Rebekah “Becky” Compton, DNP, RN, FNP-BC
President, VCNP Board of Directors
vcnppresident@gmail.com
Updated February 1, 2021
Happy New Year!
We are excited about our upcoming 2021 virtual VCNP Annual Conference! Registration is open, so please reserve your spot to attend. Take advantage of the Board’s decision to greatly reduce registration rates and learn from 40 speakers on nearly 30 topics. I want to thank our conference committee led by Helen Willis, ACNP, for its work. Also, thank you to our nurse planners, led by Debbie Dellinger, MS, RN, ACNP-BC, who are working with speakers so we can obtain CLE by attending sessions on very applicable topics, including COVID updates, provider well-being, and racial diversity. You won’t want to miss this conference!
Since March, we have continued sending regular emails to our membership to provide various COVID-related resources and other pertinent updates, including legislative information. I hope you have found these helpful. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or our PR team with any additional suggestions as we want to ensure that our membership is made aware of relevant issues as soon as possible. Let us be your go-to professional resource!
If you haven’t been to the website in a while, please be sure to check out the updated content! We have added member resources and re-organized the menu options to enable you to find the items you are looking for more easily and ensure that pertinent professional, advocacy, and educational resources are available to our members. Thank you to all who provided feedback on the update.
This past fall several of our regions hosted legislative receptions in partnership with VNA and had great attendance and participation. Thank you to all of our regions who engaged in these efforts and to our members who attended. Our legislators are able to learn more about our role and our needs through events like these. We request your continued engagement in order to ask our legislators for their support of HB 1737! The General Assembly Session is underway, so please be sure to reach out to your representatives to ensure they will support HB 1737. In early January, VCNP hosted two virtual town hall meetings to review the specifics of the bill. Both of these meetings were well attended, and we were able to answer many questions. We have provided ways to connect with your legislators via member email, social media posts and on the website. Please continue watching for ways to connect with your legislators.
Our NP week celebrations occurred in various ways across the state. Regions recognized outstanding members, obtained resolutions, engaged their communities during local walks and connected using virtual meetings. Thanks to everyone who helped plan and support these important celebrations!
We ended 2020 by hosting a Racial Equity webinar on December 7, which was provided by Dr. Kristina Johnson. I heard from many members about how informative and helpful this webinar was as we are all learning more about race and equity together.
As mentioned before, we were excited to host two virtual town hall meetings on January 6. Thank you to all of you who attended and to Kim Bednar, DNP, FNP, our Government Relations Committee Chair, for putting together these programs! We noticed quite a bit of activity afterwards as registrants reached out to legislators and requested their support of our bill . Thank you so much! Let’s keep this going! If you have not had a chance reach out yet or you have a family member, friend or patient who would be willing to reach out to their legislators on our behalf, please use the following links to do so: (Insert links).
I would also like to thank the various regions that despite the need to social distance, have continued to provide educational opportunities and engagement forums to their regional members and even to members across the state! We need these opportunities to connect, and many have worked tirelessly to make this happen. Thank you to our regional leaders in Northern Virginia, Lynchburg, Peninsula, Piedmont, Richmond, and Tidewater for their hard work in their regions and statewide!
Thank you to our VCNP Nominations & Awards Committee, led by Kristen Johnson, MSN, RN, AG-ACNP-BC, for their work that allows us to reflect during a time when we have had a very difficult year. The Nominations & Awards Committee sent information for the annual VCNP awards, which recognize NPs who have done outstanding work for our profession.? While we won’t be able to meet in person in March, we will still be presenting various awards. Let’s look forward to our virtual time together when we can join and celebrate NPs for their achievements.
I want to thank Chris Daley, MN, ANP for filling the role of PAC chair after Carola Brufflat, MSN, WHNP-BC/FNP-BC, stepped down last March. I appreciate her willingness to serve in this way and now welcome Tricia Cox, ANP, into the role of PAC chair. Tricia has been actively engaged in several regional and state positions over the past decade. She is the immediate past president of the VCNP Blue Ridge Region after her term as president from 2018-2020 and previously served as the regional conference committee, membership, and government relations representative. Thank you, Tricia!
I would also like to thank April Durning, DNP, FNP, for serving as Chair of our state Public Relations Committee. April took the position of Public Relations Chair in March and came to this position with great energy and a beautiful smile. She helped lead the six Casual Conversations with Colleagues chats, which were greatly appreciated during the early COVID months. I would like to welcome Sara Hollowell, DNP, RN, CPNP, CNL, as our new Public Relations Committee Chair. Sara has served on the Piedmont Region Board in various capacities, including Public Relations, Nominations & Awards, and regional Secretary and brings a wealth of experience to her new role. I look forward to working with Sara in this capacity.
I also want to thank Kathryn Reid, PhD, RN, FNP-C, for her leadership of the Membership Committee as we went through a membership renewal in the early fall. Our membership remains strong! We are thankful for Kathryn’s leadership as she works with membership committee members to engage with their regions and their local Schools of Nursing and find new ways to provide benefits to our retired members. Thank you, Kathryn, for your work at the helm of one of our association pillars!
This is a long welcome to 2021 after a very busy but obviously productive 2020. We have done a lot, and there is still more to do! Please remain engaged with us by watching out for member emails, checking our website regularly for updates, and following us on our various social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter! Please let me know how we can be your professional resource. I look forward to working with you all in 2021!
Rebekah “Becky” Compton, DNP, RN, FNP-BC
President, VCNP Board of Directors
vcnppresident@gmail.com
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.””
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.