My role at the School is to both facilitate and lead. I come to my position with the perspective that changing systems allows us to improve outcomes for those we serve. I suppose this view comes from my CNS training. Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to influence practice, policy and education in academia and to work with professional organizations and societies locally and around the world, with an emphasis on promoting diversity in health professions. These experiences continuously remind me that I don't have all the answers, which is why I believe in open discourse and participatory governance.
These concepts also shape my thinking as we enter a strategic planning process for the School during which we will redefine our mission, values and goals – who we are and our purpose as a learning community. I’m curious to see how things will change in the months and years ahead as we consider what we want to offer from an academic standpoint; how we will continue to foster leadership and innovative practice in our graduates; and how we, as a School, want to be positioned nationally and internationally as a collaborator and leader in nursing education, research and practice.
A participatory strategic planning process is how we can best facilitate the work of our faculty to develop cutting-edge programs that attract students excited about being at UCSF, keep us at the top of school rankings, and more importantly, ensure we have quality programs that benefit both our students and our profession. We will develop a common language to talk about these opportunities. We have to think about and plan for how we can best engage the current and future generation of learners. We will continue to seek out and implement innovative ideas and strategies for teaching and learning, faculty development, preparing our graduates to deal with the tough societal issues that affect health – and ensure we come together as a School community to embrace inclusiveness. As we begin this work, we will keep in the forefront of our minds our ongoing commitment to meeting the needs the underserved.
These will be weighty discussions. The next year or two will be a crucial period for our School. Everybody’s voice will be important – faculty, staff and students. We’ve got to decide who we are and where we're going. There will be new and exciting ideas introduced, and there will also be some difficult considerations about which of our traditions should remain in our repertoire. Everything should be on the table. Change is as much about identifying those values and traditions that are important to hang onto, as well as those to let go of to allow us to meet our newly defined goals. The work will not be easy, but we can identify and rely on our core values to drive our decisions.
We have a dean who has a track record of leading two strong schools into the next phase of their growth, as well as a very dynamic, exciting mix of seasoned and new faculty. I’m looking forward to how we decide to work together and define our next direction as a community.
Judy Martin-Holland RN, MPA, PhD, FAAN, is associate dean for academic programs and diversity initiatives. In addition to her academic, clinical and research accomplishments, she has been an active policy leader, serving at various times as president of the American Nurses Association for the state of California and as a member of groups that include the Bay Area Black Health Consortium, the National Black Nurses Association and Sigma Theta Tau International.