President's View

As I round out my presidency this spring, I am filled with the overwhelming sensation that I’ve lived several lives (at times exhausting but always fulfilling) over the last two years. I am grateful for each and every experience that has impacted me personally and professionally.

I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). About how important these concepts are, and how we, as nurses, cannot be bystanders when it comes to EDI and the pursuit of fairness and justice.

It is such an honour to be president during RNAO’s 100th anniversary year. I admire the women who, a century ago, had the vision and courage to lay the foundation for a professional nursing association. It was an idea fuelled by passion and backed by motivation to grow the profession.

As I reach the three-quarter mark of my first year as your president, I want to share what an absolute privilege and honour it has been to meet and engage with members. 

In my first formal message as your president, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride as I am writing to fellow RNAO members. I am honoured and I am in awe of my responsibility to represent almost 52,000 RNs, NPs and nursing students. I was nervous when I approached the podium back in June for my first official presidential address.

I am proud of the fact that MPPs always answer the call to meet with RNAO members when we ask for their time. We should all take a moment to reflect on what this says about nurses and about RNAO’s influence. Put simply: our association matters.

As I write this, I think back to the words of past-president Dr. Angela Cooper Brathwaite, who once wrote about the concept of “service” and “servant leadership.” She envisioned her role as serving and meeting the needs of members.

I am writing this column just weeks after our in-person Annual General Meeting (AGM).

One of the things that makes me so proud to be a member of RNAO is the influence and impact we have when it comes to getting time with our elected representatives. Think about it for a moment. What other organization has the political clout that we have raising nursing and health issues?

This column marks my first official message to you as president. I am extremely proud and feel blessed to represent you. RNAO is an important organization, and my personal pledge to you is to bring my leadership, my energy and my commitment to continue advancing our important work.