Protecting Nurses and Patients and Advancing Practice Drive ONS Advocacy
The ONS Board of Directors had a full agenda for its longer quarterly meeting on February 18–19, 2021. Among other work, it evaluated the results of the annual member satisfaction survey, discussed the fiscal health of the organization based on year-end financials, and continued the conversation on diversity, equity, and inclusion in nursing and cancer care. Details on the Board’s decisions in key areas follow, and ONS members can review the full meeting minutes at ons.org/board-minutes (http://ons.org/board-minutes).
ONS Health Policy Agenda
The ONS Board reviewed the 2021 Health Policy Agenda for the 117th U.S. Congress, 1st Session, which guides ONS’s focus on advocacy priorities for the year, and approved the agenda. Key topics included funding Title VIII nursing workforce development programs; ensuring the nation’s nurses have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment; promoting access to virtual care and telehealth; prioritizing clinical appropriateness and the safety of patients, families, and healthcare workers; supporting National Cancer Moonshot Initiative work; advancing oncology nurses’ scope of practice, particularly in new and innovative models of care delivery; developing policies to provide adequate reimbursement for nursing care; and securing nurse representation in decision making at the state and federal level.
Oncology Nursing Foundation 2021 Board of Trustees
The ONS Board approved the three candidates that the Oncology Nursing Foundation presented for its Board of Trustees: Cynthia Edlow, MBA, Alex Jung, MBA, BS, CMP, and Rhonda Letwin, BSN. Their terms are effective immediately for a maximum consecutive length of six years.
LDC Joint Session
The ONS Board and Leadership Development Committee (LDC) began the process of evaluating how ONS Board elections work and discussed four scenarios: keep the current model, affirm a slate, adopt a hybrid of elected and appointed board members, or have the LDC vet candidates and the Board make final selections. In future work, the Board will develop a goal statement for ONS elections and conduct a gap analysis using a board composition matrix and other LDC tools.