At OAAPN, we already know that APRNs are extremely valuable to today’s healthcare system. The Nurse Practitioners, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and Certified Nurse Midwives among our members all hold critical roles in addressing the rise in chronic medical conditions, expanding access to healthcare, and meeting population health needs, especially for aging or underserved populations. This is why leadership in nursing is so important.
Ensuring the expanding and essential role of APRNs continues during these uncertain times, however, necessitates strong leadership in your own personal career and at theorganizational level. OAAPN is always looking for members to serve Ohio APRNs in Board of Director positions, serve on OAAPN committees, and in our local chapters.
But what are the benefits to you in taking on a leadership in nursing role for OAAPN?
Serving as a leader in a professional organization like OAAPN provides a variety of benefits to you, both personally and professionally, as well as the benefits recognized by the organization, and the industry.
Personal & Professional Growth – By interacting with a variety of people through your role with OAAPN, you not only learn a lot about yourself, but you improve your ability to collaborate with others. Being able to resolve conflict peacefully and professionally will serve you well in your career and in life. You also get the opportunity to develop new leadership skills and improve upon current ones such as active listening, motivation, strategic thinking, delegating, and mentoring.
Networking Opportunities – Serving a leader within OAAPN offers invaluable opportunities to network with others within the profession, giving rise to connections that may not have been possible otherwise. These can lead to exciting career decisions and stronger relationships with your peers. Networking also provides a great support system, which may feel especially important these days.
Elevating the Profession – Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of serving in a leadership position is your ability to make a larger impact on your profession. By working as a team and collaborating with others, you can accomplish so much more compared to working on your own. This collaborative effort can bring about more change and make a lasting impact on the role of APRNs in Ohio. I
Continuing Education – In the healthcare field, continuing education is a MUST. Sometimes it’s difficult to find opportunities that are aligned with your goals and current practice area. Being a leader for an organization like OAAPN allows you to influence the types of continuing education events that are offered by the organization.
Join OAAPN’s Leadership
Joining OAAPN leadership is a beneficial experience all around. Running for a leadership position is a great experience all around, whether you are established in your career or just starting out. As we grapple with the changes spurred by COVID-19, personal and professional leadership by APRNs has become a differentiator between low and high-quality healthcare.
Understanding that improved healthcare options for all Ohioans are important to both the profession and the community, OAAPN seeks to strengthen the profession and provide resources to our members that they can’t get elsewhere.
At its core, the mission of OAAPN is to promote advanced practice nursing through practice, education, advocacy, and leadership. Of course, accomplishing the mission of OAAPN requires tireless effort and leadership of numerous volunteers who serve as Executive Officers, as Director’s-at-Large, and Regional Directors. We encourage all members of OAAPN to get involved and become a leader, and of course, If you are not already a member of OAAPN, we invite you to join today.