I hope you have enjoyed these past few days learning, networking, socializing, and making new friends at this year's annual meeting. I am extremely honored and blessed to begin my role as your INS president. I extend my sincere thanks to Mary Alexander and the INS staff, the INS board of directors, and all INS past presidents who have set the precedent for leadership. I thank my family, work colleagues, church family, and last but not least, my dear friend Vicci Hyde, who many years ago said to me, "Let's build an IV team, put in PICCs, give chemotherapy, and take the CRNI(R) exam!" And we did.
Each year, the president is given the opportunity to choose a theme. I had a lot of ideas, but one kept coming back to me because I'm a big believer in things that can be. So, I chose "Believe in the Possible-A Vision of Tomorrow's Health Care" as my presidential theme. I reflected on believers and visionaries who have lived before us. Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, and Florence Nightingale did not listen when others said, "Your dreams are impossible." And I thought about today's leaders, like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Marc Zuckerberg, whose innovations in technology reinvented how millions communicate around the globe.
Muhammad Ali, a man who referred to himself as the "greatest," was from my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. One of his most memorable quotes is: "Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."1 Ali was a man who overcame what looked impossible and changed it.
Infusion nurses are living in the most opportune time to envision the possibilities in our profession. Our specialized skills and knowledge have prepared us to be leaders in infusion care. Infusion nurses have an impact on the care of patients with initial device selection, infusion medication administration, and access device removal. We set the standard for infusion care and provide guidance to all nurses. Infusion nurses understand that having a vision is the first step toward achieving the possible.
Infusion nurses have influence. We know how to set priorities, exemplify integrity, and initiate change. As nursing leaders, we have the right attitude, and above all, we genuinely care about the success of others. John C. Maxwell, a well-known minister, leadership coach, and author, describes how leadership influence is not about position, status, or authority. In his book Developing the Leader Within You, he says leadership is about having followers. Influential infusion nurses guide others with respect, teaching, mentoring, role modeling, and offering encouragement. Leaders with vision are on a mission and their spirit is contagious.2
Infusion nurse leaders respond and embrace change no matter how difficult. I enjoyed being on an IV team and doing what had become comfortable to me. When the team was dissolved, I first resisted change, but then quickly realized I needed to start believing in the possible and a vision for my own future. I knew I would have to trust my knowledge, skills, experience, and talents. Looking back, it is amazing how believing in myself helped me find my way into an exciting, new adventure in my career. Infusion nurses have experienced many changes and will continue to face many more in the future.
What can we envision for tomorrow's health care? "20 Medical Technology Advances: Medicine in the Future-Part 1"3 describes some amazing ideas and developments, such as digital contact lenses that measure blood glucose levels from tears, and an iPad app that enables a surgeon to see through anatomical structures, such as blood vessels, without opening organs. Gamifying is already being tested to change health behavior; for example, Pokemon Go can motivate walking. Advances in surgery may include an intelligent surgical knife. The vaporized smoke from the knife can be analyzed by a mass spectrometer and can identify malignant tissue in real time.3
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for infusion nurse services is expected to rise 26% by 2020.4 Infusion nurses will be visionary leaders with ideas that will surpass current thought. Imagine infusion teams in hospitals that are fully staffed and supported for providing safe, quality infusion care, education, and advocacy for patients. More ambulatory infusion centers will be needed to meet the growing demand of outpatients. Home health infusion services will be hiring many more infusion nurses who have the knowledge and skill to bring infusion care safely into patients' homes. And imagine the delivery of home health infusion products by drones!
As infusion nurses, we are fortunate to be members of a nursing organization in which members are the focus; the mission, vision, and values of excellence, integrity, inclusiveness, and innovation are priorities that drive the organization; and great leadership is demonstrated. As INS approaches the 45th anniversary of its founding next year, I envision steady growth for all INS chapters. I see infusion nurses participating in research and publishing the results, driving policies and procedures in their organizations, having a voice in the development and selection of products and services, and working at the top of their scope of practice.
Finally, I envision every infusion nurse with a burning desire to attain professional certification, just as my friend Vicci and I did. Achieving the CRNI(R) credential enhances the professional care given to our patients and their families. I know infusion nurse leaders with the right attitude, who maintain integrity and are willing to change, will proudly "Believe in the Possible-A Vision of Tomorrow's Health Care."
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