I Am TNA
by Leonard C. Lindsay, MSN, MPH, RN
It is difficult to put into words how this Association has assisted me in my professional development. But, this is the purpose of I Am TNA, so I will try. I look at my career and my involvement in TNA as inseparable. From a staff nurse in ICU to professor of nursing, I have always depended on TNA for my professional growth. I have gotten more out of TNA than I put into the Association. So, the modest monetary investment that I have made has paid back in many ways since I joined in 1977. The following are mostly true (I had to make them interesting) examples of how TNA has meant so much to me during my career.
As a new graduate, I moved from Memphis to Knoxville to practice on my first assignment. I had no professional contacts other than the nurses who worked with me on the unit at UT Hospital. When I asked those nurses about TNA, they cautioned me not to get too involved since the Tennessee Nurses Association was seen as a union.
That intrigued me. Being a child of the 60s, I was more than ready to fight authority. But, it seemed no one on the unit knew anyone in the Association and did not know how to get in touch with any members. I found a number in the phone directory that was listed as “Tennessee Nurses Association, District II.” I think it was a member’s home phone. Her name was Imogene. I have forgotten her last name. Nevertheless, I did find out about the monthly meeting at the Regional Health Office which was just behind UT Hospital.
Walking into my first district meeting in my whites, I must have been something of an oddity. Being male and young, I was the center of attention. I don’t remember the program at the meeting, but I felt that I had found a collegial group who welcomed me and were determined to get me involved. I was flattered and I did get involved.
After four years into my practice and four jobs later, I was somewhat discouraged. I had just taken a job with a voluntary agency in Knoxville. I tried my best, but I wasn’t appreciated. They fired me. I was happy to leave but my male ego was trammeled. My TNA colleagues understood why I got fired and made me feel somewhat empowered. I will never forget what Mary Emily Trotter said to me. “Leonard (I was still Leonard then instead of Leo), I don’t think anyone is worth a grain of salt unless they get fired from a job.” What she was saying was most nurses won’t stand up to authority and risk being fired. Well, I did and sure enough, I was fired.
The firing, however, brought me good fortune. My good friends and TNA members Betsy Overton and Mary Boynton, who I had met at TNA District meetings, heard about my ill fortune and recommended me to Dean Sylvia Hart at UT Knoxville. The Dean must have been an understanding woman, because I was the only person to ask her a pointed question at a recent TNA convention. I took issue with her on a recommendation that the committee on education was making. I doubt she remembered it, but I sure did. I know that TNA played a major role in landing this faculty position.
Many of you remember my serving as emcee at the Awards Luncheon during the TNA Convention in Chattanooga. Louise Browning, former Executive Director of TNA, said she would go to the grave with the image of me entertaining the audience with jokes. TNA Convention has been pivotal in creating new opportunities. I don’t know of any other association where one can form so many strategic alliances around the state.
Following one TNA convention, I remember applying for a position at Vanderbilt University. During the interview Dean Colleen Conway-Welch remarked that she had heard me speak at TNA Convention and would be thrilled if I would consider a faculty appointment. Yep, I accepted that one. At another convention, Dr. Mickey Badgett, then director of the School of Nursing at Austin Peay State University, asked me if I would be interested in the community health faculty position.
Are you beginning to see the trend? It is through my association with TNA that I have been at the right place and the right time to be offered most of my professional positions. It is said, that men understand networking and the phrase “it is who you know and not what you know” that gets you ahead. Well, that is definitely true of me. I don’t know much, but I sure know a lot of nurses in decision-making roles.
Recently, I returned from the TNA Convention in Franklin. I enjoyed the speeches and seeing friends from around the state. We are getting older. That young, thin, dark haired staff nurse is now older, less lean and silver headed. In fact, when I looked around the room, there were a lot of gray heads. It befuddles me why younger staff nurses are not following the same path that I did over 30 years ago. The Tennessee Nurses Association rewards and gives much more than it asks of its members. Thank you TNA.
Only through the strong recommendation of a new and refreshing acquaintance at the University of Tennessee at Martin in West Tennessee did I embark on what would be a versatile and rewarding profession–Nursing. The year was 1972. I had always enjoyed the sciences during high school, yet simply had never entertained the idea of a healthcare career.
My inspiration to become an architect changed when my college colleague became a true mentor as I watched her caring for people, not only those in institutionalized settings, but persons that she encountered in everyday life. The realization that perhaps I could have a similar impact in the lives of people was an exciting revelation. Much unlike today, there was considerably less competition to achieve a first-pass admission to nursing school, and the next day I was in the nursing classroom learning anatomy and physiology. I was making a rewarding investment that would lead me to unconditionally enjoy what I do everyday. One of the most important things that nursing has taught me is that no matter what you do in life, you can apply nursing knowledge, skills, and societal interactions.
What I have learned is that when you encounter a zone of “discomfort” you can do your best work when you are challenged to do what seems to be impossible. As a nursing superior once said, “when you get comfortable in your job, you should be looking for another one.” That was over 25 years ago, and I shall never forget. That comment made a significant impact on me and the choices that I would make subsequently. My goal was to thwart mediocrity and maximize the resources within my control. After serving as critical care educator and nursing director for critical care/specialty services, I returned to school to obtain a master’s degree in nursing with a concentration in health systems’ management. This process was fulfilling, as I was able to network with professionals of similar backgrounds from across our state and beyond. Since that time, I have served as medical/surgical director at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville and most recently focused on growth of the neuroscience service line.
With the reality of budget cuts looming in our state, schools of nursing will not be exempt unless we raise community awareness and actively intervene. We must position ourselves to become more active in public discussion to prevent further hindrances to the attraction and education of high-quality nursing students. We cannot afford a decrease in the number of nurses. We have already been faced with the reality of a deficit in qualified faculty and sound decisions must be made to accommodate the needs of our demanding healthcare future. I have been a member of the Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA) since 1990 and am kept abreast of nursing trends and tribulations in our state and country through the various publications and venues offered through the outstanding efforts of this organization. There is an abundance of opportunities made available through membership in TNA including and not limited to, nursing partnerships, collaboratives toward common goals, legislative news and contacts, career center resources, volunteer activities, and new knowledge and innovations to assure that we are practicing in congruence with patient safety initiatives. Just surf www.tnaonline.org and you will see the breath of possibilities including timely issues in nursing practice that can impact your ability to have an informed voice in support of our profession. Nursing in Tennessee has considerable diversity from the Mississippi River west to the Appalachian Mountains east, with each area possessing unique strengths and opportunities toward provisions for high-quality, efficient, and effective healthcare deliveries for each individual population.
I am privileged to have a supportive family, including parents who continue to live in my West Tennessee birthplace town of Dyersburg who operate a family shoe store and working farm. My favorite extracurricular activities include fishing and bicycling. My sister and I enjoyed “catching the limit on redfish” during a recent Florida vacation. My husband and I monitor the evolution of growing vegetables and he is always providing interesting recipes for me to experiment on him. Yes, I am TNA.