1. Chapter Mentorship Program
Lori Webb, M.S. Psy., BSN, RN-BC, SCRN

2. I do not have any relevant relationships with a commercial interest organization.

3. Objectives Discuss what the Chapter Mentorship Program is
Identify the benefits of participating in the program
Identify if your chapter should participate in the program
Review a real-lifeexample of how the Chapter Mentorship Program helped the Peachtree-Atlanta Chapter

4. What is the Chapter Mentorship Program?
The Chapter Mentorship Program was developed to pair together chapters to mentor each other
Chapters that have identified as being a mentor will be paired with a chapter requesting mentorship
The pairs are made based off the answers to a short survey whereby the chapter identified where they are strong and where they could use some guidance

5. What topics are covered in the program?
These categories include the following topics:
Member Recruitment
Member Retention
Succession Planning
Meeting Topics
Social Media
Fundraising
Finding Speakers
Other topics as needed and decided by the participating chapters

6. Should my chapter be mentored?
Do you want to connect with other chapters for networking and brainstorming of ideas?
Do you think your chapter needs assistance with chapter development and leadership guidance?
Are you looking for new ideas and connections?

7. Then this program is for you!!!

8. How will being mentored benefit my chapter?
Help with chapter leadership development through networking and collaborating with an experienced chapter and their board
Assistance with program development—especially helpful for new board members, new chapters, and those rebuilding their chapters
Assistance with budgeting and chapter programming

9. How will being mentored benefit my chapter?
Learn how to contact speakers, reach-out to individuals whom you would like to speak at your meeting, and approach vendors to sponsor meetings
Give your chapter a new perspective on current ideas and inspire you to try new ideas
Assistance with membership recruitment, membership development, membership retention and overall chapter functionality

10. How will being mentored benefit my chapter?
Remember……. Your colleagues have done this before and would love to help you be successful in your endeavors!!!

11. Should my chapter provide mentorship to another chapter?
Would you like to network with fellow colleagues and provide assistance to a chapter in need?
Would you like to contribute meaningful ideas that benefit neuroscience nursing?
Do you want to inspire and support your colleagues? Each person provides a unique perspective…from the seasoned members to the newest members!

12. What are the benefits of mentoring a chapter?
A sense of accomplishment and pride in assisting your colleagues in the bettering of their chapter and themselves
You will gather new ideas for your chapter that will help your chapter evolve and continue to grow!
Both chapters form a bond with each other—this leads to support in professional development and leadership

14. What is the time commitment?
You decide!
Time commitment may be greater in the beginning and depend on the chapter’s needs
Make the meetings efficient to cut down on time—set them up for a date and time, make an agenda, take notes to refer to later

15. Who benefits from mentorship?
Everyone!
Each chapter provides mentoring to the other…you both have something to learn from each other!
Individuals in the chapter benefit through networking, brainstorming, and the sharing of ideas

16. “You reach a milestone in your career when you get involved in mentoring not for a promotion or to impress someone, but you’re doing it because you want to help someone else, as I was helped to grow in my younger years as a nurse. I believe our chapter has been successful in many ways that are evident in the awards received and the leadership positions held by MOKan Blues chapter at the national [level of] AANN. Our chapter members have learned respect for each other and put away the rivalry of different hospitals. Our chapter willingly mentors each other and desires to see other chapters have a feeling of success within their chapter.  Mentoring provides information to the mentee but will make the [mentoring] chapter grow professionally. Mentoring signifies a level of maturity, because you can also learn from your mentee, knowing that your way may not be the only way. You learn from the different age groups. Mentoring is a big responsibility, it takes time and empathy.”
Debbie Summers MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CNRN, SCRN

17. MoKan Blues and Peachtree Atlanta Chapters….A real life example!

18. How the mentoring program helped my chapter
Our Challenges…..
In need of programming
Needed help with membership recruitment, development, and retention
Many ideas, but not sure how to implement them
Refreshing the chapter
Unsure of where to start
Board members were new chapter members
Unsure of how to contact speakers and vendors

19. What we did…
Asked for mentoring!—Reach out to the AANN office with questions and challenges!
President to President meeting—I suggest this as the first meeting
Discussed the issues we were facing
Introduce our board members and discuss chapter layout
Talked about the goals we wanted to accomplish—set an agenda!
Joint board meeting—I suggest this as the second meeting
Introduce all of the board members and put each position in contact with their mentor in the same position in the other chapter

20. How this program helped our chapter
Better board meetings
Increased focus and goal setting
Increased participation among current board members
Increased interest in serving on the board
Better programming and planning
Learned how to prepare calendar of events
Increased communication with vendors—improved quality of educational offerings
Increased our communication with our chapter members about general business and events
Noticeable increase in participation at chapter meetings

21. How this program helped our chapter
Our chapter felt supported
Often times it can feel like you are the only one that is stuck on an idea, or maybe the only chapter having trouble fundraising…being part of the mentoring program gave us someone to reach out to when these challenges were presented
Over time our mentoring chapter became aware of our needs and challenges and were able to offer us unique advice and help with troubleshooting ideas and strategies
It made us a stronger, more effective chapter

23. How this program helped our chapter
MoKan Blues and Peachtree co-sponsored an activity challenge in the spirit of the ANA Healthy Nurse Initiative
The challenge was set-up virtually through a Facebook page and participants tracked their daily miles throughout an 8- day period
All proceeds ($294!!) went to the Agnes Marshall Walker Foundation

24. How this program helped our chapter
Overall, improved functionality of the chapter and renewed our “AANN SPARK!”

25. Lori Webb Chapter President Peachtree-Atlanta Chapter AANN