Hello everyone!
I
thought I would provide some sort of “first quarter” update regarding AALNC’s board/management
company activities since the forum in April. It’s a bit lengthy so bear with
me. The good news is that we have a lot going on!
Monthly member
update: We
initiated a new segment in our monthly update to members entitled “Your
questions, answered.” Each month we select a topic from questions posed by our
members from various sources (surveys, educational evaluations, etc.)
New member
email: All
new members (and any member renewing for 2014) will received a lengthy introductory
welcome email with links to various pages on our website that may be of
interest. Please look for this when you renew later this year and let us have
your feedback!
Legal Corner: We have
initiated a new section on our website where members can find legal cases of
interest to LNCs.
Chapters: We have been working
hard to support local chapters. Since April, we have had two national DAL calls
for chapter leaders led by our DALs: Debbie Pritts, Mary Sussex and Varsha
Desai. In addition, we invested in a chapter membership online tool which gives
Chapter leaders access to current information about new AALNC members in their
state. We are planning a webinar for chapters regarding how to use webinar
technology to close the geographical gap with their members/prospective
members. Finally, we sent a recent survey to chapters to inquire about their
interest in a two tiered national membership dues structure.
Webinars: We have
maintained a busy webinar schedule, including the LNCC review course, our
series of free informational webinars for nurses just starting out in the LNC field,
and our regular monthly webinars. The topics chosen for our regular webinar
series are based upon feedback from our members as to which topics are of interest
to them. Anyone who purchases a webinar but is unable to attend, automatically
receives a link to view the recorded webinar after the fact. And, we have
extended the time frame for learners to access recorded webinars for CE credit
from 1.5 weeks to 3 weeks.
LNCC Review
Course: The
first webinar from this series is now online and available for purchase. The
remaining webinars in the series will be put online in the coming weeks.
Revised LNC
Online Course: The
first seven modules are beginning the peer review process and should be ready
for purchase in mid 2014. We will shortly begin work on the 2nd year
online course modules.
2014 Forum: The schedule for
next year’s Forum in Denver is almost complete and looks terrific. We are also
in the process of selecting a Forum site for 2015.
Exhibiting: I exhibited for
AALNC at the Critical Care Nursing Conference in Boston in May and Kathy
Ferrell will be exhibiting for AALNC at the ENA conference in Nashville, TN.
Outreach to the
legal community: We
are advertising the revamped LNC Locator to various attorney groups, who appear
to be increasingly using this resource to locate nurse expert witnesses and
behind the scenes consultants. We are also making inroads into select legal
associations to raise awareness of legal nurse consulting: Sharon McQuown has been
appointed for a second term as Vice Chair of the ABA’s Nursing and Allied
Healthcare Professionals Task Force. Julie Dickinson is serving on two DRI
Committees: The ALF/SNF Steering Committee and the Medical Liability &
Health Care Law Seminar Steering Committee.
Budget
Development: Our
Finance Committee has begun the multiple meeting process of putting together a proposed
budget for 2014, which will be finalized at our in-person board meeting in
Chicago at the end of this month. Consistent with good practice, our goal is to
maintain an amount of no less than 50% of our operating budget in reserves
while also reinvesting in initiatives (such as the revamped online course) that
will grow the association.
Committees: Last, but not
least, I would like to thank Pat Davis (our Director of Programs) and all the
volunteers serving on our very productive AALNC committees, including the
Forum, Research, Webinar, Products & Services, Core Competencies, Journal
Editorial Board, and ALNCCB.
I
feel very good about the direction and accomplishments of AALNC, none of which
would be possible without the many LNCs who volunteer their precious time for
the good of our specialty practice.
Beth
