2010 Board of Directors Nomination Slate

Robin Bissinger, NNP-BC, Ph.D. BSN, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC MSN, Medical University of South Carolina Ph.D., Medical University of South Carolina

Current Position NCC Involvement Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Director, NCC Board of Directors 2004 to current Assistant Professional College of Nursing Member, NNP Content Team, 2004 to current Coordinator of the MUSC NNP Team NCC Task Force: Certification of Neonatal Nurse NNP Program Track Coordinator Practitioners (2002) Medical University of South Carolina Charleston, SC NCC Certification: Neonatal Nurse Practitioner since 1991

Candidate Statement I am honored to have been in the role of NCC director for the past six years and President of the National Certification Corporation (NCC) over the past year. I have been actively involved with NCC for several years both in the role of content expert for the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Exam and also as a member of the NCC board and it prepared me to move into this position. In saying that, I feel this year was a time of growth in the role and with ongoing work I am committed to move NCC, certification and education in a new direction. I believe I have been an active contributor to the work of NCC and have a lot more to offer as on-going director. I would like to share with you my current role and national involvement that I believe makes me a strong candidate for this position. My experience as a Neonatal Nurse and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) allows me to bring expertise and credibility to more than one facet of the NCC role. I maintain an active practice and understand the demands of both neonatal and perinatal nursing and acute care. I oversee a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner team and hold a leadership role in Perinatal services. I have been directing an on-line NNP Program and have spent my first year in a new role as the Director of Graduate Education in the College of Nursing FNP, PNP and ANP doctoral program. This is providing me with a stronger understanding of women’s health. I have also been actively involved nationally for years as the president of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) with over 8,000 members and the founder and past Executive Council chair of the National Association of Neonatal Nurse Practitioners (NANNP). I have also spent 5 years on the Executive board of the American Academy of Pediatrics Perinatal Section. These roles have allowed me to keep up with the national issues impacting Advanced Practice Nurses and bedside nurses. Just recently, I was elected to the American Nurses Association to the Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics. This is a 4 year term and allows me to keep abreast of changes that will impact all of use during the health care reform.

I am dedicated to volunteer work and committed to staying involved at a National Level. I work well with volunteers and believe in this new era of technology. There are wonderful and creative ways to involve experts from around the country in the work that we do. I understand the role of director of NCC is a huge commitment but I believe I can continue to bring a professional voice to this amazing organization. I have a strong working relationship with everyone at NCC and feel my continued role would be an asset. I would like to continue my work with NCC and hope you will vote me for director.

Robin Bissinger, PhD, APRN, NNP-BC

Heather Gocke, RNC, CPHRM BS, Excelsior College, New York State Legal Nurse Consultant and Paralegal, University of California, Riverside AD, Long Beach Community College, Long Beach, CA

Current Position NCC Involvement Director, Risk Management/Quality Assessment Member, ICP Committee, 2006 BETA Healthcare Group ICP Coordinator, 2006 -2009 Alamo, CA NCC Certification Inpatient Obstetric Nursing since 2000 Director, NCC Board of Directors, 2008 to present

Candidate Statement I want express my interest as a nominee for a director position on the National Certification Corporation (NCC) Board of Directors. I currently hold the position of Director of Risk Management/Quality Assessment for the largest writer of professional liability coverage serving more than 100 district and non-profit hospitals and healthcare facilities across the state of California. My role and primary focus is risk reduction and patient safety strategies focused on improving perinatal care across our member insured’s.

I am certified in healthcare risk management and hold the designation of CPHRM. I have been a registered nurse for 19 years and hold an active license in the State of California. In addition, I am certified in inpatient obstetrics through NCC. After completing formal programs in Legal Nurse Consulting and Paralegal studies through the University of California, Riverside, I applied this education and training in the setting of professional liability as I handled birth injury litigation.

The majority of the years I spent in clinical practice as an RNC were in an academic setting in a high-risk obstetrical unit under the direction of perinatologists, Roger Freeman, MD and Michael Nageotte, MD. I am certified in obstetrical ultrasound and spent partial time in a fetal diagnostic testing unit under their direction. I am very familiar with the model and structure in an academic environment. I have a background in accounting having been employed as a controller for a medium sized oil field construction company for six years prior to entering the medical field.

The last seven years have been committed to the clinicians who deliver front line care at the bedside as I seek to understand, and improve upon, the perinatal care delivery model. I created, implemented and have seen success with the various initiatives I have both led and supported. It is through this experience that I have gained knowledge and insight into the challenges we face in healthcare; in particular, in the obstetrical and neonatal settings. Learning from the experiences of over 75 different hospitals (from critical access to large academic centers) with which I have worked closely, presents a great opportunity to introduce forward thinking ideas and develop creative programs to enhance professional development.

I have particular interest in the human factors aspect of error analysis. Through the American Hospital Association Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship (2009), I had the tremendous opportunity to learn from healthcare leaders on a national and international level. Completing this fellowship allowed me to understand the various complexities across organizations and apply the study principles of which were taught. In addition, I have served as executive sponsor of more than 12 teams enrolled in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Perinatal Community and am able to transfer the teachings from this model.

I have sat on the Board of Directors at NCC for the last 3 years and have interest in continuing in this capacity. I am currently, the immediate past president of the Southern California Association for Healthcare Risk Management and sit on the Board of Directors of that organization.

I am honored to be recommended as a nominee and am very interested in the director position on the National Certification Corporation’s Board of Directors as I fully support NCC and the direction of this organization.

Patsy S. Queen, RNC, MSN MSN, University of Texas, Austin, Texas BSN, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC BSEd, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC

Current Position Instructor Department of Nursing Gaston Community College Dallas, NC

NCC Involvement Director, NCC Board of Directors 2008 to present Member, Maternal Newborn Nursing Content Team, 2004 to present Invited Participant, NCC Item Writer Workshop, 2003

NCC Certification Maternal Newborn Nursing since 1996

Candidate Statement During the past three years, I have had the privilege of serving as a member of the Board of Directors of National Certification Corporation (NCC). NCC consistently sets the mark of excellence for nurse certification organizations and provides its constituency a credential of which to be proud. As a maternal- newborn nurse, I have attempted to particularly represent NCC’s base of nurses certified in maternal- newborn, in-patient obstetrics, and low-risk newborn nursing. Serving another term as a director of NCC would allow me to not only follow programs, such as continued competency, that I have seen unfold during the past three years but also to be a part of the new, exciting innovations of NCC.

Mary Ellen Burke Sosa, RNC, MS MS, Boston University, Boston Massachusetts BSN, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI

Current Position Assistant Diabetes Clinician Per Diem Staff Nurse, Labor/Delivery/Recovery Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine Women’s & Infant’s Hospital Providence, Rhode Island

President, Perinatal Resources Consulting Consultation for Critical Care Obstetrics/High Risk Pregnancy Rumford. Rhode Island

NCC Involvement Director, NCC Board of Directors, 2004 to current Member, Obstetric Content Team, 1999-Present Self Assessment Module Reviewer, 2006 Item Writer Workshop Faculty, 2003 Member, High Risk Obstetric Nursing Test Committee, 1992-1996 Member, Critical Care Obstetric Task Force, 1991

NCC Certification Inpatient Obstetric Nursing since 1995

Candidate Statement It has been a wonderful experience serving on the Board of Directors for NCC. I would like to continue my service as a Director on the Board of Directors for NCC. Over the past years that I have served there has been a major shift in how continuing competency can be evaluated, the need for certifying bodies to be at the forefront of these changes (which NCC certainly has been) and the need for continuity in the excellence of the certifying exams. I have been privileged to be a part of these processes and look forward to the opportunity to continue be part of the dynamic role that NCC plays in maintaining a world of excellence for obstetric, gynecologic and neonatal nurses

Catherine L. Witt, RNC, MS Post-Masters in Nursing Education, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO MS, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO BSN, University of Northern Colorado, Greenley, CO

Current Position Neonatal Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse NCC Involvement Specialist Director, NCC Board of Directors, 2008 to the NNP Services of Colorado present Sedalia, CO Member, Maternal Newborn Nursing Test Committee, Affiliate Faculty Member 1994-1997 Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program Member, NCC Nominating Committee, 2004-2005 Regis University Denver, CO NCC Certification Neonatal Nurse Practitioner since 1987 Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Per Diem, NICU Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, Wheat Ridge, CO

Candidate Statement I am submitting this statement as an expression of my desire to serve another term on the NCC board of directors.

As nurses we have the great honor of being part of the life of a family; whether welcoming a new member, saying goodbye to a loved one, or caring for them in sickness and wellness in between. With this honor comes a great responsibility. We are responsible to maintain a skill level and knowledge base that allows us to give the best care we can to those whose lives we intersect. The National Certification Corporation (NCC) has a long history of providing a mechanism to demonstrate excellence in practice and knowledge by nurses caring for women and infants. NCC has been at the forefront of developing ways to demonstrate expertise and knowledge, and continues to be a leader in demonstrating maintenance of knowledge and competency in our specialty areas. It is imperative that we, as nurses, lead the way in demonstrating not only our knowledge base but our continued competency. The public expects nothing less of us and we should expect nothing less of ourselves. I have been fortunate to serve NCC in a variety of roles over the years, as a member of a test committee, the nominations committee, and most recently the board of directors. I believe that NCC will continue to be a leader in the commitment to ensure a high quality of practice from those we certify. This demonstration of excellence is a model for how we ought to practice among our patients and our profession. As we move forward, it will be important to continue to evaluate mechanisms to demonstrate competency in our profession. If we as nurses do not take the lead, others are likely to do it for us. Who better to determine the requirements of safe nursing practice than nurses?

I am proud to be able to serve as a member of the NCC board of directors. I believe NCC will continue to be a leader in nursing issues and a key player in determining excellent nursing practice. In my 25 years as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner I have been involved in nursing education, a member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) board of directors, and past president of NANN. I believe this experience allows me to bring a level of expertise to NCC that is helpful as we continue to maintain demonstration of excellence and look at ways to demonstrate competency to our patients, our employers, and our profession.

Certified Nurse Representative to the Nominating Committee

Joyce E. Converse, RNC, MS MS, University of Wisconsin at Madison BSN, University of Wisconsin at Madison Nurse Clinician Program, University of Wisconsin at Madison Diploma of Nursing, St. Luke’s School of Nursing, Duluth, MN

Current Position Senior Vice President, Soyring Consulting, 2004

NCC Involvement Director, NCC Board of Directors -1999-2007 Secretary-Treasurer, NCC, 2004-2007 Member, Self Assessment Committee Member, Nominating Committee Certified Nurse Representative to the Nominating Committee 2009-2010

NCC Certification Inpatient Obstetric Nursing since 1987

Candidate Statement I am interested in continuing my participation with the leadership of NCC as a candidate for the Certified Nurse Representative to the Nominating Committee. Having served as a Director of the NCC Board of Directors for nine years, Secretary-Treasurer for three years, and service on the Nominating Committee in the past, I understand the importance of ensuring quality candidates for the certified nurse membership to chose from for their representation on the NCC Board of Directors. I would consider it a privilege to be the Certified Nurse Representative for this very important function.