As I look back at 2023, a word I would use to describe the year is energized. From our growing list of members to our many successful events, ANPD has been filled to the brim with excellence, and it’s clear we are continuing to communicate and expand this value and energy to nurses and the wider health care community.
ANPD’s successes were many in 2023: We released the sixth edition of our Core Curriculum, hired a third education team member, Rebecca Brown, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, RNC-LRN, to meet the changing and evolving needs of our community, saw the first full year of NPD in Motion, and held our first Virtual Symposium as well as our annual ANPD Aspire Convention—both events drawing in over 1,000 nursing professional development (NPD) practitioners!
Sheila at the 2023 ANPD Aspire Convention.
Additionally, we welcomed more than 700 new members, with a grand total of 7,500+ at year’s end—a key piece to ANPD’s bigger story. Our members are essential. They fill our events, webinars, articles, meetings, courses, and committees with energy and help make our profession better. That’s why our Board of Directors has a strategic goal of growing to 8,500 members by the end of 2026. By sharing ANPD resources with colleagues and friends, you can help make this number a reality. Please take a moment to review membership benefits, consider renewing or joining yourself in 2024, and pass along to a friend or colleague. We also have a wonderful group membership package for health care systems and institutions!
The 8,500-member goal was developed at our 2024 - 2026 Strategic Planning Meeting late last year—another 2023 success! I’d like to share with you the overarching strategic goals guiding projects and areas of work:
Strategic Goal 1: High-Quality Products and Services
ANPD will offer high-quality products and services that are relevant, accessible, and evolving to meet the needs of all NPD professionals.
Strategic Goal 2: Membership
ANPD will continue to grow as an inclusive organization by attracting, engaging, and collaborating with a diverse membership community.
Strategic Goal 3: Advocate for the NPD Role
ANPD will advocate for the individual and collective value of the NPD community by leveraging influence and presence.
Sheila and Dale Callicutt, PhD, RN, CV-BC, NPD-BC, CCRN-K, participate in a strategic planning activity.
These goals would not be so well defined if not for the support of many, including the randomly selected members who participated in interviews with the Board to advise on these plans—thank you for your time! I also wish to thank Leslie Wright-Brown, MS, NPD-BC, ANPD DEI Committee chair, and Elizabeth Ross, a new NPD practitioner, for participating in the strategic planning session. All member insights were invaluable to inform the future of our association.
Thanks to these goals, we have a few new value-add elements in the works to look forward to in 2024, including:
- The first full year of our two new committees—DEI and Editorial—which will hone our association’s efforts toward diversity, equity, and inclusion and a robust and industry-leading content hub here on NPD in Motion.
- A new learning management system, community platform, and abstract management platform to increase ease of engagement for members. Keep an eye out for more information on these very soon!
2023 held so many high moments for our association, and it also marked my second and final year as ANPD president. I will be honored to pass the reins to President-Elect Dale Callicutt, PhD, RN, CV-BC, NPD-BC, CCRN-K, at the 2024 ANPD Aspire Convention in early April. I do hope you will register for this in-person event coming to Chicago. Our team is so excited to welcome all attendees and to hear from many of you through pathway and poster sessions, as well as learn from the educational game changer keynote speakers who always have such an impact. While at the convention, please take a moment to introduce yourself to me and the other board members. We enjoy meeting our members and hearing from you about how we can move our association forward.
Sheila, Dale, and ANPD staff member Naomi Fox, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, CCRN, at a Nursing Organizations Alliance meeting.
Entering the final months of my presidency, I'm personally energized by the tremendous growth and achievements of our community. With strategic goals in play and exciting initiatives ahead, I'm confident ANPD will continue that momentum as a dynamic force in NPD, thanks to the enthusiasm of our members.
Sheila St. Cyr, MS, RN, NPD-BC
President, Association for Nursing Professional Development
Sheila St. Cyr, MS, RN, NPD-BC, is the current president of the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD). Prior to this role, she served on the ANPD Board of Directors as president-elect for one year and as a director for two years. Sheila's involvement in the specialty of nursing professional development began more than 20 years ago and she has been an active ANPD member since then, including roles on ANPD’s Recognition and Convention Content Planning committees and presenting at the ANPD Aspire Convention several times. Her areas of clinical expertise include oncology, controlled substance diversion prevention, and substance use disorder.
In addition to her volunteer leadership with ANPD, Sheila also sits on the Oklahoma Opioid Overdose Fatality Review Board as a governor-appointed Oklahoma Nurses Association representative. Sheila lives in Jones, Oklahoma with her husband, Mark.