By: Maria Danet Lapiz Bluhm, PhD, RN, MSCI
Greetings to all members of the Philippine Nurses Association of San Antonio (PNASA) and the community!
It is with great honor that I accept the position of President of this highly esteemed non-profit professional organization that has been in active existence for more than 25 years. I would like to thank all PNASA members who voted for me. Most importantly, I would like to thank my hubby, Dr. James Michael Bluhm, who supported the decision to run for this office. Both of us know that with the honor comes great responsibility.
For the past years, PNASA has continually shown its commitment to its members, the nursing profession, and the community of San Antonio. I would like to thank the immediate past President, Dr. Nelson Tuazon, and all past Presidents for having kept the tradition of service and community involvement of PNASA through continuing education offerings to nurses, education scholarships for nursing students, health screenings, participation in various non-profit organizations’ activities such as 5K walks for the Lymphoma Society and the American DiabetesAssociation, and being on the Board of key community organizations including the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, to name a few. The goal of my tenure is to sustain these initiatives and to ensure better participation and engagement of PNASA members.
I believe that the core to the success of any organization is its membership. The same message is echoed at the national level by our newly minted Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) President, Mr. Dino Doliente. At his inaugural speech in Washington, D.C., Mr. Doliente introduced the mantra of his administration: “iPNAA. Innovate. Inspire”. The 3 simple words of Dino’s mantra carry such weight and significance that it should be echoed in our local chapter: “iPNASA. We are PNASA. Innovate. Inspire”. To this end, we will endeavor to increase and engage the membership by improving communication through various innovative channels using the social media, our website and other relevant apps. A monthly online newsletter will be provided to keep members abreast with the latest PNASA and PNAA news and activities. We aim to collaborate more with nursing administrations of different healthcare systems and elect PNASA ambassadors for each system who can be the point of contact to reach out to current and potential PNASA members so that we can be more attune to the needs of our constituents.
We hope to inspire future and new nurses through a mentorship program that would pair them with experienced nurses. This mentorship would help ease the path of the mentees as they transition to their professional roles and the nursing career ladder. As PNASA has done in the past, we will continue providing high quality continuing nursing education courses as well as scholarship to nursing students. We welcome students and new nurses as members of PNASA standing committees. As we inspire and nurture nurses, we also help ensure the future of nursing and that of our organization.
As we continue our service to our membership and the local community, we will endeavor to extend our engagement at the national level and even internationally. All members are encouraged to attend regional and national conferences (see www.mypnna.org). The next national convention is a weeklong cruise on board Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas on July 23-30, 2017, visiting the Caribbean Islands of St. Maarten, St. Kitts and Labadee. Let’s aim for a big PNASA representation at this convention! PNAA Foundation will also be hosting its 4th Collaborative Conference in Albay, Philippines on January 19-20, 2017 followed by a medical mission in Vigan on January 23-27, 2017 (see www.mypnaafoundation.org). This would be a wonderful opportunity to visit relatives in the Philippines, and give back to our country while undertaking a tax-deductible professional activity. There is also opportunity to participate in the Balik Turo Program, where American nurses can share their knowledge and expertise to nursing students and nurses in the Philippines. As we look forward to the year ahead, I would like to remind everyone that PNASA is not my organization, neither is it the Executive Board’s. PNASA is OUR organization. We are PNASA! I pray that with God’s blessing and the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we can all work together for the greater good of PNASA and the community. As the great American slogan goes, “United we stand, divided we fall”. Mark 3:25 warns that “And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand". Let us not be a divided house. Let us all work together!
iPNASA means PNASA is YOU! PNASA is US! I look forward to working with you all! I welcome all ideas to make our organization better. Please feel free to e-mail me at pnasa_ceu@yahoo.com , send a comment through our website: www.mypnasatx.org and befriend us in Facebook (Pres PnaSa). Please make sure we have your correct e-mail address. If you have not heard from us since July, we probably have a wrong e-mail address as we have had activity invites sent out to the membership including our upcoming continuing education offering on “Human Trafficking: Scope and Implications” with buffet lunch on August 28, 2016, 9am- 1pm. The PNASA general assembly meeting follows the program. To RSVP, use this link: http://pnasa-august-2016-cne-lunch-meeting.eventbrite.com). We hope to see you there and all our other future events. Stay tuned!
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