By Susan Bruce, MSN, RN, OCN®, AOCNS®
Setting ONS up for a strong future was the overarching theme of the January 2019 ONS Board of Directors meeting by conference call. The group appointed new members to the Leadership Development Committee (LDC)—which grows, shapes, and nominates ONS’s future leaders—and devised a strategy for identifying what oncology nursing’s role will be 10 years in the future.
New LDC Appointments
The ONS Board approved an LDC appointment process: each board member reviews the candidates’ information, which is then organized in ranking order. The top three ranked candidates are appointed to the committee.
For 2019, Donald Bailey, Jr., PhD, RN, FAAN, Michele Gaguski, MSN, RN, AOCN®, CHPN, NE-BC, APN-C, and Susan Newton, APRN, MS, were appointed to a three-year LDC term beginning at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in April 2019.
Strategic Planning for the Future Role of the Oncology Nurse
In 2019, ONS will explore what the role of the oncology nurse will look like in 2029 and ways in which the Society can support that role. The Board approved contracting with a company called Bridgeable to conduct foresight research, build future scenarios, and create a strategic roadmaps and implementation plans. A champion team comprised of Board members, ONS members, and staff will guide the strategic design work, which will take four to six months to complete.
2018 Year-End Financials
ONS will undergo its annual financial audit in January and February, but the preliminary, preaudit year-end numbers indicate that 2018 was stronger than 2017. Eva Gallagher, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, CPHQ, CMPP, ONS Board treasurer, will share the final information through her treasurer’s report at the annual business meeting and in the May 2019 issue of ONS Voice.
For a full overview of the meeting, refer to the minutes at ons.org/board-minutes.