Chapters are the heart of ONS at your local level, and during its January 19, 2021, meeting, the ONS Board of Directors discussed chapter-specific feedback from the leadership survey. Chapters have relied on virtual connection recently because of the pandemic, and they are still adapting to ONS’s new chapter standards. The Board identified opportunities to connect and communicate with chapters to support them in those goals. Highlights from that discussion and other actions taken during the January meeting follow, and ONS members can view the full minutes at ons.org/board-minutes.

2020 Leadership Survey          

The leadership performance evaluation is sent to ONS past presidents, Oncology Nursing Foundation Board of Trustees, ONS Leadership Development Committee, Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation Board of Directors, and ONS chapter leaders. The chapter-related concerns fell into the following themes:

  • Sustainability related to a drop in membership and loss of dues with model change
  • Leadership term limits and leadership recruitment
  • Communication about board decisions
  • Improving virtual access to education, networking, and member engagement

The ONS Board is evaluating the findings in combination with the 2020 ONS membership survey. Additional discussions are planned for the Presidents Council and March Board meetings.

Rapid Research Response Teams

ONS’s two rapid research response teams—one focused on the COVID-19 coronavirus and the other on racism—completed their work and submitted manuscripts to the Oncology Nursing Forum. The COVID-19 recommendations, which the Board approved in August 2020, are peer reviewed and slated for publication. During its January 2021 call, the Board gave feedback on the racism recommendations and approved expanding ONS’s Research Agenda on cancer care disparities and racism.

Oncology Nursing Foundation

The Foundation requested a two-year extension of the term for its current president, Tracy Gosselin, which is set to expire June 1, 2021. The ONS Board approved the request.

The Foundation also reported a 2020 year-end total of $1.4 million in fundraising income in addition to $860,000 in legacy commitments, exceeding its 2020 fundraising goal of $1.3 million.