Board Briefs

ONS Board of Directors Works to Develop 2009–2012 Strategic Plan

Amy Strauss Tranin, ARNP, MS, AOCN^®, Secretary, ONS Board of Directors

In January, the ONS Board of Directors met in San Antonio, TX, for a full weekend of meetings. That Thursday evening, the ONS Board had dinner with the San Antonio Chapter’s Board of Directors. The San Antonio Chapter board happened to be meeting the same night the ONS Board was arriving, so the two boards took the opportunity to meet together. Both boards shared work and board experiences as well as some good food and laughs.

The ONS Board also had a face-to-face weekend meeting at the ONS National Office in March and conference calls in February and April. Highlights from all four of the meetings follow.

• Before the full Board met at the January meeting, a strategic plan task force met for a day to begin the process of a new three-year strategic plan. The entire format for the plan was revised and improved. The Board has been working on the 2009–2012 strategic plan at each of its meetings since January, and the plan is nearing approval.
• ONS has many strategic relationships with other professional and advocacy organizations in the form of ONS-appointed liaisons, attendance at meetings, or representation on committees. The annual review of liaison relationships was completed at the March Board meeting.
• Specific SIG and chapter charters were renewed, new focus groups were approved, and new chapters were chartered.
• The Publishing Award Task Force recommendations were approved.
• ONS Board policies and governance policies were reviewed and revised.
• The recommendations from the ONS awards subgroup on the standardization of ONS awards were approved.
• The 2008 ONS health policy agenda was reviewed, revised, and approved.
• Strategic thinking and planning with staff regarding business development took place at the January and March Board meetings.
• The Board wrote and adopted the “Psychosocial Services for Patients With Cancer” position, which is available at www.ons.org/publications/positions/Psychosocial.shtml.
• The Board reviewed and made recommendations regarding the annual diversity report.
• The Decision to Volunteer Survey, in which ONS members participated, was reviewed.
• The Board reviewed and made plans for further review of ONS investment policies and investments.
• A proposal for an ONS staff job analysis was reviewed and approved.
• The ONS audit was reviewed.
• The advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) consensus paper was summarized and reviewed.