COLUMNS

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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear Colleagues,

President Carol Picard

The board of directors has set an agenda for this biennium that includes advancing knowledge through collaborative efforts. To this end, the Community Building Implementation Task Force is working to realize new forms of community for knowledge-building within the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International and beyond.

We have a robust technology infrastructure that will enable the honor society to create ways to help members and other key partners come together to build and disseminate knowledge and to translate it into practice. Some of you may be familiar with the concept of communities of practice, well-described by Etienne Wenger. (For more information, visit www.ewenger.com.) We envision communities of practice where scholars, clinicians and faculty members can come together to focus on a particular issue that can improve the health of the world’s people. This may happen within chapter structures as we know them or in other ways.

The future of the Honor Society of Nursing lies in our ability to make a difference by working together beyond the borders of space and time in virtual communities, and by collaborating beyond the borders of the honor society with other scholars and clinicians. Karen Pehrson and Leanna Uys, co-chairs of the task force, are examining models for such knowledge collaboration. As I travel, members express keen interest in creating linkages for knowledge-building across specialties and across national and regional borders. I recently chartered the first chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International in Japan at Yamaguchi University, where faculty members, nurse leaders, students and leaders from other disciplines were interested in the opportunities that connection to and collaboration with the Honor Society of Nursing would bring.

What can you do to foster collaboration in the development and use of knowledge at the local level? Begin discussions with non-members about resources they can access at our Web site (www.nursingsociety.org). Perhaps your chapter could co-host an interdisciplinary lecture or conference in a clinical setting on evidence-based practice, where nurses and members of other disciplines can dialogue about the challenges and opportunities in collaborating to improve health outcomes.. Consider partnering with clinical agencies to examine best practices, or start a journal discussion group, perhaps online. A colleague suggested a “good newsflash” approach, in which nurses are informed about the latest research findings pertinent to their practice.

Educate yourself on how evidence is leveled and critiqued, and be the resource person to your newest colleagues. Bring the latest issue of the honor society’s evidence-based nursing journal, Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, into your clinical setting. Welcome the talents of members and non-members alike, and think about how you can assist researchers and clinicians with networking and dialogue. Or, bring your colleagues to one of our conferences.

Anna Omery, nurse researcher for Kaiser Permanente, recently told me she always brings new nurses to conferences sponsored by the Honor Society of Nursing because they are so welcomed by members and staff, and because we provide such excellent presentations on the latest research, clinical practice trends and leadership development. That is how I first came to attend an international convention of Sigma Theta Tau International. I was a master’s-prepared clinician, and that’s how I felt—welcomed.

I remember meeting Judith Fitzgerald Miller, a nurse researcher whose work in hope and chronic illness had a profound impact on my clinical practice. That was in 1987. I was thrilled to meet her. I was thinking about pursuing a doctorate, and she strongly encouraged me to do so. Such inspiration is what all of our members and colleagues deserve—someone to help them dream of ways to improve nursing practice, and to find a way to live out those dreams. This is what it takes to transform health care.

The honor society staff will continue to develop knowledge solutions for chapter leaders, members and the nursing community, including ways for more individuals to experience and learn from the society's many events. These solutions will be made available through Nursing Knowledge International at www.nursingknowledge.org and will work to extend the reach and impact the honor society has on the global nursing community.

Please go to the honor society’s Web site, www.nursingsociety.org, and click on “About Us.” Select “2005-2007 President’s Call to Action,” where you will find a document titled “20/20.” It lists ideas and suggestions that support knowledge-building and implementation through collaboration.

These are exciting times in nursing. Please join me in learning something new, reaching out to colleagues and collaborating to make a difference! RNL

Best regards,

Carol Picard, RN, PhD