In 1975, ENA was created by Anita Dorr and Judith Kelleher. Their shared vision was to create an organization designed to help nurses develop and provide optimum emergency care to patients in emergency departments throughout the United States. It was this shared vision that became the compass that directed the development of ENA.
The most successful and productive organizations not only have a vision statement but use this vision as their compass, their guide, to take them into the future. A vision statement is an image of the future you seek to create. It is not what you are today but what you are working to become; in a way, it is what you want to be when you grow up. Over the years, ENA’s original vision has been changed to reflect the growth of our organization. This year the ENA Board of Directors, with other key leaders of the organization, have spent a considerable amount of time rethinking the vision statement for ENA.
We looked at trends within society, within nursing, and within ENA; we reviewed business, economic, and association data; we undertook a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis, brainstormed, and used the dictionary and the thesaurus. We negotiated, questioned, and made decisions; we slept on those decisions and then reconsidered them to make sure they were the right ones; and in the end, we rewrote ENA’s vision statement. We looked into ENA’s future, and this is what we saw: “ENA is indispensable to the global emergency nursing community.”
We wanted the vision statement to be something that would challenge us and cause us to stretch and become more than we are today. We spent a significant amount of time discussing and debating the word and the concept “global.” What was our current global presence, and what should it be in the future? Just as each of us directly involved in this process had our own answers and perceptions about the use of the term global, I am sure each of you will as well. Some of you probably are thrilled with the use of this term, while others are not so sure, and still others will not like it at all.
One thing is certain, however: We currently do have an international presence. This presence largely has evolved over the years in a serendipitous manner; we have not strategically planned our international presence. For me, the question became whether we wanted to (1) discontinue our international presence, (2) allow it to continue to grow through happenstance, or (3) take control and consciously direct and develop it through strategic planning.
One aspect that has caused some of us great concern is exactly what our global influence and presence will look like. Our instinct is to assume that it will mirror our domestic influence and presence, when in fact there is nothing that says it must or will do so. Knowledge can be a two-edged sword…on one side it gives us power, influence, and confidence, but on the other side it limits us by stifling our imagination and creativity. In fact, what we need is not only knowledge but creativity and imagination. So do not assume that our global influence/presence will mirror our domestic influence/presence.
Emergency nurses, patients, and ENA members live around the globe, and our presence must be available to all of them. We must support ED nurses and our members wherever they are, and we must advocate for ED patients wherever they are. To date, we have been contacted by persons in several countries who are seeking our support and resources as they work to develop and advance the practice of emergency nursing in their countries.
I firmly believe that there is no one better qualified to define and advance the practice of emergency nursing than emergency nurses. Our international peers and colleagues have identified us as leaders in emergency nursing, and therefore we must lead and be leaders!
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