Cathy Parsa MA, RN

Last December I sent each board member a holiday card and placed a silver metal bookmark with attractive letters that spelled b-e-l-i-e-v-e inside. It caught my attention while waiting to check out at the local bookstore. I knew immediately that this was the simple message I wanted to send as we approached the New Year with so much on our plates. Optimism, my modus operandi up to that point, would take us far, but we all needed to believe deep down that we could make AASCIN work––not like before, but better in every way than it had ever been. At least that had been my intent when I sent it. I regret that I never asked anyone what they thought about it at the time. Did they get it or was the message too subtle?

     Not long after that I started to seriously wonder if perhaps the only people who cared if AASCIN prospered or faded from sight were the ones sitting around the table with me or on the other end of the endless conference calls. This was reality, not pessimism setting in. We had always assumed that moving ahead was the right thing to do and never asked the question: Is it still important for AASCIN to exist? Believing that we could succeed was quite different from believing that we should. Yes, our mission is noble and worthy but perhaps that is not enough. Like so many other nursing associations we face great challenges in recruiting and retaining active members as well as the constant struggle with funding. Therefore, after much thought and discussion I regret to inform you that we have made the decision to close up shop, cease to exist. Thanks for the memories and all your past support. Take care and have a happy life.

     No, no, no—just pulling your leg! But I hope I gave you a good scare. (Perhaps this will be out in time for Halloween!) But in all seriousness, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for professional associations to die. It’s probably not for lack of trying, but rather for not giving members a reason to believe that it’s important for them to exist. Would it really matter to you if AASCIN didn’t exist anymore, and what exactly would you miss most?

     Like most national nursing associations, our members probably represent only a small percentage of SCI nurses and the discussion of why nurses choose to join or not join is an interesting one. Anyone can attend our annual conference, anyone can read our journal, and anyone can buy the core curriculum. In return for your membership dollars you get a little discount, perhaps some freebies. These are some of the more tangible benefits—the ones that most appeal to the members who ask, “What’s in it for me?”

     While exploring the subject I noticed that the idea of professional responsibility is often mentioned—a more altruistic approach. It’s true––when you support AASCIN you assure the creation and distribution of a body of knowledge in a very specialized area that might not exist at all if not for us. Knowing that you have contributed to improving care and outcomes for all persons with spinal cord injury is quite appealing to some and provides a little more incentive to join.

     It wasn’t until our annual conference in August that I was reminded of what was personally most important to me as a member of AASCIN. It turned out to be that very “touchy-feely” idea of being part of a community—the community of SCI nurses and, thanks to the interdisciplinary nature of the conferences, actually extended to the larger community of all SCI professionals. I knew that anyone wearing a conference badge that I met in the elevator or the coffee shop shared a unique commitment and passion with me. I could feel an immediate bond with a perfect stranger and I could easily start a conversation, work-related or not, with any one of them. It works in much the same way when I send an e-mail to any of you, or pick up the phone and call with a question. All I have to say is that I’m a member of AASCIN and the doors are open. Yes, the tangible here might be called “networking,” but it goes beyond that. I think you know what I’m talking about even though it’s a bit difficult to describe. For me there is no better reason to belong.

     Obviously, each of our members has her or his own reasons for belonging to AASCIN and don’t be surprised if the Membership Committee invites you to share some of them in the near future. In the meantime, I promise that if you continue to believe that it is important for us to exist, we will continue to believe that we can make AASCIN a strong and vital association that will be here for you as long as you want us to be.

     My year as president has now come to an end and I wish my successor, Diane Reinhard, the best of luck as she takes the lead. I thank you for all of your support and good wishes throughout the year and look forward to continuing to serve you as treasurer this coming year. By the way, your membership costs just 32 cents a day. Something to keep in mind when those renewal letters show up!

Cathy Parsa, MA, RN, is President of AASCIN and an Educator for the SCI Services at VA Long Beach Health Care System, Long Beach, CA. Cathy welcomes comments and suggestions and can be reached at cathy.parsa@va.gov.

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 12th, 2007 at 10:09 am and is filed under SCI Nursing, SCI Research, President's Message, SCI Rehabilitation, Miscellaneous, Nurse Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.