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January 2004 was a very busy time for me as I was organizing
ASPAN Committees, Strategic Work Teams, special assignments and
many more. In addition, my mind was preoccupied in designing a
vision that would influence the advancement of ASPAN excellence
in practice. As I accepted the responsibility of the 24th ASPAN
presidency in April 2004, reality hit me--I had one year to
dream, act, and deliver with connections all over the United
States and beyond. This was very exciting, but included awesome
and overwhelming feelings of the desired and expected outcomes.
At times, doubts came to mind, but the energy and values from
within kept driving me to the next step. Sometimes I wondered
how my 24 hours could be stretched or how creative I could be to
fit everything in one day or within the timeline that I set for
myself. Somehow we need others to help us balance our
perceptions. One day, my sister, who is a missionary nun said,
“God has plans for you and you must trust in Him.” This was well
and good, but this is faith and abstract. I needed something
concrete to make my vision turn into action. My mother said,
“Your dad did it with 11 children. He had a 24 hours service for
his patients whenever he was needed and, at the same time
remained to be a very active leader in the community and his
medical society. He opened his heart and mind and had strong
faith that the people around him would make things work as he
partnered with them side by side.” What advice, what insight,
and how can she be so wise?
In a very short time, I will be turning over the Presidency to
our 25th ASPAN President Meg Beturne. In working with Meg for
almost a year, I realize ASPAN is very fortunate to have a very
fine professional and dynamic future leader who will continue
the ASPAN mission with her unique vision for the future. The
ASPAN Board of Directors (BOD) served as the pillars of the
organization and provided the inner strength as they faced
constant changes, accepted challenges, created more ideas and
implemented difficult actions. The BOD continued to have an open
mind, even beyond its comfort zone. The Past Presidents served
as a continuous source of inspiration, as they gave their advice
and unconditional support. I call them the “hidden treasures of
ASPAN.” The Committee Chairs and leaders made things happen.
They, too, were my partners, because as I defined the vision,
they acted upon them far beyond my imagination. They were driven
by their values and inner passion, and the outcomes could not
have been any better. The JoPAN and Breathline
editors were vital in our structure. They ensured the quality of
our messages, through professional and scientific publications,
that were sent to the rest of the world. Our voices were heard
as evident in the inquiry and references. The Component
Presidents and their directors served as a very important links
to the core of membership. Their jobs were very challenging as
they faced issues related to recruitment and retention of
members; lack of commitment; decreasing interest; and, at times,
apathy of members. However, these obstacles did not stop them
from moving forward, continuing to motivate others and making
more connections. As a result, many components continued to
grow; some managed to maintain their membership; and a few, like
NevPANA, experienced inactivity. Resigned to end their
component, they managed to revive their spirits and passion
under the leadership of Judy Purser and her BOD. All of these
component leaders have to be commended for striving towards
excellence in practice. ASPAN exists for its members and the
component leaders have the ability to influence the positive and
productive direction of their members. Many times, we do not
realize how much we make a difference to others. As I traveled
throughout the United States, I felt the passion of the
component leaders and the domino effects among their members.
Each component had creative ways to promote our specialty
organization through education, practice, and research. The
ASPAN office staff was a hard working team and always showed a
positive outlook and willingness to help leaders and members to
succeed in what they were doing.
Today, our successful accomplishments are testaments of our
great leaders and members, who are working as a team for a
common mission. The journey of vision in action was made
possible by the unselfish caring and commitment of members at
all levels.
Ending one’s presidency does not end the vision of the
organization. We must aspire to create something bigger and more
lasting than ourselves. Every one of us has an inner drive to
learn and teach. That drive does not end after each experience,
because it is only a beginning. We must continue the quest to
gain new insights, develop new concepts and ideas, and create
application tools and scenarios that make contributions to this
great specialty organization. Although the world around us
continues to change at an accelerated pace, we must not abandon
the quest for fundamental concepts that stand the test of time
like our core values and high performance standards. Our core
values and core mission should stand strong as we move forward
in search for excellence. We need to be able to critically
evaluate the difference between core and non-core values,
between what should never change and what should be open for
change. Keep in mind that our success does not depend on the
size of our organization, but rather who we are and what we
stand for. Collins and Porras said: “Visionary companies, that
are lasting, come in many packages. Large and small; public and
private; high profile and reclusive; stand alone companies and
subsidiaries.”
We must continue to celebrate ASPAN’s vision as the premier
organization in perianesthesia nursing practice that has a
significant impact nationally and internationally. As leaders of
this organization, we must celebrate our successes that last
beyond us. As components, we must celebrate the immense power
that influenced the direction of members. As individuals, we
must celebrate the difference that each and every one of us made
with our patients, family members, peers and other colleagues in
the different roles that we function.
In closing, I want to share with you a story about Louise
Florence Fitzgerald, a 1906 nursing student accepted by M.
Adelaide Nutting. She was born in 1876 in Florence, Italy, of
American parents. She completed her nursing school at the Johns
Hopkins University and later became an international nursing
leader until the late 1950s. Fitzgerald practiced her profession
to the fullest without expecting anything in return, and for
this she received numerous awards including the Florence
Nightingale medal. She said, “If I had to live my life again, I
would not choose any other profession, for I cannot think of any
other kind of work which could have brought me even a small
fraction of the satisfaction I have had.” Almost a decade later,
nursing leaders like Florence Nightingale and Louise Florence
Fitzgerald continue to be our sources of inspiration and
rekindle the passion in all of us. Today, we have the
responsibility to mentor and teach future nurses the gift of
caring. It is our turn to teach and inspire them, so they too
will make a difference, not only to their patients and family
members, but the world around them by continuing our core values
and mission to last for many generations to come.
Thank you for joining me in my journey of vision in action. |
