EDITO

RIAL

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Journal© 2014

ACADEMIC NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

PHD, RN,

PATRICIA GONCE MORTON,

ACNP-BC, FAANEditor

A S YOU READ this, you are likely a few weeks intothe academic New Year. I wish you a very happy and

successful New Year! I suspect you already are deeplyimmersed into your classes, meetings, and other myriadof duties. I hope that you will take some time to reflect onthe past few years, drawing from them the positiveaspects that have been your sources of reward, satisfac-tion, and inspiration. How can you build on these to keepyou going for another successful year?

The start of a new academic year is also a time to makeyour New Year resolutions. I hope you will focus theseresolutions on at least three areas: your work, yourrelationships with others, and yourself.

Your WorkHow can you work smarter and not harder? Take sometime to reflect on the processes in which you are engagedand ask yourself where you can eliminate waste. Thewaste may be time, money, or resources. Eliminatingthese wastes can be very exhilarating. For example,examine your processes and procedures in comparisonwith what is required by policy. How many extra stepshas your college of nursing imposed that could betrimmed while remaining in compliance with universitypolicy? I arrived at my university in August 2013 and wasastonished by the process to be promoted from clinicalinstructor to assistant professor in the nontenure track.Some faculty submitted packets that were more extensivethan those applying for tenure, and the review process waslong and arduous, thus consuming an inordinate amount offaculty's time unnecessarily. When you get right down to it,aren't most of these extra steps self-imposed by the college ofnursing? Can we work to let go of them in the New Year?

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of Professional Nursing, Vol 30, No. 5 (September/October), 2014:Published by Elsevier Inc.

What are your unnecessary processes? Are you ready to takethe bold step to get rid of them?

Then, of course, there are those committees where wespend a huge amount of our time. What committeescould we eliminate outright? I have wondered my wholeacademic career why we assemble a group of very smartand energetic people into a meeting and then merely hosethem down with information. Or we spend hours inmeetings debating issues that have no real impact in thebig scheme of life. I remember as a young faculty membersitting in a meeting that seemed endless while wediscussed if the term paper should be at least 12 pagesor at least 16 pages. I recall another meeting where wespent an hour debating if the term paper should be duethe day before spring break (so students can have it doneand enjoy the holiday) or due after spring break (so thatstudents can have spring break to write the paper). Dothese examples sound familiar?

I suggest a New Year resolution in which meetings areeliminated if their purpose is to merely deliver informa-tion. There are more efficient ways to get informationcirculated in an organization than to bring together agroup of very busy people to hear an information dump.Instead, design the “flipped meeting” that builds on theprinciples of the “flipped classroom.” The flippedclassroom means the students have to read and prepareahead of time and come to class ready to discuss. Whycouldn't we use this same approach for our meetings?Distribute all the information ahead of time and onlygather if there is a need to discuss, clarify, or debateissues. Have meetings that use the brains, talents, andexpertise of the group. Debate controversial issues;discuss new trends in higher education and how theyimpact nursing education. Analyze health care reformand its implications for nursing education. Wouldn'tthese types of meetings be more interesting?

pp 367–368 367http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2014.08.001

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In addition to our meetings, we have our academic sacredcows. Declare this year as “Slaughter the Sacred Cow” year!Pick some sacred cows and turn them into hamburger meat.For example, why dowe have to hold class everyweek of thesemester? Could we really have classes without Power Pointslides? Why are we so hung up on term paper writing?Shouldn't we be teaching students how to write forpublication instead? And, please allow the students to usethe reference style of the journal rather than the sacred cowreference style of your college.

Another sacred cow is the DNP final project committeecomposition. Faculty often insist that the DNP projectmust have a committee composed only of faculty fromthe college of nursing. Why not have members from otherorganizations who have the credentials and expertise inthe topic? I challenge you to hunt down the sacred cowsin your organization and celebrate their demise.

Our Relationships With OthersAnother great New Year resolution would be to make sure toacknowledge people who do things for you. From the personwho cleans your office to the coworker collaborating on aproject, there are countless peoplewhooffer you something inways large and small. The staff in any college of nursing is thebackbone of the organization, yet they often feel unrecognizedand unappreciated. Expressing appreciation to these peopleconnects you to others in a very special way. Saying a sincere“thank you” and being very specific about what they do wellcreates a situation of reward and satisfaction.

Another way to build relationships is through funactivities. If I asked you, what fun activities do you have inyour college of nursing, how would you reply? Are youstruggling to think of something? Academics are often veryserious people, but we need to take time to laugh and havefun together. Maybe declare “Wear a crazy hat to work day.”Organize a family picnic so you get to meet the families ofyour coworkers.Hold a child picture contestwhere youhaveto match the picture with the employee. I know of oneschool that keeps a net up in the grassy area near theirbuilding so faculty, staff, and/or students can play volleyballor badminton at lunch time. This same school also hostedmovie night for faculty, staff, and students and their families.The movie was projected on the side of a building outdoors,and people brought lawn chairs and blankets to sit on duringthe movie. What fun activities could your college plan tohelp bring people together?

Important relationships are also built through men-torship. Who have you touched hopefully in a verypositive way? Are you willing to make a commitment thisyear to really take someone under your wing and guideand mentor them? This act of generosity is about givingof yourself so that others may have the best through you.

Shifting your focus outward can be one of the mostrewarding experiences of your career. The more interac-tions you have with the people you work with, the lesslikely you are to indulge and fester in your ownfrustrations and negativity. So what are some of theways you can live outside yourself and your own careertrajectory, and turn your attentions to others?

Another important aspect of relationship building is tohelp a colleague when you recognize signs of burnout inthem. Too often, there are faculty members who becomecynical and negative and bring down everyone aroundthem. Yet, there was a time when these were productiveand positive people who had a constructive influence onthe direction of the college. You often are left to wonderwhat happened to them, but rarely do colleagues takethem aside and point out the classic signs of burnout. Iurge you to reach out to these colleagues in yourinstitution. Otherwise, their toxic fumes spread through-out the organization, and no one benefits from theirpresence. Tell a friend you are seeing signs of burnoutand offer to help in some way. Cover a class for them,offer to be a good listener, help them to see alternatives,or even help them to decide to leave the organization.

Our SelvesAs part of your New Year resolutions, I hope you will taketime to reflect on strategies to take care of yourself. Howare you recharging your own batteries? Are you making aconcerted effort to take care of yourself—because if youdon't, who will? It is only when you are renewed andrefreshed that you can be creative and innovative in yourthoughts and actions. Sometimes you need to get out ofthe weeds, let go of the minutia, and focus on thinkingmore strategically and creatively. Take time and find aplace where you can let your creative juices flow. Whereare you and when are you the most creative in yourthoughts? I bet you did not say “during the work day,sitting at my desk in my office.” To tap your creativetalents may mean getting out in nature for a walk or beingin a special place with loved one. I urge you to find thattime and place and give yourself permission to engage inthe activities that will keep you refreshed.

Another way to care of you is to work at reinventingyourself. What is something new that you need to learn?Practice professional courage by stepping out of yourcomfort zone and take a risk by trying or learning somethingnew. In your personal life, try a new hobby or activity thisyear and enjoy the challenge of the new discovery.

And finally, celebrate your achievements. Don't spend somuch time focusing on your “to-do” list; rather, celebrateyour successes and achievements.Hopefully, theywill be thefoundation of your legacy. Have a wonderful year!