AAACN: A collaborative community

The American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) is a community of ambulatory care nurses bound by their interest and commitment to proving care in settings other than the traditional inpatient setting.

AAACN members come from a wide variety of arenas (ambulatory surgery centers, medical offices, dialysis clinics, infusion centers, call centers, home care, managed care, hospice, case management, and more...much more). They come representing a variety of positions from staff nurse to senior administrator and all points in between. They provide care to patients and those who love them across the life spectrum from pre-birth to a peaceful death.

While all AAACN members may have some unique reasons for joining the association, there are some expectations that are common among most members. They want education to stay in tune with new and emerging trends in the delivery and management of health care. They want to network with their friends and colleagues from across the country to learn more about how others have handled similar problems and issues. There is great comfort in being surrounded by colleagues who understand the world you work in each day. Members also want to learn how to be good leaders and to be mentored by leaders within the organization who can help them grow in their ability to influence others in positive and meaningful ways. And finally, members want information in newsletters and journals and from the AAACN Web site that will allow them to stay in touch and engaged throughout the year.

Joining for a Common Purpose

In good times and bad, people are drawn together to form communities around common interests and beliefs. Community takes many forms and shapes and can be either large or small. Webster defines community as "A unified body of individuals...an interacting population of various kinds of individuals...a group of people with a common characteristic living together within a larger society...a group of persons of common professional interests scattered through a larger academic society...a group linked by a common policy." (Webster's, 1976, p. 228).

The United States is a large community. America's citizens may become voluntary members of smaller communities, as they identify with various political parties. Neighborhoods, churches, schools, athletic teams, clubs all serve to bring individuals together for a common purpose.

Within a professional association, community evolves from a group of people who voluntarily come together to solve common problems, meet common needs, and accomplish common goals (Tecker, 2003). Community often evolves from the desire of individuals to accomplish something together that they could not accomplish alone. Thus, individuals with common goals and beliefs band together to form a collaborative community.

Individuals come together and stay together within their professional community because of their concept of what will accrue to them as a result of being a part of that community. They are united by common expectations of the information that will come to them, the benefits they will receive, the value that will come with membership, and the common self-interests that will lead to further enlightenment of the group as a whole.

The association community is strengthened when the membership perceives that the values and benefits expected from the association are actually being provided. A perception of organizational value instills pride in membership and influences members to engage with the organization and to stay engaged. Community benefit comes from those features offered to members that result in tangible value to them. In a broader sense, it is the ability of the association to clearly identify how the universe its membership serves benefits from what the association does (Tecker, 2003).

Driving Forces: Will and Fortitude

The ability of an organization to thrive in good times and to survive in difficult times is often related to the degree to which the association's volunteer and staff leaders and members understand what their responsibilities are to the organization and to each other.

Tecker Consultants, LLC, report recent research findings that suggest "successful governance of an association has more to do with the willingness of people to do things differently than with their knowing what to do differently" (Tecker, 2003). The success of the organization is believed to be dependent on the degree to which its leadership "possesses the desire, fortitude, expertise, knowledge and commitment to evolve nimble governance structures" that are capable of navigating the association through turbulent times. This concept may be referred to as "the will to govern well" (Tecker, 2003).

We are living in turbulent times. The challenges we face are many and they are not small. Questionable ethics in clinical and business practices; the need to improve our clinical outcomes and in so doing improve the safety of our patients; an economic environment that makes it difficult to find the energy and resources necessary to engage in professional and personal activities; the threat of further terrorist activity; the potential for war...all combine to create a clear awareness that we must look to the future differently if we are to continue the growth and the presence of AAACN.