I cannot begin to thank all of you enough for the immense amount of support and encouragement that you bestowed unto me during my candidacy for the office of Imprint Editor. If you are similar to me, you sense a culture of invigorated spirit at NSNA conventions. Despite the lack of sleep and insane amount of rushing around it may entail, it is exciting and renews my hope for the future of nursing! I have come to learn that NSNA conventions are a "safe place" for me. It is one where I feel cohesiveness with a group of peers like no other. Perfect strangers easily become lifelong friends in a matter of time consisting of brief encounters in a week span. Although I have a family and responsibilities waiting for me back at home and I cannot wait to get back to them, convention becomes my own personal Disney World and I want to stay forever and fall in love with it all over again!
It is sometimes difficult and lonely in the world of nursing for someone with passion for the profession and a desire for greatness. You want everyone around you to devote at least a fraction of the time and involvement that you have for the cause! The blank stares or lack of enthusiasm that I sometimes encounter when promoting NSNA to others is always disheartening at first. I can attest to the benefits of being involved early in my career on multiple levels and my desire to help others achieve always overcomes my fear of failure. Because of this I keep moving and looking onward and upward. I continue talking about the positive points of NSNA despite how annoying I may become.
There is something very honorable about going beyond the minimum amount of effort that is expected of you. Even if you are never recognized for your efforts, the self-gratification you earn is enough to get you through periods of burnout in school or at work. Not only does your involvement make you more marketable, but it sets the tone for how you will feel about your career choice down the road. The more momentum you give your career from the starting gate, the farther you will go, the more distance you will cover, and the less likely you are to be interrupted in your path to your lifetime goals.
I want to be an unstoppable force with momentum that surmounts all of my barriers to success. I want to live to see the day where nurses are taught to live strictly in a culture of support for one another. This day is on its way and I could see the promise in the faces of students at convention in Pittsburgh. I could hear it in the gravity of their words. For the next year I will do my best to be a living testament of a culture of support to each of you. I hope that my words speak to you in some way and renew the energy you need to accomplish this challenging journey.
Please stay connected with one another! Give someone a pat on the back for their accomplishments. Encourage the discouraged and tell them to rise up and give it another go! Smile at everyone you pass and learn how it makes you feel inside to be positive when the world is falling apart around you. The accumulation of small feats over a period of time will make you greater than you could imagine. You do not need to wait to have those two little letters after your name to create change and action. You are nursing students, and you are amazing!
I am available for you also! It is a great honor to serve NSNA and its members on such an influential level. Contact me at:
Email: ImprintEditor@nsna.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Christy-Apple-Johnson-NSNA-Imprint-Editor-2012-2013/312731218763371
Again, I am gracious to all of you.
Warmest regards,
Christy M. Apple-Johnson
Imprint Editor 2012-2013
Image of Nursing Chair
Membership Committee Member
Convention Planning Committee Member
