Volunteering with a national nursing organization can be rewarding, both personally and professionally. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) relies on over 1,000 volunteers and 12,000 hours annually to help accomplish the organization's mission: "AACN drives excellence in acute and critical care for nurses, patients and families." Are you interested in learning about AACN's diverse opportunities to volunteer? This blog describes how to complete your volunteer profile page and select your areas of interest, explains the selection process and outlines tips to make your application competitive.
Benefits of Volunteering
Participating in volunteer activities helps make us feel more connected, increases social interaction and can lead to lower rates of depression and anxiety. Volunteers have an increased sense of meaning and appreciation, experience professional growth and development, learn new skills and expand clinical knowledge, and improve resilience. Volunteers collaborate with others across the country, leading to new or strengthening existing relationships. Through collaboration, volunteers become more aware of AACN initiatives. More recently, studies have suggested the physical health benefits to volunteering, including lower blood pressure, better physical health, reduced stress and longer life span.
Organizations that encourage volunteering see improved employee satisfaction and engagement, improved morale and perception of the work environment, enriched professional development opportunities, higher employee retention and more effective recruitment. Organizations also receive recognition and increased brand reputation when they support employees' volunteer efforts. Through collaboration, employees are able to share best practices and new research with their organization, resulting in improved patient care and healthier work environments. Happy employees feel more empowered, are able to direct their own professional development, and as a result are more productive.
Types of Opportunities
A wide variety of opportunities exist at AACN! Below, you'll see a list of volunteer activities available to our community. Please note that travel may be required. Be sure to consider this factor when applying and pay particular attention to the specific dates. AACN covers the cost of travel for activities that require travel. Click on the links to learn more about each opportunity and the requirements.
- AACN Ambassador - Join over 1,200 AACN ambassadors who work to promote AACN initiatives and share ideas. AACN's goal is to have an ambassador at every hospital facility.
- Chapter Engagement- AACN chapters offer local opportunities to advance AACN's initiatives, provide education, offer networking opportunities, share evidence-based practices and hold community events. Chapter leadership roles such as president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and chapter advisor are vital volunteer roles to connect the local chapter to AACN.
- Review Panel - Participate in a review panel that reviews, evaluates and takes part in the selection process of AACN awards, grants and scholarship recipients. You can also critique articles and develop questions for continuing education (CE) hours.
- Review panel work is completed in a virtual format and does not require travel.
- Task Force - Task forces deal with pertinent issues that often need immediate responses, and the work typically has a distinct beginning, middle and end.
- Task force participation usually requires travel to meet in person one to two times per year.
- Certification Group - AACN Certification Corporation offers subject matter expert positions for Practice Analysis, Item Writing, Item Review, Exam Review and Score Evaluation, and volunteer positions for Appeal Review.
- Depending on the group, participation may be virtual or require in-person meetings.
- Publishing Group - AACN's journals, American Journal of Critical Care and Critical Care Nurse, have volunteers review manuscripts prior to publishing and occasionally need contributing editors.
- This role is completed in a virtual format and does not require travel.
- Program Planning Committees - Theprogram planning committees perform needs assessments and plan the educational offerings for both NTI and API conferences. Note that the API conference occurs during NTI each year.
- This opportunity requires travel to meet face-to-face one to two times a year and requires both virtual meetings and asynchronous work.
- Think Tank - A Think Tank is an ad hoc group of clinical leaders who identify national and global trends and issues, and strategize innovative ideas to help the profession address the challenges that bedside nurses face.
- Requires travel one to two times a year and requires one to two virtual meetings.
- Governance Leadership Positions - Choose one of the available opportunities to learn more and review the requirements.
- Nominating Committee - The nominating committee represents the members at large to select the future leaders of the organization, including members of the nominating committee and the AACN board of directors.
- Board of Directors - Members of the AACN board of directors and AACN Certification Corporation board of directors represent the members at large to work with AACN's national staff and chief executive officer to ensure the organizational mission, vision and strategies are fulfilled.
How to Become a Volunteer
Applying to be considered for a volunteer position is easy. The first step is to set up your volunteer profile page, which provides information on you and your areas of expertise and interests. When opportunities arise, AACN staff will email potential volunteers based on their profiles. Begin the process. Please follow the prompts, which will guide you through the application. Review the Volunteer FAQs for answers to the most common questions on volunteering with AACN.
Maintaining a Competitive Volunteer Profile
Plan on updating your volunteer profile at least once per year or sooner, as needed. A good time to review this information is when you renew your AACN membership. Updating your volunteer profile will ensure that you receive information on all the opportunities that may interest you.
Updating your CV/resume is also essential. Have you published recently? Presented at a conference? These are important items to add to your CV/resume and your volunteer profile.
Applying for a Volunteer Opportunity
Volunteer opportunities are available throughout the year. The process to apply for specific volunteer activities includes a call for volunteers, completing an application and the selection process.
The following sections, which describe each of these steps, apply to all positions except those for the nominating committee and boards of directors.
Call for Volunteers
Once your volunteer profile is updated, as opportunities arise, AACN sends emails to members whose volunteer profile matches categories that are suited to a specific opportunity. The email invites qualified applicants to apply for open opportunities.
You will be directed to information that includes the following details:
- Purpose and charge of the volunteer activity
- Workload and timeline
- Applicant qualifications
- Time commitment required
- Deadline for project completion
Some activities can be completed independently, while others may require Zoom meetings or in-person meetings, including travel days. Thoughtfully consider whether you can dedicate the time before applying.
Application
If you can commit the time and energy to the volunteer opportunity, fill out an application for consideration and possible selection. First, fill out your demographic, professional and employment information. Next, you'll write a statement describing how your knowledge and expertise will contribute to this volunteer position and the group who are completing the work.
In your statement, which is critical to being selected, describe your personal expertise, knowledge and skills that make you an ideal candidate to fulfill the volunteer activity. In about 200 words, describe your specific expertise and skill set that will help fulfill the role and responsibilities of the volunteer position. Gentle self-promotion of the personal attributes that make you an ideal fit for the position is encouraged.
Helpful Tips for Your Application
- Start early. Don't leave the application to the last minute.
- Write your answer in a Word or Notes document to help with spelling/grammar and word count, and then copy/paste to the application.
- Have someone proofread your application before you submit it.
- Apply for opportunities that you:
- Really want to do
- Know you will meet the requirements
- Can fully commit to and complete on time
Selection Process
AACN staff will review each application and select applicants based on several factors. Foremost, AACN seeks to represent the diversity of the membership. Considerations include:
- Experience level
- Geographic location
- Size and type of hospital, including community-based hospital, academic medical center, urban, suburban and rural hospitals
- Your role at the hospital, including leader, clinician and academic status
- Type of role needed, such as RN, CNS, NP, educator
- Type of unit, such as general vs. specialty ICU, progressive care unit
- Patient population, such as adult, gerontology, pediatric, neonatal
AACN also selects candidates based on diversity of experience, perspectives and lived experiences.
- For more information, see the Volunteer FAQ page.
AACN rotates volunteer opportunities, so that many members have the opportunity to engage. Volunteer roles are highly competitive and sought after, so you should not be disappointed if you are not selected. Volunteers are not often selected from the same organization for the same role at the same time. Thus, colleagues should consider applying for different opportunities at different times.
Success as a Volunteer
Your success as an AACN volunteer depends on your personal contribution. Volunteers must keep an open mind, think globally, listen to others' opinions and have thoughtful, respectful discussions that result in building consensus among the group.
AACN needs volunteers who:
- Carefully read and reread the detailed emails that provide direction
- Attend orientation/training sessions
- Critically appraise documents
- Complete requested assignments on time
- Strive for equity, diversity and inclusion
- Are good team players (i.e., be open to other ideas, listen, actively engage, encourage quieter members to engage, be supportive, compromise)
- Are ethical - avoid conflicts of interest
- Lead by example
- Maintain open-minded curiosity
AACN Governance Leadership Positions Application Process
The application process for governance leadership positions differs from the process described above. Governance leadership positions include the AACN board of directors, AACN Certification Corporation board of directors and AACN - AACN Certification Corporation Nominating Committee. These volunteer positions have a separate process that includes:
- A nomination
- The initial step in this process occurs when AACN issues a call for nominations. You may be nominated by a manager, mentor, peer or yourself for these positions, if you or they believe you have the leadership competencies to fulfill one of these positions.
- Evaluate if you are ready to serve by completing the AACN Governance Leadership Position: Readiness Assessment Tool.
- The application requires candidates to describe how they demonstrate AACN's governance leadership competencies in their everyday practice. These applications are open annually from about mid-March through the end of May.
- An audio-recorded interview with a member of the nominating committee gives the applicant an opportunity to expand upon their leadership competencies. The audio recordings are transcribed and provided with the application for review by the nominating committee.
- All applications and interviews are reviewed by the nominating committee, which analyzes the applicants' knowledge and application of leadership competencies.
- Candidates who are selected by the nominating committee will be placed on the ballot for voting by AACN members. Voting typically occurs from about mid-March through about mid-April.
AACN wants you!
AACN needs visionary people who work on the front lines. AACN needs all ranges of experience, including novice nurses and seasoned nurses to represent AACN members. It's not uncommon for novice nurses to think they are too inexperienced to contribute. However, they are some of the exact people AACN builds programs to support! They bring other experiences to the table, including fresh perspectives, tech savviness, innovative methods of communication and new ways of learning that keep AACN products updated and trending.
Volunteer for excellence
Volunteering for AACN is an enriching experience. As a volunteer, you help fulfill AACN's mission to drive excellence in acute and critical care for nurses, patients and families. You become an extension of AACN and AACN Certification Corporation, the mission, vision and work of this organization, and take an active role in promoting healthy work environments, ensuring evidence-based practice and promoting certification. Are you ready to take on the challenge?
Special Acknowledgement
I acknowledge and thank my co-author, Pamela Moss (she/her), MPH, MSN, APRN-CNS, ACCNS-AG, CCRN-CSC, a cardiac surgery clinical nurse specialist (CNS), who has over 11 years of experience working in progressive and critical care units. Pamela currently works as a CNS in the CVPCU at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
What volunteer activities have you participated in? Please share your experience and advice with colleagues.
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