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Renee’ Menkens, MS, RN (in the tan jacket, far right) participates at a retreat for the Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science faculty at Oregon Health & Science University.

This is the 11th in a series of profiles of Campaign leaders talking about their connections to the nursing or health care profession and their interests in healthier communities.

Renee’ Menkens, MS, RNC is clinical assistant professor at Oregon Health & Science University’s School of Nursing. As one of 20 nurses named as a Breakthrough Leader in Nursing by the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Renee’ has succeeded in bringing the voice of rural Oregon forward as a member of the Oregon Action Coalition to support a Culture of Health as a statewide initiative. She is a board member of the Coos County Friends of Public Health and for the Kids HOPE Center.

Renee’ is part of the Campaign Outreach Advocates for a Culture of Health program.

Why did you decide to become a nurse?

I wanted to make a difference, and saw that being a nurse and interacting with people at their most vulnerable to help them was a way to meet that goal.

Can you describe your philosophical evolution from making that decision to where you are today?

I have come to see nurse involvement is an important contribution to the quality of the work being done to support and improve the health of local communities.

I have always felt that there was more to being a nurse than being at the bedside, although this is a critical role for nurses. Through my graduate work and as a faculty member, I’ve been involved in the community to improve the Culture of Health. I feel strongly about the need to address issues at the local and policy level. I’ve worked with community groups focusing on disease prevention, and been involved in campaigns to eliminate smoking in local parks in Coos County and to support improving nutrition options for county residents through the work of the Community Health Improvement Committee on Healthy Eating, Active Living.

Of all that you have accomplished, what are you most proud of?

I am most proud of my ability to work with a diversity of people and groups as a nurse to support a Culture of Health in my community.

In both my work as a discharge call nurse and in community organizations, communication is important. Being on the Kid’s HOPE Center board is a way to see broader issues in this community relating to child health; participating in the Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement committees over the last eight years has been a wonderful experience in how community groups can make a difference in the health of community residents.

If you could change the profession in any one way, what would you change and why?

I would like to see more nurses involved in community efforts to improve health and prevent disease.

I think the focus in our nursing education on acute care training is missing other ways that nurses can provide care to those who need our services.

What is the most important action that nurses can take to lead the way to improve health and health care in America?

It is critical for the nursing profession to see involvement in the community, state, and nation on policy issues that improve health as a way to make positive change in the health of our communities and nation.

What role do you see for yourself in building a healthier America?

I plan to continue in my community involvement work as a nurse and focus more on how policy change can support a healthier community and nation.

The post Get Involved in Community, Urges Nurse Leader appeared first on Campaign for Action.

The podcast series features OCN Executive Director, Jana R. Bitton, MPA and Jake Creviston, DNP, RN, PMHNP-bc as they discuss board service, the important role nurses can play as board members, and how serving on boards can help nurses become leaders in their communities.

This six episode series is part of the bigger Oregon Nurses on Boards Initiative, a project to educate and inspire nurses to seek out board positions, and is part of the Oregon Nurses on Boards Toolkit. The toolkit, which debuted in January 2017, features articles, self-assessments, and other links to help nurses become more effective board leaders.

In addition to talking about the basics of serving on a board, Jake and Jana discuss the importance of networking, professional development, and obstacles to service. Listening to the podcast is a great way to take that first step toward joining a board.

To listen to the Oregon Nurses on Boards podcast, visit the Resources page on the Oregon Nurses on Boards Toolkit available at www.oregonnursesonboards.org, or download from Apple’s podcast app.

The Oregon Nurses on Boards Initiative is funded through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Implementation Program grant with support from Oregon Health and Sciences University, Legacy Health, OHSU School of Nursing, Dr. Dana Bjarnason, RN, NE-BC, PhD, and the Oregon Center for Nursing.

The post Oregon Center for Nursing Releases New Podcast Series on Board Service appeared first on Campaign for Action.

By Jana Bitton, MPA, executive director, Oregon Center for Nursing

There’s no question about it: Nurses need to lead. With the changing health care delivery environment, nurses are needed more than ever to be leaders not just in their profession, but also in their communities. Nurses can be key to building a culture of health within their cities, groups, and networks, and a good place to start is through serving on a board.

In 2015, the Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) partnered with the Oregon Action Coalition to form the Oregon Nurses on Boards Initiative to encourage nurses to pursue board positions. As part of this project, OCN—which is co-leader of the Action Coalition—created the Oregon Nurses on Boards Toolkit, an online resource dedicated to help nurses throughout Oregon find board positions and be successful as board leaders.

Many nurses struggle with finding the time to serve in a board position, or aren’t sure where to start. Many organizations don’t know the valuable contribution nurses can make in governance and strategic decision-making. This toolkit emphasizes why nurses should serve and why organizations should be looking for nurses.

The toolkit is geared toward three audiences: nurses who have never served on boards and are looking for information to help them get started; nurses who are serving on boards and need resources to help them be successful in their roles; and organizations seeking board members. It includes many articles about board service, assessments for nurses to use to help identify their readiness to serve on a board, and checklists to make sure nurses are well-oriented for their position.

The Oregon Nurses on Boards Initiative also includes workshops for nurses in rural parts of the state. Having this toolkit available as a resource provides workshop participants with continued support as they search for board positions in their communities.

With the evolving health care delivery system, nursing needs to have a voice. With this new toolkit, nurses in Oregon and throughout the country can be inspired to pursue board positions, demonstrate their leadership, and make their voice heard.

The Oregon Nurses on Boards Initiative is funded with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with matching funds provided by Legacy Health System, Oregon Center for Nursing, Oregon Health & Science University, OHSU School of Nursing, and Dana Bjarnason, PhD, RN, NE-BC.

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This video from the Oregon Action Coalition features five nurses who went back to school for their bachelor’s degrees in nursing. The nurses describe their motivation, how they chose and paid for their programs, and what they did to overcome barriers.

The Oregon Action Coalition wrote about the video on the Campaign blog earlier in 2016.

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The IOM Recommendation for 80 percent of the nursing workforce to pursue higher nursing education, and hold a BSN degree by 2020 is an ambitious one, and Oregon has consistently made innovative strides to seamlessly transition nurses from ADN to BSN programs. However, currently, only 49 percent of Oregon nurses hold a BSN degree or higher. To help move more nurses toward BSN preparation, the Education Workgroup of the Oregon Action Coalition has started a campaign to encourage nurses to go back to school to earn a BSN.

The Education Workgroup has created a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help nurses understand how to overcome barriers to BSN education, as well as provided a list of schools offering RN to BSN education programs.

“Being in it has been a confidence booster,” Sadie says in the video. “I can go back to school. It is doable.”

Special thanks to Anastasia Rose, MEd, MSN/MHA, RN, CCRN-K and Sherrill Hooke, RN, MEd from the VA Portland Health Care System for their work on this project!

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• Distribution of population by race/ethnicity
• Percentage of population living in rural versus urban areas
• Distribution of population by federal poverty level
• Areas in which there is a shortage of primary health professionals

These statistics can guide your Action Coalition’s work in shaping a nursing workforce to better meet local needs and overcoming health disparities in your state. As you integrate other Culture of Health aspects into your work, consider how demographics play a role in health equity and fostering cross-sector collaboration.

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Kim Harper, Indiana Center for Nursing, speaks to nurse leaders and potential board members in Portland, Ore.

On June 9th, forty-five local nurses attended the “Plotting the Nurse’s Path to the Boardroom” workshop organized by the Oregon Action Coalition (OAC) and the Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN).

 
Sponsored by and held at the University of Portland, this workshop is part of the “Nurses on Board” initiative, a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, OCN, Legacy Health System, OHSU, and OHSU School of Nursing, and designed to increase the number of nursing professionals prepared to serve on boards responsible for guiding health policy in Oregon.

Executive leadership coach Kimberly McNally, MN, RN spoke about the fundamentals of board service, and Indiana Center for Nursing Executive Director Kim Harper, MN, RN put the Oregon initiative into context with the national Nurses on Boards Coalition movement, which aims to place 10,000 nurses on boards by 2020.  Both Ms. McNally’s and Ms. Harper’s presentations included board related topics, including: how nurse board service adds value and makes  a difference, what are the roles and responsibilities of the board and trustees, what are the essential competencies all board members should possess, what are some of the best practices to follow, and finally how to navigate the board culture.

Local speakers Jake Creviston, DNP, RN, PMHNP-BC and Renee’ Menkens, MS, RN shared their own experiences about serving on boards and what inspired them to become a trustee.  They also addressed how building a culture of health and board service intertwine.

At the end of the event, a panel of experts, including Ms. Harper, Joan Caley, RN, MS, CNS, CNL, NEA, BC from University of Portland and Washington State University, Vancouver, and Katherine Bradley, PhD, RN with OHSU School of Nursing, who answered questions and shared with the audience some of their most challenging board scenarios.

Based on feedback gathered after the event, the participants found the content of the workshop to be valuable and look forward to joining a board in a near future.  About half of the nurses who attended the workshop had some board experience, and many participants included students.

OAC and OCN will bring a version of this workshop to nurses in other areas of Oregon. The locations and schedule is still to be determined, so please stay tuned for updates!  In addition to workshops, OCN and OAC are creating a Boardroom Toolkit for nurses interested in additional leadership resources.  More information about the toolkit will also be coming soon.

The post Plotting the Nurse’s Path Pointed Nurses Toward Board Positions appeared first on Campaign for Action.

Nursing’s leadership on boards is crucial to public health. Nursing leadership is associated with positive patient outcomes and satisfaction and I believe the totality of nursing’s contributions to increased public health is still unrealized. Inspired by this notion and the vision of the Oregon Action Coalition’s Leadership Workgroup, I’m working to prepare and place nurses on boards in the state of Oregon.

Last fall the Oregon Action Coalition received a Future of Nursing State Implementation Program grant to support our extensive plan to increase the amount of nurses serving on boards across the state. We intend to align with greater efforts wherever possible and several of our members, myself included, serve on the national Nurses on Boards Coalition committees. We are currently hiring an adept staff member to take direction and steer our ship.  We’re promoting an interprofessional approach by exploring pre-existing board training programs we may use to prepare our nurse candidates. I have presented on board diversification and nurses on boards at numerous conferences and we have no plan to stop getting the word out. In keeping with the words of Dr. Susan Hassmiller, we understand that achieving our goal of propelling nurses from the “Bedside to the Boardroom” demands cultivating relationships with “strange bedfellows.” We are therefore building vital relationships inside and outside of nursing to convince public health stakeholders of nursing’s unique perspectives on and contributions to public health. Our aspirations are great but we are highly inspired.

The window of opportunity to instill nursing at every level of policy design and implementation is wide open. Novel health reforms such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act strive to increase the health of the public but without full participation by nursing these efforts may be in vain and leave the public underserved and underrepresented. Oregon is at the forefront of driving health reform forward but in dire need of nursing voices at the table. The Oregon Action Coalition and I hope to do just that.

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