OAAPN President-elect Jesse McClain (left) presents Representative Ryan Smith with the Friend of OAAPN award for this support of our legislative efforts in 2016.
Jesse McClain will take the office of President of the Ohio Association of Advance Practice Nurses Board at the OAAPN Statewide Conference. We caught up with him ahead of the conference to learn more about his path to the presidency and goals for the future.
McClain was inspired by his mother, who worked as a nurse, to pursue a career in the field. He started his career working in the intensive care unit but eventually went back to school with a friend to become an Advance Practice Nurse. As an APRN in a small neurology practice, McClain joined the OAAPN board in an effort to stay up to date on legal issues in Ohio.
“Somehow that turned into being a regional director, and now somehow that’s turned into being board president,” he says. “It’s all come from getting involved and wanting to know everything I needed to know for my practice.”
Since joining the OAAPN board in 2015, McClain says his mind has been opened to the massive problems across Ohio’s healthcare landscape. He’s seen firsthand that the restrictions for practicing APRNs in the state of Ohio are a problem across the state—a much bigger problem than he realized.
“I’ve been practicing in neurology and for years I had been unsuccessful in bringing a neurologist to our area,” McClain says. “I’ve since seen that similar things are going on in Toledo and other areas around the state. And it isn’t just neurology, it’s primary care and other specialties. We are seeing wait lists of four to six months for primary care around the state, which I view as unacceptable.”
As president-elect, McClain is looking forward to working with the board of directors, which he describes as “an amazing group of APRN leaders with similar goals.” He’s hoping to work together to accomplish more for APRNs in Ohio.
OAAPN President-elect Jesse McClain (left) presents Senator Joe Schiavoni with the Friend of OAAPN award for his support of our legislative efforts in 2016.
“Whether it’s removal of standard care agreements or collaborating with our advisory committees or other legislative initiatives we are undertaking, there is always a need,” McClain says. “The experts we have in our various fields on our board of directors is astounding, and I’m looking forward to working for the greater good for APRNs in Ohio.”
He urges new OAAPN members to get involved and add their voices to the efforts. McClain gets inspiration from the words of former U.S. Representative Steve LaTourette, who once said “If you don’t trust the messenger, how can you trust the message?” The 3,000 Advance Practice Registered Nurses that make up OAAPN membership are certainly trustworthy messengers, he says.
“I urge our members to understand the message and help us convey the message. If we had 3,000 voices screaming the same message, there’s no way we could not be heard and force change,” he says. “There’s no way legislators would not be able to grasp what we are trying to do to move APN nursing forward.”
3 Things You Didn’t Know about Jesse McClain
1: He’s a retired professional marathoner. He ran half marathons and marathons—and was sponsored by GU Energy Gel and Trion Z magnetic bracelets—before retiring to go back to school and earn his doctorate.
2: He’s a certified Level 2 Wine Taster.
3: He and his wife are big foodies, and both love traveling with their daughter to Pittsburgh to try different foods.