Second chances; redos; do-overs; mulligans. These are opportunities, rarely afforded, that should be cherished and not squandered. This is especially true for nurses, whose profession demands perfection, precision, and excellence in delivering care for our patients. As I write this, I have just begun my term as the Orthopaedic Nurses Certification Board's (ONCB's) next President. While I am exceptionally excited for this opportunity to serve certified orthopaedic nurses, and help lead ONCB, I am also humbled by ONCB's confidence in me as this represents the second time in my Board tenure that I will serve as President. Maya Angleou said, "I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better." Second chances are opportunities to make amends, right wrongs, and learn and grow. It is the latter that I am most excited about in my second term as ONCB President.
My first term as ONCB President landed squarely in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the chaos that we all felt at home and at work, this inevitably carried over to my role with ONCB. Although this chaos was relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of the pandemic, I am proud of ONCB's resilience and creative problem-solving throughout.
During my first term as President, though limited in scope, I was particularly proud of a couple of achievements. First, ONCB was able to work with our accrediting body to pivot our testing model to live remote proctored (LRP) examinations. This allowed our potential certificants to continue to sit for orthopaedic nursing certification examinations remotely, even as brick and mortar sites across the country closed. During this time, ONCB also saw the retirement of our long-time Executive Director, Dottie Roberts. For all who know Dottie, she is an unparalleled wealth of knowledge and champion of orthopaedic nursing certification-Her retirement represented a huge void in ONCB historical knowledge and leadership. I helped to successfully lead the search for ONCB's new Executive Director, Kelly Hayes, who was able to hit the ground running and keep ONCB moving forward with its strategic plan and business operations.
Ultimately, I missed out on the meaningful interactions and initiatives an ONCB President hopes for with certificants, peers, and partner organizations. For those fortunate enough to have attended the closing ceremonies of the recent 42nd NAON Congress, you will recognize this as my detour rather than missed opportunities.
Speaking of detours, orthopaedic nursing and certification were not my initial projected career trajectory. With a background in cardiac physiology, and several cardiac-focused clinical rotations, I left graduate school eagerly looking for a relevant practice setting. After months of applications, and unemployment, I began applying to any open nurse practitioner position I could find. As fate would have it, I applied and was immediately offered a position with a new orthopaedic APP group at a local hospital. Twelve years later, I have gained multiple friends and peers, a NAON membership, numerous publications, professional presentations, ONP-C certification, and multiple years of volunteer service with ONCB; I know this detour was meant to be.
Understanding the value of detours and second chances, ONCB also offers potential and current certificants multiple opportunities to obtain and maintain their orthopaedic nursing certification. For potential certificants, ONCB's Retest for Success program offers test-takers the ability to retest, free of charge, if they are unsuccessful in passing the examination on their first attempt. To qualify for the program, participating organizations must register a minimum of three applicants for any of ONCB's certification examinations and have them test within the year of their contract.
For those already certified, that may have allowed their certification to lapse, ONCB allows a one-time credential reactivation if applied for within 2 years of the credential expiration. ONCB also offers multiple scholarship opportunities and LRP examination options in an effort to improve access to testing and recertification. More information for all of these opportunities may be found on the ONCB website, http://www.oncb.org.
My second term as ONCB President is already off to a dramatically better start, having just attended the first in-person NAON Congress in 2 years! I am excited to continue to learn and grow as a leader and to help ONCB continue to realize our mission of improving musculoskeletal health through certifications that advance the practice or orthopaedic nursing. I look forward to seeing and serving all certified orthopaedic nurses in the coming year.