Inaugural Address
I am Wes Foster, and it is truly an honor to be your new president for MSNCB. I would like to share a bit about my journey with MSNCB and how much the organization means to me.
I joined AMSN back in 1999 and I was impressed with how AMSN represented medical-surgical nursing. In 2006, I took a huge step in my career and sought professional nursing certification.
Within six weeks, I took and successfully passed my CMSRN and OCN (Oncology Certified Nurse) examinations. I am so glad that I did this!
My driver was personal satisfaction and being able to show my commitment to the profession. I have maintained these certifications since then.
In 2007, a “Call for Volunteers” was sent out to members of AMSN and nurses certified through MSNCB for the Item Writers Committee for MSNCB. I thought that it would be interesting to see how the exam was created for the certification and I submitted my application.
To my surprise and delight, I was accepted for one of the open positions. My life would never be the same.
I met so many wonderful colleagues, all with the passion for certification and demonstrating excellence in the profession. I learned how to write items that reflect current nursing practice and all the nuances and facets of writing good items and revising items that needed work.
I also got to learn new information from my colleagues around the country and to share in the joys of medical-surgical nursing.
I moved from the Item Writers to the Test Development Committee. This committee really looks at the statistics from the examinations and dives deeper into analyses of each item on the certification exam.
I promise, it is not as dry as it sounds! It was another great learning experience. I learned a lot about how to interpret the information, make changes to an item to strengthen it, and again work with amazing colleagues from around the country.
It was during this time that, through succession planning, I became the chair for the Item Writers and Test Developer Committees. This was another great opportunity for growth and development.
Helping to coordinate meetings, interviewing applicants for positions on the Item Writers Committee, recommending people for the Test Developers Committee, and writing reports for the MSNCB directors were some of my new responsibilities. It was truly an honor to be in that role.
When my term as chair ended, I was asked to come back a month later to become the chair for a new certification being created for nurses working in care coordination and transition management.
This was a whirlwind of activity. In a year, not only did we put together the needed committees, but we also created and launched the Certified in Care Coordination and Transition Management credential.
It was after that year that I applied for and was accepted into the position as director with MSNCB. This was another momentous occasion for me, both personally and professionally.
Seeing how the Board functions, makes the decisions that supports certified nurses, and how the board is committed to excellence in medical-surgical nursing has been a humbling and phenomenal experience.
I served as the secretary for the board for two (or was it three?) years and now serve as the president – your president. I am so excited for this opportunity, and I want to do my best to serve your needs.
We exist to promote and support the excellent work that you do by offering the credential that exemplifies your professional compassion, connection, and connection every day.
I am excited to see the direction that MSNCB is taking. Look for information in 2022 that will be addressing continuing competence and microcredentialing. Expect to see calls for volunteers for our committees and do consider applying for these positions.
Let us know what we can do to support you in your certification endeavors. I look forward to this role. I wish you all the best for 2022 and beyond.
Wes
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