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NSNA President Blog

My Leadership Journey

7/26/2023

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Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope you have found some time to relax during this sunny month of July!
I have been asked several times about my leadership journey and where it started so I would like to share it with all of you, if that’s okay.
Like many heard while I was campaigning, leadership has always been instilled in part of the fabric of my being since I was a child. I was an advocate for my baby brother by sitting by his crib all day to ensure he had everything he needed. And my leadership skills only grew more evident from there. 
So when I stepped inside the doors of my University my freshman year and saw there was nursing leadership, I immediately submitted an application to join the slate of candidates. I did not have any clue what nursing leadership was or how much I would come to love it as Co-Communications Director of the Molloy Nursing Student Association (MNSA). When I attended the Nursing Students Association of New York State’s (NSANYS) 70th Convention my freshman year, I had no idea that I would be encouraged to run for a state position, submit my application minutes before it was due, get nominated on the floor, and become Midhudson Regional Director. Looking back, I am so immensely grateful for the individual who pushed me to run because I would not be where I am today if I didn’t have that positive peer influence--if he didn’t have the ability to see something in me that I didn’t necessarily see yet. 
And this was all before I stepped foot or virtually attended an NSNA Convention. That April, I attended my first NSNA Annual Convention virtually and it was love at first sight. I knew that someday, I wanted to be able to do what I love and for the students I love, but on a national level. 
After I became Midhudson Regional Director, I knew this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my nursing career and immediately applied to be Treasurer. I spent the next year as Treasurer for NSANYS and Co-Vice President for MNSA. And I loved every minute. It was during this year that I attended my first NSNA Annual Convention in-person in Salt Lake City, Utah. There, I was given that same push as I was given my freshman year. Only this time, it was for a different opportunity. This time, it was to run for President of the National Student Nurses’ Association. I felt it was achievable but it didn’t feel like it was my time. I decided not to run during that year and told myself that I had to do it my senior year and give it my final shot. I attended my first NSNA MidYear Convention in-person in Virginia Beach, Virginia and was given the same shove forward to go for national leadership. Taking what I learned about leadership the past couple of years, I decided to give it my all. I was given such gratuitous financial support, asked the best campaign manager anyone has ever had to be mine, gathered my colorful supplies and goals for office, pre-slated, used social media and early campaigning as a tool, packed my suitcase, and flew into Nashville, TN. 
I gave my speech, had a wonderful debate with my fellow candidates, campaigned, and was elected to be the 72nd President of the National Student Nurses’ Association. 
Many students have come up to me since and seen this role as unachievable, untouchable, and that once elected, are a powerful force. But I humbly disagree. As the power is in the people. The power was in your hands by voting and trusting your elected official to do their job. That trust is the untouchable force. I am simply human, the same as all of you. Which makes me proud to tell you all, if I can accomplish my dreams of being able to call myself President of NSNA and represent the entire United States nursing students as a whole, then you can do whatever you set your mind to. Whether that is running on your local level, on your state level, or even on the national level. You are capable of multitudes. And I hope if not now, that one day, when you are standing where I am, you are able to reflect and realize that you are exceptional, capable, and are a leader. 

Hope to see you at Leadership Summit Friday!


Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren
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International Council of Nurses Student Assembly

7/24/2023

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Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope your July is filled with lovely summer air, warm beach days, and most of all, relaxation!
On June 30th, I attended the International Council of Nurses’ Student Assembly where students (undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral) gathered to discuss common issues and learn from the ICN Student Steering Group’s wonderful agenda. One of my favorite parts of the day was the roundtable discussions we had on timely questions such as “What would you like to see from your National Nursing Association (NNA)?” Getting to discuss our five key answers and come together to learn about how healthcare looks different in each country was my favorite part. I sat at a table with students from South Africa, Taiwan, Vietnam, Canada, and Lebanon. It was also really shocking and upsetting to learn that many nursing students do not have a separate nursing student association like the National Student Nurses’ Association. Many rely on funding and decision-making done by their National Nursing Association. Canada was the only country that had an entirely separate nursing organization and I was able to meet the Canadian Student Nurses’ Association President, Eyasu Yahob. He is an amazing colleague and inspiring leader. I was able to extend an invitation to him, on behalf of the NSNA, to attend our Annual Convention in April 2024. Hopefully, I will be able to introduce him or one of his colleagues to you come April time. 
Other than the roundtables, I really enjoyed the networking we were able to do during lunch with nursing leaders around the world. I was able to connect with the Jamaican Nurses Association and some of the students from Mexico during my lunch session. 
We also were fortunate to listen to incredible speakers like Dr. Katie Huffling, the Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and Dr. Christine Genest, a Professor from the Université de Montreal (University of Montreal) on Mental Health in Nursing. 
Overall, it was an amazing day with lots of connections with students, which I loved most of all. Let me know if you have any questions for me in the comments or feel free to email me personally at [email protected]!
Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren
​
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Students from Mexico, USA, and South Korea
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Top row: me with students from Mexico Bottom row left to right: Paulina, a PhD student from Canada, and nurses from Jamaica
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Me with Róisín O'Connell, the Student and New Graduate Officer for the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation
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From left to right: Aline from Lebanon who moved to Canada, Charlene from South Africa, me, Eyasu who is President of the Canadian Student Nurses Association, student from the Canadian Student Nurses Association, Paulina who is a PhD student from Canada, student from Vietnam but studies in Taiwan, Pojen from Taiwan
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All students present at the ICN 2023 Student Assembly
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International Council of Nurses Congress 2023

7/24/2023

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    Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
     I hope you are all doing well and enjoying some summer weather!
    We talked about the International Council of Nurses Student Assembly Day, but I attended the rest of the ICN Congress of 2023 in Montreal, Canada afterwards and it was an amazing success! I had such a fantastic time meeting nurses from all over the world! The opening ceremony and parade of all the different national nursing associations in their native and cultural attire was a spiritual experience to say the least. See below for the slideshow of only some of the 136 professional national nursing associations included in the parade. During the opening ceremony, a beautiful land acknowledgement was performed with Indigenous leaders invited to share some of their rich cultural heritage with us such as throat singing, native songs, and dances. 
    One of my favorite memories from ICN Congress 2023 was hearing from the first nurse and midwife in Somaliland, Edna Adan Ismail. After retiring, Edna saw the problems that existed in our home country’s healthcare system and sold her things, bought land, and started building a hospital for her community. Edna’s frustration lies in the fact that conditions like eclampsia that are cured in other countries are being the causes of major fatalities in her country. Therefore, Edna taught her first class of nursing students while the construction was being done and today, Edna has over 1,000 nurses and midwives to date. 
     Another amazing plenary session I attended was Caring with Courage, a new BBC and ICN collaborative project tailored around the stories of nurses out in the community, made for the world to see on the silver screen. With only viewing some of the powerful clips, I was able to witness the unique and profound work that this collaboration and nurses in the field were able to produce. 
Additionally, I was able to take a master class on Robotic Surgery and how it is taking us into the 21st century and beyond. With studying and learning new technology, we can ensure that we are better equipped to serve the generation of tomorrow. With the addition of robotics, nurses need to ensure that patient care is still a priority while the surgeon may be farther away, performing the surgery with devices like the one I learned about. 
    That night, NSNA was invited to a reception for the National League of Nursing (NLN) and it was a lovely networking opportunity where I saw some familiar faces from ANA Membership Assembly, and where I met some new faces in NLN. Overall, it was a wonderful success and spoke to the leadership of Dr. Beverly Malone, CEO of NLN, and Dr. Kathleen Pointdexter, Chair of the NLN. 
    In the plenary session on Tuesday morning, we were able to hear from Simon Sinek, renowned leadership expert and author of bestselling book “Start With Why,” along with Leigh Chapman, Chief Nurse Officer of Canada. Their conversation on how great leaders inspire action was rejuvenating. The discussion focused on how great leaders are needed starting in nursing school and that “we need to take care of the people taking care of the people.” It left me with a recharged battery to bring back home to you all. 
    The last morning of the conference, the plenary discussed disaster situations going on all around the world and the effects on the nursing profession due to these issues. People from Ukraine, Turkey, and Myanmar joined the morning plenary virtually to discuss the issues currently negatively affecting the population. The conditions that some of these countries are facing are horrific but nurses don’t have to worry only about the conditions of living on a battlefield and bombing sites. In Myanmar, nurses have to go into hiding and in some devastating cases, are persecuted for their line of work. It was truly heartbreaking and unsettling to learn about the issues taking place around the world.
    Lastly, in the closing session, Dr. Pamela Cipriano, current ICN President, past ANA President, and past NSNA President, spoke about the amazing work done at the conference and the new ICN logo that was displayed for the first time. The ICN Congress 2023 was a great success and I cannot wait to see what the ICN and the Finland Nurses Association unveil for the 2025 Congress in Finland!
    Comment below with any questions you have for me regarding the International Council of Nurses Congress 2023!
    
Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

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Professionalism is Not a Trade-Off for Personality

7/16/2023

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Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope your July is filled with lovely summer air, warm beach days, and most of all, relaxation!
One of the most important and effective qualities to being a fantastic leader to me is being able to communicate professionally and with personality. 
A visible quality in many nursing leaders that I admire is personality. But something that often gets overlooked in professional nursing leaders is also personality! There’s a pendulum between personality and professionalism and the best nursing leaders find that equilibrium. I am here as a future nursing leader to share some light on what I have learned to assist you in being the BEST nursing leader you can be!
I’ve had mentors that have been strictly professional, strictly personality, and the best of both worlds. And I’ve found time and time again that the best leaders not only uphold excellent professionalism when called for, but know how to extract the perfect amount of their personality for the delegation, colleagues, and other leaders to see. 
An excellent example of this is our Executive Director, Dr. Kenya Williams. Not only is she a strong leader in the nursing profession, but everyone who knows Dr. Williams is not only a colleague, but a friend to her. Because of our similar leadership styles, I have learned multitudes of lessons from Dr. Williams. Additionally, while attending all the conferences I have, I’ve witnessed my own key takeaways and would love to share them with you!
  • Anyone can be professional but not everyone can be you. 
  • The more pieces of yourself that you give to others, the more positive connections you will have to that individual. The more connected you are to an individual, the more likely they are to view you highly. Even if they do not give pieces of themselves for you back. 
  • Leadership is not about a title.
  • Smiling more is sometimes the only thing standing between a good leader and a great leader.
  • Having a positive aura that people feel attracted to is one of the best qualities a leader can have and is not something that you have to be born with. People are attracted to positivity.
  • Manners are and should be your best friend and an everyday practice. 
The balance of personality and professionalism looks different for everyone but the more you practice, the better at it you will be! I am by no means a perfect person at this and continue to work on this aspect of my leadership every day. But I have seen firsthand and been told by others the progress that I’ve made and I hope that one day, you will be able to look in the mirror and realize that no matter what stage you are at, you are an exceptional leader. 
Please leave any questions you have for me in the comments below and I will get back to you as soon as possible! If you would like to have a conversation with me on the side, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren
​
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ANA Membership Assembly!

7/10/2023

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Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
Continuing our previous discussion, I attended Hill Day in Washington D.C. with ANA and visited various legislators and staff members to discuss important policies related to nursing. 
The following day, I was able to sit in on the first Membership Assembly session where ANA discussed business relating to Bylaws, introducing ANA Enterprise’s organizational alliances, and more. That day, I had the pleasure of bringing greetings on behalf of NSNA in front of the entire delegation of the American Nurses Association. What an honor to be able to stand in front of inspirational leaders like ANA President Jennifer Mensik-Kennedy and the vast ANA voting body. I discussed what NSNA has been up to since the new election in April and how our current board is hard at work for organizing the best MidYear and Annual meetings for our students. I concluded my speech with best wishes for a truly wonderful Assembly and was shocked to find a standing crowd applauding the work of NSNA! It is an immense pleasure for me to bring this knowledge to all of you to know the kind of weight that NSNA has with nursing organizations upon graduation. It is never too late or a better time than now to join this incredible organization and be applauding the exceptional work we do for years to come. 
Afterwards, ANA held their dialogue forums. The three topics discussed were:
  • Virtual Nursing
  • Gun Violence
  • Nursing Documentation
Although I didn’t speak on behalf of NSNA for all of the topics discussed, I felt especially compelled during the topic of gun violence and waited at the microphone to bring the student’s opinion to mind for the delegation. I discussed a resolution written by the NSNA Resolution Committee that was passed by the House of Delegates in 2018 titled, “In Support of Political Action for the Safety of All from Gun Violence.” Additionally, I also made the ANA delegation aware that because of this resolution, NSNA is supportive of the additional changes made to ANA’s policies regarding gun violence. Click here to see all the recommendations made by the Public Policy Committee and approved by the Membership Assembly.
That night, the incoming Executive Director, Dr. Kenya Williams (Past NSNA President) and I held the annual NSNA Past Presidents Dinner in which we had a wonderful attendance from Dr. Mary Foley (current ANA Consultant to NSNA, Past ANA President, Past NSNA President), Dr. Pamela Cipriano (Current ICN President, Past ANA President, Past NSNA President), Kyle Loose, RN (Past NSNA President), Dr. Cheryl Schmidt (Current NSNA Consultant to the Resolutions Committee), and Sharon Lamberton (Past NSNA President). It was a wonderful turn out with many other Presidents missed greatly. 
The following day, two different sessions of the Membership Assembly took place regarding bylaw changes, elections of the American Nurses Association Board of Directors, and more.
It was an incredible and very fast three days in which I saw many familiar faces from previous NSNA boards, met so many inspiring nursing leaders, and really got to put my advocating skills to the test. I am so excited to share all these experiences with you and please leave any questions you may have for me in the comment or feel free to shoot me an email!
Have a lovely rest of your July and I will speak to you soon!

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren
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Me (striving to be a future ANA President) with the Past ANA Presidents!
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ANA Hill Day!

7/3/2023

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Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope you all are doing well and having a lovely first week of July!
This past June, I was delighted to have the opportunity to bring greetings on behalf of NSNA to the American Nurses Association’s 11th Annual Membership Assembly.
Prior to the beginning of the Membership Assembly, ANA held their annual Hill Day in Washington D.C., where nurses from all over the United States (and some students, including me) were able to visit federal legislators and present policies and bills that ANA is hoping to pass for the future of nursing. ANA was asking legislators to support the following:
  • Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act (H.R. 2713): This bipartisan act that would remove outdated barriers in Medicare and Medicaid programs that currently prevent Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) from practicing to the full extent of their education. This bill does not supersede state laws or change any provider’s scope of practice. Currently, a coalition of 230 organizations support this bill while less than 100, including the American Medical Association, are against it. For example, this bill would allow Nurse Practitioners (NPs) to refer to a podiatrist to get diabetic shoes. Currently, a NP has to refer an existing patient to a physician (a doctor that does not know the patient or their history) to refer to a podiatrist. 
  • Understanding the Value of Nurses and Health Care Worker Burnout: We all know more nurses want to leave the profession than stay in it and the current demand is too high for the incoming nursing students. Not only is burnout an issue because of the shortage, but nurses are also unsafe in their work environments due to workplace violence, are treated as resources, feel overwhelmed, have unsafe workloads, and do not feel valued. Healthcare workers are five times more likely to be assaulted in their workplace. Legislators were urged to support and pass the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 2663 / S.1176), which would require the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue an interim, and later final, occupational safety and health standard that requires employers to take actions to protect nurses and other health care workers from workplace violence. 
  • National Nursing Workforce Center Act (S.1150 / H.R. 2411): This bill would create a 2-year pilot program enabling existing state nursing workforce centers to boost local nursing workforces and better evaluate the recruitment and retention of nurses. States without nursing workforce centers will be able to establish one to respond to both nursing workforce and community needs. Workforce centers gather data on supply, demand, and the educational pipeline of nurses while also collecting data and testing solutions to nurse faculty shortages. This bill enables local experts to identify and address unique challenges to improve the strength of the nursing workforce.
  • Addressing the Nurse Staffing Crisis: As we all know, insufficient nurse staffing and workplace violence jeopardizes patient safety and quality outcomes. This also affects nurse retention and recruitment. ANA urged Congress to improve nurse staffing and the work environment for healthcare personnel through the following:
    • Enact legislation to prohibit mandatory overtime for nurses.
    • Require OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to issue a national health care workplace violence standard.
    • Implement nurse staffing standards to ensure nurses have the time and resources they need to deliver quality care and positive patient outcomes.
ANA Hill Day was such a wonderful experience that I will never forget! I was able to speak about these issues with legislators and attended meetings with legislative staff with a group of leaders from ANA-NY, including President of ANA-NY, Dr. Marilyn L. Dollinger, DNS, FNP, RN. Students will have the chance to connect with Dr. Dollinger during NSNA's FREE Annual Advocacy Education Day on October 18th!
Stay tuned for part two of the ANA Membership Assembly!
See the attached links for more information on the bills and policies ANA presented to legislators.

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren

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From left to right: Tara Shajan, Treasurer of the National Association of Indian Nurses of America, Kimberly Velez (Director-at-Large on ANA-NY), Jacob, a staff member of Hakeem Jeffries (NY), me, and Dr. Patricia Lavin from New York University (NYU) Hospital.
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From left to right: Dr. Marilyn Dollinger, President of ANA-NY, me, and Dr. Jeanine Santelli, Executive Director of ANA-NY
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NSNA in the Big Apple!

7/1/2023

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Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues! I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the first day of July!
Since our election in April, the NSNA Board of Directors has had an extensive board orientation and meetings in New York during the month of May to kick start this incredible year. 
We had two different workshops given by Dr. Rumay Alexander and Dr. Pamela Thompson that were excellent in helping shape our feasible goals and expectations for our tenure. Afterwards, we had two day-long board meetings, discussing various voting matters that our members will be happy to see translated from our resolutions on paper to in-person at our MidYear and Annual meetings. We even had time to squeeze in an excursion and see Moulin Rouge on Broadway as a board!
Overall, it was a wonderful trip that I know helped all of our committees and board members feel more comfortable in their roles. Not only that, but it has also increased the working capability of our board as a team. We have exceptional communication, respect each other’s opinions, and all know we are working for the membership and nursing students across the United States in creating a better tomorrow for each other. 
Comment below if you have any questions for us!

Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren
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The 2023-2024 Board of Directors with the incoming Executive Director, Dr. Kenya Williams
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The 2023-2024 Board of Directors
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    Author

    ​My name is Lauren Lodico and I am the 2023-2024 NSNA President. I attend Molloy University in Rockville Centre, NY as a senior in their traditional program. I am expected to graduate in May 2024 with my BSN and a minor in Writing. I aspire to be a future Labor and Delivery nurse with hopes to further my education by going back to school for my Family Nurse Practitioner and PhD, so I can have the pleasure of teaching future nursing students and conducting my own research. I have also published two novels and written several unpublished in genres such as young adult romance, mystery, suspense, and more.

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