So many nurse leaders, including me, are grateful to Sigma for the various opportunities it has provided along their leadership journeys. Because of Sigma, we have brought our passions and expertise to serve on chapter committees, volunteer, and join international trips to promote global health. Those of us who had the privilege of serving as chapter delegates contributed to shaping the bylaws and influencing how Sigma operates at both the chapter and international levels.
And many of us started from the same place—with graduation from nursing school in sight, about to sign our names in the heavy, leatherbound Sigma induction ledger alongside so many who came before us, and donning the prestigious purple honor cords.
So, I ask you today, where will your journey lead?
I can’t predict where it will take you, but I encourage you to let it begin by joining a board. Sigma defines service as engagement beyond daily work to advance world health. This includes serving on healthcare-related organizational boards and committees. Nurses represent the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, and for the last 23 years, have been considered the most ethical and honest of all professions. We play a critical role on the frontlines of care in our schools, hospitals, and communities. We bring a perspective unlike any other, and our population-based, holistic perspective and influence must be felt more at decision-making tables.
The 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report recommended increasing the number of nurses in board leadership roles, which led to the Nurses on Boards Coalition. The Coalition’s guiding principle is that building healthier communities in America must include nurses in corporate, health-related, and other boards and commissions. They exceeded their goal of filling 10,000 board seats with nurses by 2020 and are currently measuring the impact of this collective achievement.
I encourage you to seek a position on a board for a cause that you believe will benefit members of your community or a larger population. You may be thinking that you are not qualified to sit on a board or may not have much to offer, but I challenge you to think otherwise.
Let me share how I discovered the benefits of being a nurse on a community board through an unexpected opportunity.
Following my passion meant making the time
In 2003, I’d just given birth to my second child. I read an article about a newborn who was found in a filthy alley dumpster. As I looked down at my sweet daughter’s face, I could not imagine the fear and anguish of the mother who felt she had no other choice but to hide her birth and abandon her baby in this manner. In this case, the baby was found in time and brought to the hospital, unlike the 39 other babies in Illinois who have been abandoned and died since the Safe Haven law went into effect in 2001.
I didn’t have the time to get involved, but my passion drove me to find the time so that I could contribute meaningfully.
Within a month, I joined the small grassroots organization Save Abandoned Babies (SAB) as a volunteer and eventually served as a board member. Save Abandoned Babies is made up of a group of committed individuals who meet monthly to plan innovative ways to inform the public, frontline providers, and others in Illinois about the Safe Haven law. The law states that a person may legally and anonymously relinquish an unharmed newborn 30 days old or less to staff at a hospital, fire station, or police station without fear of prosecution. Since 2001, 162 babies have been legally relinquished in Illinois (over 5,000 nationally) to personnel at fire and police stations, and most often, into the arms of a nurse in hospital emergency departments.
Over the years, our group has met with legislators several times in Springfield, Illinois. We went to amend the law to increase the age limit for infants eligible for relinquishment and mandate that the law be taught in all public high schools in the state.
Before joining this group, I had not participated in advocacy work. Now, I’m leaning on the skills I’ve learned to push for federal Safe Haven legislation to reduce confusion at the state level.
I’m the only practicing nurse within the organization, so I have been able to make unique contributions over the years. I wrote a booklet on postpartum care that guides new mothers on how to care for themselves after delivery and outlines key warning signs that indicate when to contact a doctor or seek emergency care, specifically for parents who are relinquishing a child.
As part of our rapid response team, I reach out to the hospitals in areas where there have been reports of infant abandonment or relinquishment to answer questions or educate staff about the responsibilities of Safe Havens. As a result of this work, I was asked to join the National Safe Haven Alliance (NSHA) board, which serves to support all states in their efforts to reduce illegal infant abandonment.
As a faculty member, I teach all pre-licensure nursing students about the law. Since 2006, over 1,800 nursing students have learned about the law in the college where I work and can bring this knowledge to their future work sites and communities. In all these ways, my influence as a nurse with expertise in this area grows, and with it, public awareness about the law.
Your expertise is your investment
Remember that I mentioned that to be on a board, you need time and passion?
What I didn’t tell you was that board membership often comes with a third component—board dues, which can be significant depending on the organization. Luckily for me, NSHA has a “give or get” policy which means you can give them a check for the dues, or you can get, as in “get busy” helping the organization meet its mission.
Being a nurse and given my experience in reaching out to hospitals, I offered to focus on raising awareness of the law in the medical community and assess hospital staff competency in the event a parent hands them a newborn with the intent of not returning. To meet this goal, I instruct hospitals on how to conduct infant relinquishment drills to identify knowledge gaps and improve the care they provide.
Most of us have causes that we care about enough to volunteer our time and effort. I am fortunate and grateful that my nursing expertise is a good fit for the National Safe Haven Alliance. I have been able to serve in a unique capacity and will continue to do so for as long as there are individuals who are not aware of the Safe Haven law, and infants are at risk for a perilous start to their lives.
I have taken on many roles over the past 21 years with Safe Haven organizations, and the impact of that work is reinforced each time I read a story about a baby being safely protected because a desperate parent used the law.
Take the first step
How can you promote better decision-making on boards?
Start by finding a cause that interests you—one that you feel is important to the health of a population or community. Does this cause have an organization? Go to meetings, listen, and observe. Become a member and volunteer at an event. Know the organization's mission; find out where they have been and where they want to go. Then, describe to the organization’s leadership how your professional expertise and perspective align with their mission and what you can bring to the table as a nurse. You will be ready to provide insightful contributions on how boards think critically about their biggest decisions. If you are not sure where or how to find a board, there are many resources from the Nurses on Boards Coalition website. If you have a LinkedIn account, make sure to keep it updated. Board leaders looking for a nurse may start there to find YOU!
When the opportunity arises for you to join a board, I say go for it. It can begin at the chapter level with Sigma, in your community, or with the professional organizations you join as a nurse. Start at the grassroots level and then as you learn more and gain experience, your leadership skills will grow. And Sigma can help with that too! They offer webinars, books, and a myriad of resources to grow nurse leaders. Volunteer with Sigma—you never know where it may lead!
Jennifer B. Rousseau, DNP, WHNP-BC, CNE, FAWHONN, is a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and Associate Professor at Rush University College of Nursing. She is a Past President of the Gamma Phi Chapter at Rush and currently serves on the Governance Committee and as a chapter delegate. In addition to teaching and serving as the Director of the Nurse Educator Certificate Program at Rush, Jennifer is also a volunteer at the local free clinic in her community and a board member with the National Safe Haven Alliance (NSHA). As the only practicing RN on the board, she has been able to make meaningful contributions and, just this past year, met with legislators in Washington, DC, to advocate for a federal infant Safe Haven law.