Annual Report - 2008


The National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND) is experiencing exciting developments as it enters its fifth year of existence. Founded in 2003 during a symposium at Rush University in Chicago the organization continues to work toward the goals of education, advocacy and support for nurses and nursing students with disabilities. With disability issues impacting almost 70% of nurses over the age of forty, greater numbers of students with disabilities entering the nursing profession, and the critical nursing shortage, our work could not be more crucial.

In February of this year the Executive Committee participated in an intensive strategic planning session with a Strategic Action Plan approved in April. The result was a revised and expanded mission and vision statement that better reflects NOND’s identity as an organization, its purpose, and core values.

The new mission statement:

NOND is an open membership, cross-disability, professional organization that works to promote equity for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions in nursing through education and advocacy by:
* promoting best practices in education and employment;
* providing resources to individuals, nursing and disability organizations, and educational and healthcare institutions;
* influencing the provision of culturally responsive nursing practice; and
* creating systemic improvements.

NOND values the:

* experiences, cultures, abilities, and rights of people with disabilities;
* history, practice, and service of the nursing profession;
* empowerment of people with disabilities within nursing; and
* enhancement of the nursing profession.
Realizing that organizational health is vital in supporting this mission, goals were identified with three fundamental goals taking precedence.
  1. NOND has a strategic short-tem action plan that serves to outline the most immediate goals, objectives, and activities necessary to secure NOND’s viability as an organization.
  2. NOND has stable, sustainable, and adequate fiscal resources.
  3. NOND has stable, sustainable, and adequate infrastructural resources.
NOND is poised to expand its membership not only for fiscal growth and sustainability but to better articulate NOND’s new vision of being the voice of disability in nursing. Whether renewing or joining for the first time NOND is offering members several amenities:
  1. Member only listserv
  2. E-Bulletin
  3. Access to job posting website
  4. Discounts on Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
  5. One vote for NOND’s Board of Directors
Innovative CEUs processed through Rush University and accredited by the Illinois Nursing Association will further the goal of education and advocacy. Please visit the newly improved website at www.nond.org for a listing of CEUs, along with multiple other resources.

Infrastructure is another important aspect of creating a fiscally stable organization while achieving sustainability for our future. A part-time consultant, Ruth Weill, is assisting the board in marketing, outreach, infrastructure support, and organizational development. For more information on Ruth and her experience please visit our website www.nond.org.

NOND is growing, our work is now more important than ever and we invite you to join us. We are in the process of submitting our research findings from the web-based surveys funded by The Chicago Community Trust for publication in educational and clinical nursing journals. Publishing the information obtained from students and nurses with disabilities and nurse educators continues NOND’s role as an influential voice for nurses and nursing students with disabilities. Our work is vital, as we continue to grow and become the sustainable organization the healthcare field so desperately needs.

Additional Information:



Strategic Action Plan