I cannot believe it has already been a year as your KSNA President. It has been an honor, and I have worked with some great nurses in Kansas and several other states. 2024 has been a busy year, and I feel we have reached our goals and accomplished a lot.

We started the year with a new board orientation in January. We attempted several times to complete the 2023 Membership Assembly and were finally successful.

We had a lobbyist this year to keep us updated on what happens during the legislative session. We had a handful of nurses attend the Nurses Day at the Capitol with a discussion of legislation platform talking points before meeting with legislators.

Dana, Terri Siek, and I attended the ANA Capitol Hill Day in Washington and the Membership Assembly. I learned a lot in our discussions with the Kansas House and Senate, which were available for conversations about nursing, health care, and access to health care. I learned a lot at the Membership Assembly, and the networking with other members was excellent.

I have joined the Kansas Workforce Advisory Board, and I hope future presidents of KSNA continue working with them. KSNA should consider putting it in the bylaws that we participate on the advisory board.

We have attended and participated in the MSD meetings and retreats and received training sessions from ANA during the meetings. We have gained networking and ideas from Missouri and Nebraska. We have had great discussions on how to grow our associations.

As we prepare for the 2024 Membership Assembly, some of the business will entail the way regions are set up, and whether we want regions or try moving to a newer model of interest groups across the state. Another question will be how you, as a member of KSNA, see the committee structure in the future. Do we need committees, or should we move to a task force? All questions the Board discussed at the Board retreat in September and plan to bring as new business to the membership during the Membership Assembly on October 22, 2024.

If you have questions, please contact me at ksna@ksnurses.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Laura Mallett, MSN, RN
President of KSNA
ksna@ksnurses.com