THE ULTIMATE COLLABORATION
The founders of AANP never doubted that forming the organization was the right thing to do, which probably confirms that they were the best people to do the job. Instead of expending energy on doubts or infighting, they figured out what needed to be done and moved forward.
Kain still has a “vivid mental picture” of the early days in Kansas City and Washington, DC, when there was no organization and therefore no budget, so meetings were held in someone’s hotel room. “There would be people sitting on the bed, on the floor, standing up; we’re all crammed into the room,” she remembers with a laugh. “And people are talking, and we’re polite to one another, we’re respectful of one another. We’re passionate. We’re talking about the difficulties and why we need this. And if you could put that into a bottle, you could start a new organization right now!”
That spirit of collaboration is still a viable part of the organization, one that Onieal is proud of. “If anybody ever had an interest in doing something or being something within the organization, the doors were open,” she says. “Early on, a couple of students said, ‘But we have needs, too,’ so we said, ‘Fine, we’ll start a student special interest group. No problem.’” The point, after all, had always been to learn from one another.
If there is one lesson the AANP founders hope to pass along to future generations, it’s that great change can be brought about by a small group of (seemingly) ordinary people with extraordinary determination. They don’t want statues erected in their honor, but they do want others to be inspired to take an active role in the continuous evolution of the NP profession—especially since, as Towers observes, “There is still work to be done.”
“We need to get all the state practice acts on a level playing field,” she notes, “which we’re well on the way to doing now with our consensus document and the model rules and regulations. We need to have recognition within all the payment systems, and remove barriers within existing laws that prevent NPs from practicing to their fullest capability.”
The significant changes that have been brought about in the past 25 years can be difficult to fathom for those who did not witness them. In 2010, the NP profession is well established. (The same is true for PAs.) Students deciding their future choose these professions in part because of all they will be able to do and accomplish within their roles.
What they don’t always recognize is that it took hard work and continued vigilance on the part of those who have preceded them to achieve the privileges that today’s clinicians—and perhaps tomorrow’s—run the risk of taking for granted.
“We’re not done, and I don’t want anyone to think they can rest on the laurels of what has gone before or think that without their involvement it will continue,” says Kain. “It won’t. We need them. We need new blood, new thoughts, new ideas, to face the new challenges.”
When she reflects on how a group of near-strangers got together and made a mark on the history of their profession, she concludes, simply, “Others can do the same thing. They just have to want to, and see the need.”
Reprinted from Clinician Reviews. 2010;20(6):cover, 5-8.