Running for Leadership Opportunities

Greetings, NSNA members and future colleagues!
I hope that everyone had a wonderful summer and is getting back into the groove of a new semester!
I’d like to talk to you about running for leadership opportunities. Although initially it seems like a pretty scary thing, leadership positions are a great way to gain insightful experience on advocacy, communication, and decision-making. These core qualities and more not only make a successful leader, but a powerful nurse! Therefore, it is highly recommended that every nursing student have some kind of experience in leadership. Whether that is getting involved in your local chapter’s student association, getting involved in your state association, or even through various outside organizations, leadership is a quality that all recognize within the first few minutes of meeting a person. This sets you apart from the next interviewee when it comes time for that job you really want!
But how do you get involved in leadership? My best piece of advice is to find a mentor or an older student that has the experience. They can help pave a path for you that can set you up to do some amazing things! Personally, it was an older nursing student at my school that pushed me to run from the floor for a state association position at our state association convention. He saw something in me that I didn’t recognize in myself and gave me that extra push. If you are already in leadership, I hope that you can be that extra friendly shove for someone else to get their passion sparked for leadership.
However, if you are the first to want to get involved in leadership through nursing organizations and you don’t have a local chapter to join, contact NSNA! We can give you the tools you need to start an organization and be that mentor for younger students that will now have a local chapter to join because of you!
If you are running for a leadership position, best of luck! I know all of us here at NSNA are always cheering you on. Always remember to be confident, creative, and be true to the leader you are. No one can be you like you can.
 
Yours in service and signing off for now,
Lauren