QUALIFICATIONS
- Must be a neonatal staff nurse practicing full time at the bedside
- Must be a member in good standing in the Association for at least three years prior to running for the Board of Directors.
- Must present a documented history of leadership in NANN, as evidenced by active participation at the local, chapter or national level as an officer or as a member of the Board of Directors, a council, a committee, task force, or organizational liaison.
- Must be currently practicing in neonatal nursing in a role such as clinical care, education, research, administration or consulting.
- Must have the ability to meet the obligations and time commitments of this position, to attend regularly scheduled meetings, conference calls, and to regularly check and respond to electronic messages.
RESTRICTIONS
Board and Council members shall not to serve in any other volunteer role at the same time (this does not apply to board liaison roles) unless expressly stated in the NANN Bylaws or is a Board or Council designated position. This includes NANN Chapter Officer positions. Exceptions can be made by the NANN President upon approval by the NANN Board of Directors, or the NANN-AP Council Chair upon the approval of the NANN-AP Council. Service on a task force may be made upon approval by the designated leadership body – either the NANN Board of Directors or NANN-AP Council.
HOW TO APPLY
TERM LENGTH
- Two-year term with the option to serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.
- Elected board members’ terms begin immediately after the 2023 Annual Conference in September.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Participates in collaboration with the duly elected officers in the general management of the affairs of the Association.
- Serves as Board liaison to NANN Committee(s) at the appointment of the president.
- Ensures that the committee’s actions are consistent with NANN’s mission and strategic plan, and acts as the committee’s advocate to the NANN Board.
- Communicates relevant board decisions to the Committee.
- Performs all duties incident to the position of At-Large Board Member.
- Participates in the orientation of newly elected At-Large Board members to their duties.
- Performs other duties as may be assigned by the Board.
DESIRED CANDIDATE ATTRIBUTES
Candidates should demonstrate Leadership Competencies:
- Strategic Thinking and Vision: Encompasses the ability to formulate objectives and priorities, implement plans consistent with the long-term interests of the organization, and build with others a shared vision for the future.
- Defines a desired future state
- Communicates direction with enthusiasm
- Gains commitment to vision and values
- Integrity/Responsibility/Accountability: Requires fairness and honesty in all dealings and putting the interests of the organization ahead of personal interests.
- Strong moral and ethical standards
- Demonstrates follow through on assigned responsibilities and duties
- Sets high performance standards
- Commitment to Diversity: Promoting a culture that values differences in thought and perspective and working effectively with people of diverse backgrounds.
- Considers the greater audience with a wide-lens perspective
- Committed to growth in underserved or untapped populations
- Interpersonal Skills: The ability to listen and communicate with courtesy and respect and adjust one’s style appropriately for different situations.
- Actively listens and engages
- Strong empathy
- Self-disciplined and self-motivated
- Communication Skills Expressing ideas effectively in individual and groups situations (including nonverbal communication); adjusting language or terminology to the characteristics and needs of the audience
- Expresses thoughts clearly
- Solicits ideas, suggestions and opinions from others
- Listens to all points of view with an open mind
- Leadership and Motivating Others: Using appropriate interpersonal styles and methods to inspire and guide individuals toward goal achievement; modifying behavior to accommodate tasks, situations, and individuals involved.
- Focuses on the situation, not the person
- Asks for and gains commitment to action
- Mutually agrees on accomplishments
- Collaboration: Working effectively with team or work groups or those outside formal line of authority to accomplish organizational goals; taking actions that respect the needs and contributions of others; contributing to and accepting the consensus.
- Exchanges information freely
- Supports group decisions
- Puts group goals ahead of individual or own goal
- Continuous Learning and Innovation: Committed to ongoing education and professional development. Supports generating creative solutions to work situations; trying different and novel ways to deal with organizational issues and opportunities.
- Approaches job with commitment, imagination, and originality
- Generates novel solutions
- Suggests new ways to apply existing knowledge
In addition to the Leadership Competencies, in order to create a well-rounded leadership body, the Nominations Committee reviews each applicant's Nursing Competencies to ensure diverse and varied perspectives are represented.
- Administration: Strong administrative competence is important for the delivery of appropriate and cost effective care to the neonatal population and for moving the business of the professional organization ahead. Effective administrative leadership requires strategic planning, knowledge of healthcare environments, and business acumen.
- Advocacy: Advocacy in neonatal care concerns the global health of preterm and term neonates, infants, and toddlers through the age of 2, as well as support for the patient, the family, and the community. For neonatal RNs and APRNs, this involves serving as key opinion leaders to local, state, or national policy-makers or other key stakeholders on matters related to the healthcare needs of our patient population and the nursing profession.
- Clinical Care: The neonatal nurse and neonatal nurse practitioner provide expert direct care of complex and/or vulnerable populations with the goal of optimizing outcomes for patients and their families. This includes the promulgation of evidence-based guidelines, information, tools, and programs designed to define, model, and disseminate the highest standards of effective care.
- Education: Quality, state-of-the-art educational content and delivery mechanisms are critical to building a competent, educated, and high-functioning nursing workforce. This requires diverse learning methodologies, modern technologies, and interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge and skills-based training, that is content-rich and in alignment with the neonatal nursing core curricula.
- Quality Improvement: Neonatal nurses have a responsibility to participate in, direct, and advance quality patient care through systematic and continuous actions that lead to measurable improvement in health services and the health status of the neonatal population.
- Research: Neonatal nurses’ contribution to the cultivation and advancement of basic and clinical research is imperative for the future of health care and nursing. This scientific inquiry typically uses an organized approach or design (qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods) in order to provide answers to the research question or to develop knowledge.
Strategic Competencies are desired for incoming Board members in order to support the ongoing strategic plan.
- Community Building and Collaboration: Professional or volunteer experience supporting local groups, organizations, committees, or individuals.
- Involvement in local advocacy efforts
- Participation on a family advisory or hospital advisory group
- Leadership experience within a local NANN chapter
- Team-oriented initiatives in which diversity of thought, backgrounds, race/ethnicities are valued and leveraged
- Involvement in or distinction of Six Sigma, Magnet, or other hospital designations
- Mentoring and Leadership Development: Engaging individually and/or encouraging others to pursue new skills through professional development activities, mentoring, or coaching.
- Mentor for a novice nurse or precepting
- Participation in hospital leadership development activities; such as chairing a committee, or leading an orientation, serving as a charge nurse; and/or engagement in diversity, equity, and inclusion education or training
- Experience with formal leadership training as a participant or instructor
- Workforce Development: Advocating for the continuous education and development of the neonatal nursing practice and profession.
- Advocated for the nursing profession at various levels; floor, hospital, municipality, state, national, or international
- Possesses foresight about the future health care environments for which nurses will become educated, trained and employed.
- Experience creating culture where diverse backgrounds are valued and leveraged within the neonatal profession
- Experience Developing, Critiquing, and Reviewing Neonatal Products: Providing clinical knowledge that leads to the development or advancement of neonatal standards, evidence-based practice, or neonatal products and services.
- Serving as an editor, contributing author, or reviewer on a scholarly neonatal publication
- Providing neonatal expertise to industry, hospitals, or allied health organizations or associations
- Developing nursing or patient education and training, including but not limited to education around diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Serving on a certification board or as faculty for a certification review course
TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
The NANN Board meets in-person at the NANN Annual Conference (September 18-20, 2024). Required travel expenses will be reimbursed by the association.