Congress, Board Goals, and More Are Key Discussions During June Board Meeting
By Heather Thompson Mackey, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, AOCN®
Look for some new changes related to ONS Board of Directors activities during the 44th Annual ONS Congress in Anaheim, CA, in April 2019. During its June 2018 meeting, the Board discussed and made decisions about two Congress-related topics: the annual business meeting and the inclusion of leadership awareness.
Board Work at Congress
First, the Board discussed transitioning the annual business meeting during Congress to a less formal and more engaging experience for ONS members. The Board decided to have the ONS president highlight achievements during Congress’s opening ceremonies, which would reach the highest number of attendees, instead of during the business meeting. To engage those who are not able to physically attend, they also decided to continue to live stream the business meeting through a social media platform. Discussion also surrounded the idea of the business meeting avoiding major Congress sessions.
The second discussion topic related to Congress involved the focus of the two sessions that the Board develops. Leadership development is a Board priority and will likely be a topic for one session, but several other ideas were identified. The possibility to increase the visibility and activity of the Nurses on Boards Coalition—a group of which ONS is a member—during the conference may be combined with leadership. Additional conversations will help to determine the Board sessions for the 2019 Congress.
Other Reports From the June Board Meeting
As part of the normal oversight process, the Board reviewed the ONS Foundation’s financial dashboard. Everything is on target. The Board will review the dashboard during every face-to-face meeting moving forward so both ONS and the Foundation can work closely together on financial goals.
The Board’s 2018–2019 goals were also approved. In addition to the Board’s commitment to the organization’s priorities through the strategic plan, the goals included the areas of leadership development, governance, the ONS chapter model, ONS Foundation, board visibility, and board development.
For more information about the June 2018 Board meeting, refer to the full minutes at profile.ons.org/resources (https://profile.ons.org/resources).