PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Giving Thanks

Mikki Meadows-Oliver, President and Fellow, PhD, MPH, PNP-BC

During this time of giving thanks, I would like toexpress my appreciation for our dedicated staff at theNational Office who help keep NAPNAP running effi-ciently. I am also appreciative of our many NAPNAPvolunteer leaders and am grateful for the work youhave done throughout the year to keep our organiza-tion moving forward. I would like to thank our chapterofficers and leaders for all they do to keepNAPNAP’s 48chapters alive and functioning well. I am also gratefulfor the leaders of our 17 special interest groups (SIGs)and their dedication to keeping the SIGs active.Withoutthe help, service, and commitment of our volunteersleaders, NAPNAP would not be able to remain at theforefront of advocating for the advanced practice nurs-ing role and for children’s health. NAPNAP needs ac-tive, engaged volunteers at the state and nationallevels. If you are not currently an active volunteer, weencourage you to become more involved. Contactyour chapter leaders to find out where your help ismost needed. If you are not sure who your chapterleaders are, this information can be found on the NAP-NAP Web site at www.napnap.org. Also, feel free tosend me an e-mail message at president@napnap.orgif you would like more information or need assistancein getting more involved as a NAPNAP volunteer.

Additionally, I would like to thank everyone whohelped us have a successful conference in Orlando,Florida. ‘‘Scoring Big’’ was the conference theme andscore big we did, with more than 1,200 participants.The conference would not have been as successfulwithout the members who served as Volunteers Inter-ested in Participating (VIPs) or as session moderators.

Correspondence: Mikki Meadows-Oliver, PhD, MPH, PNP-BC,

Yale University School of Nursing, 100 Church St South, PO Box

9740, NewHaven, CT 06536-0740; e-mail: president@napnap.org.

J Pediatr Health Care. (2013) 27, 408-409.

0891-5245/$36.00

Copyright Q 2013 by the National Association of Pediatric

Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights

reserved.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2013.08.001

408 Volume 27 � Number 6

The conference included a plethora of educational of-ferings for attendees, including concurrent sessions,clinical round-ups, and posters. Immediate Past Presi-dent Susan van Cleve moderated a History of NAPNAPsession with former NAPNAP presidents who sharedtheir anecdotes about the history and development ofour Association. It was quite informative. I am lookingforward to seeing evenmoremembers at our upcomingannual conference in Boston on March 11-14, 2014—and please consider attending as a VIP. Come out tohear great speakers, be educated, obtain continuingeducation units, and explore wonderful New England.As the year comes to a close, I would also like to re-

view the year’s accomplishments and look forward tothe year ahead. In 2013, we celebrated NAPNAP’s40th Anniversary. After four decades, we are still goingstrongwithmore than 7,500members, and I am surewewill continue to grow. We also recently celebratedNAPNAP’s first year in our new headquarters in NewYork City. Another accomplishment to be recognizedfrom 2013 is the revision of NAPNAP’s strategicplan—a practical, visionary document that will movethe association forward for the next 3 to 5 years. Thestrategic plan was presented to themembership in Sep-tember 2013.The 13 NAPNAP Executive Board members worked

diligently this year to enhance relationships with otherorganizations essential to advancing the nursing roleand advocating for child health. A few these organiza-tions are the NAPNAP Foundation, the Association ofFaculties of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (AFPNP), theNational Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties(NONPF), the American Association of Nurse Practi-tioners (AANP), and the American Academy of Pediat-rics (AAP).With the help of our Health Policy Committee and

our Washington representative, Dave Mason, NAPNAPcontinued its strong policy work on Capitol Hill. TheHealth Policy Committee also developed and releasedits health policy agenda, which focuses on advocacyand developing the strategic partnerships necessary tosupport NAPNAP’s mission and respond to importanthealth policy issues. NAPNAP’s Research Committeeupdated the research agenda to establish priorities for

Journal of Pediatric Health Care

evidence in practice. Both the health policy agenda andthe research agenda can be found on NAPNAP’s Website at www.napnap.org.

I will endeavor to make the rest of my presidencyfilled with even more opportunities that will moveNAPNAP forward. I aspire to work with volunteersfromNAPNAP andNAPNAP’s dedicated staff to expandpartnerships with other specialty and health care orga-nizations. I encourage all members to continue to give

www.jpedhc.org

back to help NAPNAP grow to become the premier or-ganization for all advanced practice nurseswho care forchildren. With active, engaged members, there is nolimit to the progress we canmake on behalf of pediatricnurse practitioners (PNPs) and our patients. Thank youfor all that you every day to advance our profession, tocare for children, and to make NAPNAP not only stron-ger, but the premier organization for PNPs and ourhealth care partners who care for children.

November/December 2013 409