP) Task Force, and Advanced NPD Certification Steering Task Force and Workgroups.
The Education Committee is responsible for ongoing needs assessments, providing a webinar schedule, and overseeing implementation of an evidence-based practice course. This committee plays a vital role in evaluating past programs and selecting current topics for the yearly webinar series. The main function of this goal is to oversee education execution provided to the membership (ANPD, 2020a). In 2020, they were instrumental in the delivery of 10 webinars in collaboration with Lippincott. In addition, this team oversaw the Leadership Academy for both the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 cohorts. The Education Committee launched the first cohort of the Evidence-Based Practice Academy, which has been a huge success. Stay tuned at convention for presentations from the participants in these two academies!
In 2020, the Product and Services Committee developed and delivered a wide array of new and exciting offerings for ANPD members. These include products for interprofessional continuing education and NPD role development, as well as NPD certification review flash cards. This team is responsible for the highly popular Quick Reference Guide series, and this year added the succession planning and brain-based learning Quick Response Codes. In addition, they were the source of ANPD's Environmental Scanning Toolkit and web page.
The Nominating Committee's primary function is to nominate eligible, interested candidates to serve on the BOD. The Recognition Committee's goal is to review nominated members for awards and scholarship offerings based on their achievements, contributions, engagement, and funding need. The Convention Content Planning Committee provides input on the annual convention topics, speakers, and activities. This committee reviews all the abstracts submitted for each ANPD conference. Lastly, the Finance Committee oversees the annual budget development and monitors the financial progress of the organization (ANPD, 2020a).
The Diversity Task Force's goal is to identify underrepresented audiences while enriching understanding of the perspectives of those members. They lead ANPD toward embracing cultural, racial, gender, and generational diversity and develop supportive processes. This team is represented by diverse geographical locations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, gender, and hospital settings (ANPD, 2020a). Dr. Launette Woolforde, the BOD liaison on the committee, will discuss outcomes from the group at the 2021 ANPD convention, Aspire to Inclusivity.
In December 2018 ANPD, the Society of Simulation in Healthcare Nursing Section and the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning agreed to collaborate to explore the use of simulation in TTP programs. Workgroups from all three organizations reviewed 352 abstracts and 138 articles from which they discerned that, because of lack of rigorous research in the area of simulation in TTP, no recommendations could be made for or against the use of simulation in TTP programs. A discussion paper was written by Dr. Mary Harper, ANPD's Director of Professional Development, outlining the findings that all three organizations endorsed. Dr. Harper is currently working with the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development to publish the findings from this taskforce. Because of this gap in evidence, it was recommended at the 2020 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare convention that research be conducted on this topic.
ANPD desires dedicated volunteers who contribute to achieving the organization's annual goals. Committee work is integral to the fulfillment of ANPD's strategic goals. These opportunities provide members with opportunities to become involved, grow your network, and share your expertise (ANPD, 2020a). To learn more about future opportunities, please contact mailto:[email protected].
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