Q&A with Sigma Nursing President-Elect Ken Dion

With #NursingNow2020, The Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, and the 2020 celebration of Florence Nightingale’s 200^th birthday, all eyes are on nurses.

“One thing I and President Richard Riccardi want to do is to keep the momentum going through Sigma’s 100^th anniversary in 2022 and beyond,” says Ken Dion, PhD, MSN, MBA, RN, FAAN.

Dr. Dion, Assistant Dean for Business Innovation and Strategic Relationships at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, recently became president-elect of Sigma, the International Honor Society of Nursing. Dr. Dion will serve in the position of “president-elect” for two years and then “president” for two years, from 2021-2023.

In a Q&A, Dr. Ken Dion reflects on his involvement with Sigma.

You’ve been a member of Sigma Nursing since 1991. What attracted you to the organization?

Sigma is global, apolitical, and the quality of Sigma’s 130,000 worldwide membership is incredible.

Sigma works to advocate for nurses locally, regionally, nationally and internationally without partisanship—and what’s good for nurses is good for populations. Membership in Sigma means working with the best and brightest around the world.

What are you most excited to do in your new role at Sigma?

Each biennium president has a call to action. This year, President Ricchardi’s call is to “infuse joy back into nursing.” So that’s where were going to start.

I’m excited to keep our traditions and values alive while participating in charting a course for our future—in a world that changes very quickly. We must think outside the box, be nimble, and execute. Furthermore, Sigma’s mission, “To develop nurse leaders anywhere to improve health care everywhere” aligns with our own at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing:

“To improve the health of individuals and diverse communities locally and globally through leadership and excellence in nursing education, research, practice, and service.”

I look forward to empowering nurses to impact patient care, directly and by setting policy, around the world.

You’ve served different roles in Sigma, most recently as Treasurer for the board. What in your experience as Treasurer prepared you to become president?

As treasurer for the board, I got a good financial understanding of the organization. I participated in executive decision making, like our recent CEO search, and helped shift Sigma to sustainable investment policy—i.e. staying away from things that are bad for environment and investing instead in things that are good for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). I believe my prior experience has prepared me well to serve our membership.

Advice to Sigma’s new members:

Congratulations on being invited to join Sigma. Now it’s time to get engaged and involved. Making the most of Sigma comes when you get involved.  Whether you are interested in leadership or in developing your clinical skills, get engaged in your professional organizations.

It’s an exciting time to be a nurse. It’s an exciting time to be a Sigma Nurse. We got this.

@SigmaNursing #NursesWhoTweet

Read more:

• Johns Hopkins School of Nursing’s Ken Dion Becomes Sigma’s President-Elect
• There Are Now 14 Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Faculty in the Sigma Nursing Hall of Fame
• What is a Hackathon and What the Heck Does this Have to Do with Nursing?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: SYDNEE LOGAN

Sydnee Logan is the Social Media and Digital Content Coordinator for Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She shares what’s going on here with the world.