Hello Colorado nurses! I am Mark Longshore, the Executive Director for the Colorado Nurses Association and wanted to share a little about myself.

I have worked in healthcare for all my adult life and graduated from the University of Cincinnati with my BSN in 1995. I worked on the cardiothoracic surgery unit and emergency department first in Cincinnati then here in Colorado. Realizing education was the best part of my job, I began teaching nursing students at Front Range Community College, eventually going on to be the director of that program. Upon earning my PhD in Nursing Education, I began teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level at the University of Northern Colorado. My graduate education opened my eyes to the many issues in healthcare and the important role all nurses play in pushing for policy change to increase safety, quality, and access to care. That mission is what drives me in my role with the Colorado Nurses Association and my continued role of teaching current and future nurses.

I ask each of you to recognize the importance of being active in nursing, whether at the policy level where you work, one of many local and statewide advocacy groups, or through the many networking and policy-guiding groups and committees with the Colorado Nurses Association. We are stronger together, and together we can improve the health care system both for ourselves and for those to whom we provide care.

Thanks,

Mark Longshore