A Year of Celebration
Dr. Beverly M. Horn, TCNS Executive Director
2019 is a year of continuous celebrations! We rejoice that it is the 45th year of the founding of the Transcultural Nursing Society, the 30th year of the founding of the Journal of Transcultural Nursing, and the 15th year of the founding of the Scholars’ group. Events are planned so that as many members as possible may participate in some way. Documentation of historical events as perceived by members will be available in blogs on our web page, in the Newsletters, and through other media. The Journal of Transcultural Nursing is including an Editorial in each volume that celebrates its founding. Be assured that the 45th Annual Conference in Richmond, Virginia, October 16-19th, 2019 will be a key occasion for celebration as well. We will honor the wonderful contribution of past members, as well as that of all our current members who are contributing to the viability, sustainability and excellence of the organization.
1974 was the year that Dr. Madeleine Leininger and a small group founded the Transcultural Nursing Society. Nursing was just coming into its own to be recognized as a discipline. Evolution of the science of nursing through research to build a body of knowledge was just beginning. Research was most often done by nurses prepared in areas of science such as anatomy and physiology, anthropology or sociology. The research reflected these other disciplines, conceptually and methodologically. Nursing practice also used information from other fields. Understanding the influence of culture on health and health care was a unique and novel idea.
Reflecting on past accomplishments of an organization is rewarding and helps to motivate all members to carry out the mission, vision and values. Knowing the who, why, what, and where of our evolutionary pro-cess provides us with a sound knowledge base for the future. So, after a period of reminiscing about and acknowledging our past, with its successes and mistakes, we need to carefully assess the here and now and discern our immediate and future planning for the Transcultural Nursing Society.
Our Board of Trustees begins 2019 with great enthusiasm. 2018 was a truly productive year for all and we hope that our many levels of communication keep everyone well informed. We have many new members and they bring with them an excitement for what has been but to also seek understandings of the mission vision and goals to reflect the evolution of knowledge of the last part of the 20th century and the early 21st century.
New members express a desire for transcultural nursing to be the basis for their caring efforts in nursing for the future. New members also reflect different generations from the founders and the immediate followers, and they are now the future of our organization. These new members will continue to change the organization and transcultural nursing in ways not yet known. What a wonderful heritage to bring to nursing today! Through new nursing research, knowledge development and practice models, the rich evolutionary development of the organization and its discipline continues to unfold.