Of History and Significance: 1st AYNLA National Elections

The new AYNLA Board Members and National Officers with Gloc9

August 20, 2012 is a monumental day for the Alliance of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates. For a young organization, the events which occurred then were destined to go down in history. On this day, nurse leaders rose, and, with their collective voices, proclaimed who they wish to lead them in their advocacy.

August 20, 2012 marked the first national election of the Alliance of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates. The organization opened positions for the Board of Trustees and the National Executive Council to qualified members, and this was met with amazing cooperation and participation by the Alliance. Two groups, the United Nurses Party and the Advocates Coalition, ran against each other, ending in both parties being able to secure national positions. In the end, instead of dividing the organization, fate seemed to have chosen to further strengthen its bonds.

Campaign stories may be good stories, but a better one is how the Alliance managed Election Day. Traditional voting with pens and paper ballots is a staple in any election, but AYNLA, if anything, is never traditional. Facebook became the new platform for election and votes were sent to respective local COMELECs.

Not merely historical, the first AYNLA National Elections is a symbolism the organization’s very essence.

In its advocacy, AYNLA has always considered the voice of the majority, and as nurses, we know that to identify our client’s needs, we must first always consider they believe they need. Giving our people a chance to have their say, and listening, respecting, and putting into action their collective responses are manifestations of how we take the principles of nursing into our own organization. We do not merely nurse those we advocate for; we nurse ourselves.

Ever since the Alliance has been founded, many have questioned its principles, one of which is the transcending roles of nurses in society. We have never been traditional – we are more than that. Resourcefulness comes with revolution, and this was exactly what occurred when the national elections took place in cyberspace. Our practices, as well as our solutions, are effective, and most of the time, out of the box.

AYNLA is democratic and innovative, and it is so much more. For such a young organization, our culture has already deeply ingrained itself in how we do things. Of how revolutionary we can be. Of how our actions and decisions have the power to catalyze change.

 The success of the first national election is a testament of this, and this is not the end.

August 20, 2012, the first AYNLA National Elections, is merely the beginning of what shall someday be the stuff of legends.#

Nr. Janina Santos was the former Secretary of Department of Publications and Media Relations of the Alliance of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates, International. This article appeared in The Millennia, the annual special publications of AYNLA International Inc.