In my experience, being part of Sigma’s
Nursing Now Challenge has been an awesome opportunity. We've had different sessions over the months, and the quality of the sessions has been outstanding. The main topics have been leadership, mentorship, and others, such as partnering with nurse leaders, engaging with professional organizations and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and working with the United Nations (UN). Dr. Elizabeth Madigan, Sigma’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), empowered us to be bold and inquisitive and highlighted the importance of joining organizational boards, committees, and decision-making tables for nurses. Dr. Mercedes Gutierrez, a former Sigma board member, explained in another session the principles of global leadership and ways to enhance leadership capacity while working with and leading multicultural and diverse teams. We even had the chance to hear directly from the current president of Sigma, Dr. Kenneth Dion, who shared with us his own inspiring and trailblazing experience to explain how his professional leadership role evolved as a result of engaging with different professional organizations.
These leaders encouraged us to find and connect with mentors as well as mentees to share and promote our leadership knowledge, which I believe is exceptional and truly supports networking. My mentor Dr. Hortensia Castañeda-Hidalgo and I were even invited to submit a chapter in a book about mentoring that will be released shortly. I’ve made some friends along the way, too, like Benjamin Breboneria from Saudi Arabia and Abdolreza Akbarian from Canada.
Also, it has been great getting to know some of the other participants who are based all around the world, to have the opportunity to interact with them, learn more about their perspectives and the situation of nursing in their countries, and listen to their personal experiences.
I’ve definitely grown so much in this past year since I started the Nursing Now Challenge, and I am truly motivated to make a difference and leave a fingerprint in our profession. As an early career nurse, I think that we just need a little push to see our full potential. If we empower ourselves, with the guidance of leaders and mentors, we can get there easily, and in the near future, become mentors to other nurses ourselves. The truth is, we’re all leaders—starting as students, nursing interns, and early career nurses and midwives. We just need a little insight to visualize all that we’re capable of, and that’s what the Nursing Now Challenge has given to me.
Thank you so much Sigma for your commitment to nursing excellence!
“Lead from where you are; be the leader you can be today.” - Dr. Elizabeth Madigan
Aimée Giselle Horcasitas-Tovar, BSN, RN, is an oncology nurse at a private chemotherapy infusion center in Chihuahua, Mexico, and serves as a Sigma UN Youth Representative. She is a member of Sigma’s Tau Alpha Chapter.