AONL members discuss their experiences as Black nurse leaders

In a recent interviews, four AONL members offered insights into how nurse leaders can examine their biases and promote diversity within their ranks. “Diversity is not only identifying ‘Black nurses, brown nurses, male, female’—that’s counting,” said AONL Past President Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPH, RN. “By being inclusive, we say, ‘I have a place for you, and that place can be anywhere you want it to be, because of your knowledge, skills and ability.’” M. Lindell Joseph, PhD, RN, noted building awareness is the first step toward change, and Stephan Davis, DNP, expressed optimism, saying “Black nurse executives holding doctoral degrees and board certification in nursing leadership will be in high demand.” Jacqueline Herd, DNP, RN, an AONL board member, noted progress has been made. “As a young Black nurse advancing within the field of nursing, I felt alone,” she said. “Today, I have other Black nurse leaders who I can have a candid conversation with….” The February Nurse Leader has their full remarks.