The International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress was an inspirational and educational conference attended by thousands of nurses from around the world. It certainly was enlightening to recognize that nurses around the world face some collective opportunities and challenges. As you read in President Robin Hertel’s ‘Robin’s Nest’, one focus of the conference was the importance of the social determinants of health (SDOH) in managing the health of our patients.

I recently attended the International Council of Nurses Congress Conference, held in Singapore this month. It was a gathering of more than 5,000 nurses from over 120 countries. Discussions and poster presentations over four days involved many of the issues nurses face on a daily basis, including safe staffing, workplace safety, quality, and the healthcare model.

In May, AMSN and MSNCB CEO Terri Hinkley, EdD, MBA, BScN, RN received her Doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University. The Human & Organizational Learning curriculum focuses on organizational issues such as strategic change, transformational leadership, individual and group learning processes, organizational development, and global and international issues. The degree helped Hinkley to develop a more critical lens with which to see the nursing community and its issues and challenges.

Dictionary.com defines pursuit as: the act of pursuing; an effort to secure or attain a goal; a quest; and any occupation, pastime, or the like in which a person is engaged regularly or customarily. They define excellence as the fact or state of excelling. The pursuit of excellence in nursing is indeed a quest that is accomplished by thoughtfully looking at ones environment and then strategically thinking about how to make a positive difference.

AMSN continues to work tirelessly to bring value to our members and customers. As you’ve likely seen, we’ve rolled out podcasts, videos and new webinars. We’re building new online learning courses in behavioral health for medical-surgical nurses, significantly increased our advocacy and legislative activities and continue to explore ways we can support you as you navigate the increasingly complex and rapidly-changing work environment.

June has had a long history of celebrations with weddings and graduations; of freedom with the celebration of Juneteenth; and of personal and social rights with the celebration of Pride month. Unfortunately, nursing hasn’t always celebrated the differences that make us stronger as a profession. We have, on occasion, denied our colleagues the freedom to be themselves in the practice setting and failed to acknowledge the personal and social rights of the members of our profession.

Robin Hertel, AMSN President, spoke of community in her ‘Robin’s Nest’ message in this newsletter. Community likely means something slightly different to all of us, but one thing community will have in common for all of us is that it invokes a sense of belonging. Whether geographical, spiritual, familial or professional, community is where we find expertise, wisdom and support from people that we identify with. As we saw with Senator Walsh’s uncalled for comments, the nursing community immediately came together and rallied as one.

It’s been a tough couple of months for nursing. In February, a nurse at Vanderbilt was arrested and charged with reckless homicide after a medication error resulted in the death of a patient. Just last month, nurses were in an uproar over Washington Senator Maureen Walsh’s uninformed comments about what nurses do. Incidents like these, and those that happen on a daily basis can bring nurses closer together to offer support and build a sense of community.

I’m excited to return to Chicago for this year’s AMSN National Convention, the site of my first convention. I was inspired from the time of the opening ceremony until the close of the convention by the high-level sessions, networking opportunities, and wonderful posters.

I meet wonderfully talented nurses at convention and make friendships that continue despite time and distance. Each year, convention allows me to catch up with colleagues; sharing news and laughter, enjoying discussions of hot topics in nursing and the sessions we’ve attended.

Title 8 nurse workforce development programs are threatened by significant budget cuts, and AMSN and its members are taking action. In its 2020 budget, the Administration recommended cutting Title 8 by two-thirds.