HAPPY SPRING to the membership! We have been staying busy with the Legislative and Advocacy conference and the Day at the Capitol. I remember when we had over 400 attend the Capitol Day and Legislative Conference. Okay, yes! I have been around for a while. The KSNA Board hopes to build the activity back up and get the schools of nursing involved. We had a good turnout for Capitol Day for the first time in years. As nurses and those entering the profession, your voice is crucial to all Kansas nurses. It is essential to educate legislators on all topics that affect the health of the residents of Kansas. Your voice is also needed in areas of your jobs, safety, and well-being, and it holds significant power in advocacy.

The KSNA Board met 4/3/2024 with Tina McRae-Phelps, MSM, Director of Constituent Relations and Membership Support, and the Co-Chair, ANA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for board training. The Standards of Excellence was the focus of the training we received based on survey results. The Standards of Excellence focuses on the best practices of boards and gives the board guidelines on how well they work for the organization. It was very informative. Based on the results from last year’s survey that we took in December, we scored 100% in several areas, and in other areas, we scored 85%. We scored 100% in the following areas:

• Mission Strategy
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Public Awareness

The 85% areas are areas the board will diligently review at the next board meeting. We are committed to discussing and implementing strategies to improve in these areas, ensuring that we are constantly striving for excellence.

• Leadership: Board Staff
• Need to work on establishing a periodic review of policies
• Need to establish a review cycle for the Bylaws
• The board is charged with holding each other accountable
• KSNA Committees with decision-making authority should report any committee actions to the KSNA Board, and it should be recorded in the minutes. Committees act for the Board, and the Board should perform a full review and ratification of committee decisions.
•  Legal Compliance
• Maintain legal compliance
• Report misconduct
• Maintain compliance with the ANA Code of Ethics
• ANA Code of Ethics
• Professionalism
• Problem–solving
• Confidentiality is important
• Finance and Operations
• Maintain certified audit
• Resolve development of Income
• Make a plan for 5 years, 3x the amount we need to run the association for a year. At least have 6 months’ reserve. (Not based on membership)

I feel that it is essential for the membership to know that the Board is reviewing the data and moving forward on improving in the areas that we find ourselves below 100%. We also discussed further training with Tina and possibly working towards becoming accredited in the Standards of Excellence.

I would love to hear from you if you have any questions or thoughts on how you see KSNA moving forward and being a voice for nurses in Kansas.

Laura Mallett, MSN, RN
President
Kansas State Nurses Association