Letter from Sally Watkins

Dear WSNA members,

As most of you know, I announced my decision to retire last October. Since that time, the Board of Directors convened a search committee to engage in a national search for WSNA’s next executive director. I am thrilled to see David Keepnews join the WSNA team, and I am excited to be starting a new chapter in my life!

My journey at WSNA began when I was director of nursing practice, education and research. During those years, I organized numerous statewide education events on topics such as safe staffing, just culture, compassion fatigue and many others. I deeply enjoyed meeting and engaging with our members during those sessions. I was also able to produce many position papers, palm cards and other materials as resources for nurses practicing in various settings. After almost seven years in that role, I returned to acute care working at CHI Franciscan for approximately three years. Jokingly, I have called those years my “refresher course,” as I gained renewed exposure to the realities of nursing practice. I then decided to apply for the WSNA executive director position upon Judy Huntington’s retirement because I wanted to return to an association that works hard to advance the profession of nursing on many fronts.

These past four years in this role have never been dull, and I have definitely never been bored! As we continued to engage with members and address the various issues and needs in the workplace, who would have guessed a pandemic would occur and shed such light on our profession?! It has been an honor to serve as the executive director during this time. It has provided us all with the opportunity to reflect, recover and redefine our futures. Many issues surfaced, culminating in my active engagement at the state level to try to anticipate and address the workplace safety needs of nurses and all other health care workers. Our voices were heard, yet there remains much work to be done. Safe staffing remains the number one priority.

I have been honored to serve during this time in our history, and I am sure our paths will cross again in the future. But now, for me, I am eager to spend more time with family and friends, my dog and my garden. The nursing profession has been a great career choice — and if given the opportunity to do it all over again, I would definitely pick nursing as my educational and professional focus. I sincerely wish all of you the very best and know your life journeys will continue to evolve as you make the difference in the lives of many.