Blog Contribution by NIHD Past President Kristina Krail, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, PMP, EDAC
I recall being very involved in various groups and councils while in high school. I don’t remember what drew me to those extra-curricular activities, but I know I enjoyed them much more that my regular classes. My first job, as a new grad in nursing, required me to become a member of the New York State Nurses Association. I was impressed that my employer was supportive of the benefits of joining a professional organization.
My desire to get involved in my profession, beyond my employment, continued and was reinforced by my mentor when I became a novice nurse administrator. I tagged along with her to meetings and conferences and saw firsthand how valuable it was to not only be a member, but to serve on boards and committees. She convinced me that, as a leader, it was my professional responsibility to share my talents and get involved in professional activities in a meaningful way. It helped that she was supportive and gave me the time and latitude to serve. During that period, I was surprisingly elected president of the Yale SON chapter of Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society after inducted just a few years earlier as a nurse leader member. I also found fulfillment in a group of nurse administrators in our relatively small Connecticut Organization of Nurse Executives chapter and served as the treasurer for a several years. Once my administrative practice expanded to areas beyond nursing, the American College of Healthcare Executives drew me in, and I served on the board of my local chapter - Healthcare Leaders of NY. I am in the last year of my NIHD’s Presidential cycle and currently serving as chair of the nominating committee.
So, I can feel good that I have “given back” as my mentor advised, but I can also share that each board experience has demonstrated that I received much more in return than I contributed. My service taught me things and skills I didn’t know. It allowed me to develop new relationships and make real friends. And, perhaps most important, it has expanded my sphere of influence and connections exponentially.
Pictured above: NIHD Board Members and Executive Director at the 2023 Board Retreat, hosted by Carolina, an OFS Company, in Huntingburg, IN.
There are a lot of reasons people serve on boards. If it’s a non-profit like NIHD, board positions are uncompensated, but, like I just wrote, that is not to say there aren’t significant intrinsic benefits. When I asked Lynn Aguilera, current NIHD board member and Secretary, why she enjoyed serving, she replied,
I would have to say networking opportunities. It was really career changing for me. The exposure on LinkedIn, at conferences, to experts in the field– like I said, a game changer.
Although most benefits are intangible, there are some concrete perks. All NIHD board members receive complementary registration to ASHE PDC Summit and Healthcare Design Conference and Expo (HCD) events. Their membership dues are covered for the length of their term as a small thank you for the work involved with being a board member. We frequently are hosted by our corporate partners for meetings or retreats. Sitting on a board adds a considerable amount of prestige and credibility to one’s resume. Finally, leaving a legacy through the work the Board does, collectively and individually on behalf of the organization, is priceless.
Pamela Jones, current Treasurer and a member of NIHD since 2017, shared what being a Board member meant to her:
I’ll tell you; I probably would not have considered running for a Board position, but Kay Rademacher, nominating committee chair at the time, talked me into it. This is my 4th year in the position and I’m having a blast. We’ve changed the role significantly from when I started and it’s really a rich role that is very fulfilling. And it is just such an outstanding group of people I get to work with.
Joyce Durham, nominating committee member and a past president and one of the founding members of NIHD shared this observation:
People are amazed when I tell them I would have never considered running for an office,” she said, “but someone asked me and thought I would be good at it. So, I agreed to run – and there you go! It was fun and I experienced significant professional growth.