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Dear OADN Members,

We need your voice! As the only national organization exclusively advocating for community college nursing education and the associate degree pathway, OADN needs your unique talents, perspectives, and expertise to help strengthen our collective voice for associate degree nursing education. OADN membership is one of the most meaningful ways we show our support for one another, create community with each other, promote our continual learning and growth, protect our shared interests and values, and strengthen our professional identity together. Serving at the national level on the OADN Board of Directors or Nominating Committee offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only enhance your own member experience with OADN but also create a lasting impact for associate degree nursing education.

We currently have four (4) open positions on the OADN Board of Directors: Northeast Regional Director, Southwest Regional Director, Western Regional Director, and At-Large Director. In addition, there are two (2) open positions on the OADN Nominating Committee.

The term of service for the (3) Regional Director is two years. The term of service for (1) At-Large Director is two years. Board positions take effect at the OADN Convention, November 18 – 20, 2022. Board Directors, including all officers, regional directors, public directors, and the at-large director, shall participate in the development and implementation of the strategic plan, serve as Board Liaisons to committees and workgroups, and shall carry out other responsibilities as delegated by the Board of Directors. Regional Directors shall be residents of the designated regions, respectively. Board commitment includes attendance on monthly virtual meetings and 3 face-to-face meetings, funded by OADN, at locations to be determined annually.

The term of service for the (2) Nominating Committee Members is two years. Nominating Committee members review and recommend candidates for offices to the Board of Directors in accordance with OADN Bylaws and an established timeline. The Nominating Committee meets via virtual meetings.

NEW FOR 2022 – To streamline the Annual Call for Nominations process this year, OADN has changed platforms to Survey Monkey Apply to complete the required candidate application. If you don’t have a Survey Monkey account, please create a free account, and follow the instructions to complete all components of the online application when the Call for Nominations opens on April 15^th. The 2022 OADN Call for Nominations Application Submission Deadline is June 15, 2022.

We can always count on OADN to be our staunch champion and most trusted resource during these ever-changing, demanding times. Now more than ever, OADN needs your help to continue our important advocacy work for associate degree nursing. I encourage you to consider running for one of the open 2022 OADN Board of Director or Nominating Committee positions and help us advance community college nursing education and the associate degree pathway. Together, we can support OADN’s vision of expanding networks that promote leadership, collaboration and advocacy that further enrich associate degree nursing education and the communities we serve.

Thank you,

Amy Simons, MSN, RN, 2022 Chair
OADN Nominating Committee

Dear OADN Members,

Over the past seven-year as OADN’s CEO and during my 32-year tenure in associate degree nursing (ADN) education, I have heard many stories about the success of ADN graduates. Those individuals who persevered to reach their goal as a registered nurse continually demonstrate the importance of ADN education. For nurse educators, it is a notable reason you continue to devote your time and expertise.

I believe all of us have observed a moment in time when an occurrence makes you reflect and acknowledges your passion for the associate degree pathway. One week ago, after a particularly long Monday, I was fortunate to receive a reminder of why we must continually advocate for associate degree education. It was late in the evening, and I noticed an email that popped into my inbox. My first inclination was I can read that email tomorrow. However, something about the subject line, “A Quick Hello,” intrigued me. The three-sentence email was from a student I knew in 2008. The message read, “I came across your name recently for your work with the Commission to Address Racism in Nursing, and then later the same week a colleague shared a picture with you in it from a conference for associate degree nursing programs, and I thought to myself, twice in a week is quite a coincidence. I have had a wonderful career and now teach public health and healthcare policy at Saint Louis University. I am appreciative of the education I received at Lewis and Clark, and it prepared me well for my career.”

It was one of those moments that truly made my day! I absolutely wanted to know more and proceeded to ask Zoe to send her story.

“I sought out the nursing program at Lewis and Clark Community College (LCCC) after attending a large, four-year institution for a few semesters. I realized the university was not the right fit for me- full of distractions, little support, and expensive- and after meeting with the Program Director Sheri Banovic, I knew it would be the right program for me. The smaller class sizes allowed for a more focused learning environment, as well as the ability for students to interact with the faculty. The program design allowed for a natural progression through nursing concepts, without the distractions of simultaneous non-nursing classes. I felt prepared within the clinical environment thanks to the high quality of the content delivered in the classroom setting. I also remember each member of the faculty, and how helpful and passionate they were about their work, especially my clinical faculty member who (rightly so) thought I should do a preceptorship in the emergency department. This had been her area of bedside expertise and she thought I would do well in this area. I was so appreciative of this opportunity, and I knew this is an area I wanted to pursue in my career.

After graduating from the program in 2008, I took the NCLEX and passed with ease, and was able to join the nursing workforce. My preceptor in my first role as a nurse commented on an almost daily basis how well- prepared, I was, mentioning most new graduate nurses did not come prepared with the ability to critically think, nor did they have clinical experiences that adequately prepared them to show up ready to work in the acute care setting. It was not long before I was precepting new graduate nurses and student nurses and realized what she had meant- I could see for myself that students from other programs, including baccalaureate nursing schools, were not receiving the top-notch nursing education I had received.

In 2010 I enrolled in an online RN to BSN program and graduated in 2011. Completing the coursework while working full time was a doable task, and I was extremely satisfied I had gone this route to earn my BSN.

I continued working in the emergency department, and in 2015 I felt called back to academics. I applied to a BSN to DNP program, with a letter of recommendation from a faculty member at LCCC and started the program in 2016. In 2019, I earned UMSL’s Innovations in Clinical Practice Award and successfully defended my thesis and earned my Doctor of Nursing Practice with a focus on population health. I am now teaching public health and healthcare policy for a baccalaureate nursing program. Every day of my nursing career I am thankful for the wonderful education I received in my ADN program. I was well prepared to join the nursing workforce, and I would not alter my career or academic path in any way.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to talk about my career path! I honestly am so happy with the experience I had at LCCC and am a proponent for associate degree programs, as they promote equity in education and our workforce.”

These are the authentic stories of ADN students that must be shared to demonstrate the significant value of ADN education to the nursing profession. Many of these stories speak to academic progression and validate the essential role of the ADN entry point. Do you have a story to share? I would welcome my inbox being filled!

With respect and gratitude for all you do.

Donna Meyer, MSN, RN, ANEF, FAADN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer, OADN

Dear OADN Members:

In my first message of the year, I highlighted the amazing work of our members through their volunteer service on OADN committees and task forces. .  I shared with great admiration how each of you persevered and made a difference in the lives of your nursing students.  I am forever grateful for all the work you do to advance the profession and support OADN. Now, I must ask that you continue to make a difference by sharing the value of an OADN membership with your nursing faculty and colleagues to help us strengthen our collective voice and impact. As the only national organization solely advocating for community college nursing education and the associate degree pathway, it is imperative that we all contribute to the continued growth of OADN.

Over the last few weeks, I have had the chance to review the 2021 convention evaluations that have been submitted thus far. It is obvious everyone was elated to be in person with their colleagues, share experiences from the past two years, and hear from the exceptional speakers.  It was some of the general comments at the end of the evaluation that spoke to my passion and purpose as OADN’s CEO.  Statements such as, “The last session left an impression on me as a culmination to be part of the solution to assure many more have access to nursing as a profession. I am hoping we continue to gather and plan and act upon these initiatives. Thank you OADN for being in the forefront of these issues. WE ARE OADN!”  Another comment, “Really enjoy being a member. You are doing great work!”  Yet another, “I have the utmost respect for OADN and all that it does for associate degree nursing educators.”

However, one remark that really stood out for me was, “We need to do an intensive campaign for all ADN educators to join the national organization.  Being that it is the only organization that advocates for associate degree nursing.”  I wanted to stand up and cheer, as it has been a long-term goal for OADN that all ADN programs become members.  We realize there are challenges to achieving this goal for ADN faculty, such as budget constraints, an unsupportive administration, and  a lack of understanding among program about the important work OADN does every single day to advocate for the preservation and advancement  of the associate degree pathway.

OADN is your strongest advocate and best resource for associate degree nursing, but  we need your help now more than ever to strengthen our voice and collective impact.  Each of you play an integral role in our ongoing advocacy for associate degree nursing education and our future expansion in networks that promote leadership, professional development and collaboration within community college nursing education and the communities we serve.

I would like to challenge each of you to use your role and experience as a valued member of OADN to speak with a fellow faculty member, dean or director and share the important work that OADN does to support them. Let us know how the conversation goes and how we can support you.  Also, I am more than willing to speak with any of your Deans and Directors group about the value of OADN and provide an update on the important work we are doing.  OADN membership offers many benefits, one of the most significant being it gives you a voice in OADN to help shape and direct the future of this critical pathway on the national level. I humbly ask that you use your voice now to help us expand our membership and shape the future of associate degree nursing. For more information on the benefits of membership, please visit Membership – (oadn.org)

As always, I value hearing from you so please let me know how I can help to encourage all ADN educators to become members of OADN.

We are truly stronger together!

Donna Meyer, MSN, RN, ANEF, FAADN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer, OADN

Dear OADN Members:

I hope everyone had the opportunity to take a breath and enjoy the holiday season over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, I know from member communications that many of you have been impacted by the Omicron variant. However, the positive news is the illness has been less severe.  I know all of us have been impacted in one way or another, but as we enter 2022 may we celebrate a new year with new beginnings.

It is often customary for the first communication of the new year to reflect on the past year’s work and provide perspective for the year ahead of the organization. I would like to briefly continue with this tradition by highlighting some of OADN’s work while emphasizing that this work is only possible due to the dedication of OADN members. It is difficult in a limited message to share all that has occurred, but I would like to focus on a few high points.

The world of simulation changed dramatically during the pandemic, as the shift was made to the high demand for virtual simulation. Throughout 2021, the OADN Virtual Simulation Task Force under the leadership of OADN member Dr. Rebecca Cockrell developed a structured and objective resource to assist nursing educators in identifying products that augment or replace clinical experiences. The OADN Simulation Task Force members’ creation of this database of virtual simulation product reviews is unprecedented in nursing education. The success of this initiative is unparalleled with tireless efforts and consistent dedication to the project through the task force members who provided this valuable resource to OADN members.

Disturbing events in our country raised awareness of the impact that racial and social injustice has on Americans’ health and well-being and as a result, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force was formed. The OADN Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force members developed a bold position paper with actionable items. The actions once again keep in mind the need to assist OADN members by “providing learning opportunities for nursing faculty and students that critically examine the social determinants of health, the social mission of nursing, and the needs of under-resourced communities.”  The OADN Board of Directors unanimously endorsed this exceptional paper that was authored by OADN members:  Dr. Anna Valdez, Patrick McMurray, Dr. Angela Millan, Dr. Justin Fontenot, Dr. Tyler Sturdivant, Dr. Sharon Goldfarb, Lorrie Davis-Dick, and Deonna Thompson.

Throughout 2021 the OADN COVID Task Force members continued to focus on the trends driving changes resulting from the pandemic, as well as the tools needed to undertake new challenges. The Task Force recognized the unique set of challenges and opportunities faced by ADN educators and created a repository that included resources for online teaching, updates in regulations, changes in clinical placements, and important nursing education tool kits. This committed group of OADN members meets monthly to assess the ever-changing environment in nursing education. The Task Force is now focusing on the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 recommendations to influence and innovate specifically as it relates to Recommendation 8 which in part states the “nursing profession should strengthen and protect the nursing workforce during the response to such public health emergencies as the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, including those related to climate change.”

The OADN Research Committee is a long-standing committee of OADN and over the years has done exceptional work including publication. The OADN Research Committee members understand the many areas of research needed for ADN education. Consequently, this enthusiastic and devoted committee has decided to undertake a major project on ADN Faculty Salary and Workforce Shortage. Collection of this data is critical as OADN pursue strategies to address this nationwide issue. The committee is currently developing a survey with plans for dissemination in early 2022. We are hopeful all OADN members will participate.

As you look back at this message you will notice the words, “OADN members” emphasized throughout. OADN would not be the thriving organization it is today if it were not for the continued support from each of you. Each of you has persevered and made a difference as you educate nursing students. YOUR impact as an OADN member continues to advance the profession.  My new year message is not about what OADN has accomplished but about what you have helped us accomplish. “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

I want to wish each of you a healthy, adventurous, and a year full of laughter.

Donna Meyer, MSN, RN, ANEF, FAADN, FAAN
Chief Executive Officer, OADN