NAON friends, I am so excited to write this message just after coming back from the 44th Annual Congress in Louisville, KY. I don't know about you, but I feel so empowered connecting with likeminded nurses. The connections we make are endless and I am sure, like me, you have made new friends. I have already connected with a few members with a willingness to serve and have many more to connect with.
If you were unable to join Congress in person, there is still time to register for the On-Demand Congress. This alternative provides a fantastic way to engage with the latest orthopaedic best practices and earn up to 34 CNEs, from the comfort of your home or office. By registering, you'll receive access to recordings of all educational sessions, including our compeling keynote presentations. Learn more and register here.
This year’s Congress focused on the message theme from our immediate past president, Michele Parks. Let's Go: We're Better Together was carried throughout all the presentations and poster sessions and was a mantra for the work that wanted to do as an organization in 2023. During our Closing Session, I was thrilled to reveal my theme for the upcoming year: Keep Believing.
I chose the theme Keep Believing because we are in difficult times in nursing related to shortages and burnout, and a lack of support from stakeholders. NAON is also in difficult times. Due to changes to outpatient surgery, orthopaedic specialty units becoming more medical surgical and a lack of commitment to organizations, NAON’s membership is decreasing.
I want to encourage each and every once of us to keep believing by:
Keep Believing and advocate for our organization. We as members need to support and grow our membership. How will your voice be heard? If every one of us shares the value of NAON with just one person and they become a member, we will build NAON’s future
Keep Believing in retention of your membership. Nurses generally need to be in a specialty for a minimum of 2-3 years before making a career decision. How can you empower your team members to share in the value of orthopaedic nursing? How do you continue to feel empowered and valued as an orthopaedic nurse? Are you aware of the clinical practice guidelines, practice points, webinars and educational resources available to you and your teams?
Keep Believing in networking and Congress. The NAON Executive Board made the difficult decision that the 2025 Congress will be virtual. There are members who are saddened by this news and there are members that are asking for complete virtual. We will continue to build our community through networking events. We will continue to evaluate our Congress opportunities.
Keep Believing in yourself above all else. We are so fortunate to have a community of high achievers driven to present and educate on your work in evidenced based practice, quality and patient safety. You all are the leaders of orthopaedic nursing serving NAON’s mission in all that you do. I am honored to be serving as NAON’s 45th president with the most amazing specialty of nurses and let’s Keep Believing in our futures.