Pennsylvania Nurse 2019 74.3 | Page 4

Message from the President As nursing colleagues, we agree that successful professional practice requires lifelong learning. Opportunities for learning exist in a variety of methods and experiences. Leaders in the profession have often demonstrated long lists of academic credentials and certifications as a means of demonstrating such lifelong learning. Indeed, we have experienced and observed the incredible opportunities provided to us through our formal education and credentialing. Today, opportunities to connect through technology are providing new avenues for nurses to engage in lifelong learning. During the October 2019 PSNA nursing summit and annual meeting at Camelback Mountain Resort in Tannersville, PA, we were fortunate to have our keynote address be delivered by an energetic, humorous young man who, on social media, goes by the name Nurse Blake. Many of you may already know Nurse Blake from his situational, comedic YouTube videos highlighting our shared “experiences” as both nursing students and practicing generalists. What you may not know about Nurse Blake is the leadership he is providing in advocating for the health and well-being of our profession and our society. You see, Nurse Blake is using his formal nursing education to do what we do best: advocacy. What we learned about Nurse Blake was that during his time as a nursing student, sharing his humorous perspectives with everyone, he also took on a national policy to update our decades-old practices in assuring our national blood supply. I don’t have the space here to go into full detail – but I encourage you to learn more about this and more advocacy efforts of this aspiring young nurse at https://www. nurseblake.com/author/blake/page/3/. What I learned from Nurse Blake during his keynote address was that all professional nurses, regardless of the letters displayed following their name, are engaging in lifelong learning experiences. And that now, through technology, it can be shared with others. This sharing broadens opportunities for us in contributing to our own lifelong learning. While Nurse Blake shared his aspirations for formal higher education in nursing, he didn’t wait to accumulate those letters before making a difference as a registered nurse. And for his contribution to my lifelong learning, I thank him for sharing his nursing expertise and advocacy. I encourage us all to take a lesson from Nurse Blake: As registered nurses we have something tremendous to share with society. Find your passion within the ocean of healthcare, grow and flourish in your nursing care, and harness those opportunities provided to you in gaining and contributing to all our lifelong learning. Thank you, Nurse Blake! Sincerely, Mark Issue 74, 3 2019 Pennsylvania Nurse 2 President: Mark Crider, PhD, MSN, RN Vice President: Tarik Khan, MSN, RN, FNP-BC Secretary: Deb Cardenas, DNP, MSN, RN, Paralegal, LSSYB Treasurer: Wayne Reich, RN, MSN, MBA Board of Directors Terri Bickert, DNP, RN, NEA-BC Julie Beck, DEd, MSN, RN, CNE Caroline Cowles, RN, BSN Chief Executive Officer Betsy M. Snook, MEd, BSN, RN [email protected] Chief of Staff Jennifer Neidig [email protected] Headquarters Pennsylvania State Nurses Association 3605 Vartan Way, Suite 204 Harrisburg, PA 17110-9301 T: 717-657-1222 F: 717-657-3796 Toll Free: 888-707-7762 [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Carol Toussie Weingarten, PhD, RN, ANEF Editorial Peer Review Board Patricia Becker, MS, CRNP Susan Callahan, RN, BSN, CCRN Joan Clites, BSN, MSN, EdD Elayne DeSimone, PhD, RN, CRNP Julia Greenawalt, PhD, RNC Adele Mueller, PhD(c), MSN, RN Carol Patton, RN, CRNP Holly Tavianini, MSN, RN, MSHSA, CNRN Shelley Watters, DNP, RN © 2019 Pennsylvania State Nurses Association www.psna.org