Outgoing President’s Note

With the end of 2020 comes the close of my presidential term and my six years on the board.  I have enjoyed every minute as a member of this board, first in my role as Recertification Chair and then President-Elect and President.  Each board member, past and present, and volunteer that I have a worked with has been a pleasure.  I have learned as much from you as I hope I have given NBCSN.  During my time on the board, I have seen such change and growth it hardly seems like the same organization!  We transitioned to AH as our management team and to Heuristics as our database provider.  Both of those decisions contributed to the expansive growth in applicants and certified school nurses that NBCSN has seen in the last three years. 

I leave the board in excellent hands with two on-coming board members, Eden Donahue from California and Keisha Major from Maryland, and the presidency in the capable hands of Dr. Brenna Morse from Boston.  Dr. Morse is an exceptional leader, with a quick mind and innovative ideas.   It has been nothing less than a joy working with her this last year as President-Elect.  I also want to say good-bye  and thank you to Dr. Shirley Gordon who will also be leaving the board after two terms.  Dr. Gordon served the board as Exam Chair, as President, and finally as Recertification Chair.  I wish her the best in her post-board life and will continue to stay in touch via our mutual professional interest in lice!

In closing, I want to thank Pat Krin, NBCSN Executive Director and TC Field-Bobroski, AH Account Manager, who through their excellent administrative leadership made my job as president easy, even during a pandemic. I look forward to watching the continued growth of services from NBCSN and the increase of Nationally Certified School Nurses!  With that in mind, I ask each of you to encourage at least one colleague this next year to become an NCSN, and to consider volunteering for NBCSN in some capacity.  We have many volunteer roles which require only a small amount of your time.

Best wishes,

Deborah J. Pontius, MSN, RN, NCSN, FNASN

2020 President, NBCSN