It Only Takes 2 Flints to Make a Fire
Ginger Breedlove was inducted as ACNM president for the term 2013-2016 on June 1 at the ACNM 58th Annual Meeting in Nashville. Welcome, Ginger!
t is with great excitement that I assume the duties of ACNM president after a wonderful year as president-elect. As I prepared to run for office and serve, I thought carefully about my goals and studied the twin challenges of how to increase diverse volunteer participation in our organization and expand our leadership. Engaging our members and mentoring new leaders is critical to sustaining a healthy professional association. In the years to come, we all must engage at the very highest level in order to meet a number of issues: the upcoming implementation of the Affordable Care Act; the need to increase the number of midwives and ensure all are working to their desired capacity; pursuing opportunities to achieve ACNM’s policy agenda with an expanding list of stakeholders, coalitions, and workgroups; and the imperative of increasing the diversity of our profession to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. To achieve these gains—and expedite our goal of mainstreaming high-quality midwifery in the United States—we need all hands on deck! I call on each of us to strengthen our personal connections and come together in new ways. When we channel passions toward a common outcome, we achieve a synergy that fuels results. As Louisa May Alcott said, “It only takes 2 flints to make a fire.” What’s the first step? My first advice is not to wait for others to come to you. You have to be willing to reach out. There is incredible value in serving others, and it starts by believing in your own ability. Within ACNM and in our local communities, there are so many ways
Quickening Summer 2013
LEADERS’ FORUM
by Ginger Breedlove, CNM, PhD, ARNP, FACNM, ACNM President
I
to advance midwifery, in short bursts and over the long haul. Whether we can spare an hour a month or an hour a day, there is exciting and important work to be done. ACNM is a dynamic collaborator. We are advancing several important initiatives that require us to work together and with other stakeholders in new ways. Through the ACNM-led Normal Birth Task Force, we’re collaborating to promote normal physiologic birth (see front page). Through the US Midwifery, Education, Regulation, and Association (US MERA) Work Group, we’re in dialogue with other midwifery organizations to develop a shared vision for our profession in the U?????M????I?????????????????!???? ????M??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????=???????????????
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