Setting future directions for the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS)

I am deeply honored and excited by the opportunity to serve as the new Chair of the CANS Steering Committee. As the past president of a regional nursing research society (Midwest Nursing Research Society), I have had the privilege of serving on the CANS Steering Committee for several years. I experienced first-hand the value of the unique CANS partnership that brings together representatives of the key nursing research organizations (the four regional nursing research societies, American Nurses Foundation, Sigma Theta Tau International, and the National Institute of Nursing Research as an ex officio member) to be a collective national voice for nursing science. As a group representing nurse scientists across their career trajectories and with diverse research interests, we have shared best practices in implementing the mutually shared goals of advancing nursing science to improve the health of the public, disseminating research findings, advocating for nursing science, and developing nursing science careers. CANS has experienced tremendous growth in meeting attendance at our biennial “State of the Science Congress in Nursing Research” since its inception eight years ago and had great success with last year's “Special Topics Conference,” which focused on comparative effectiveness research methods, a topic of keen interest to many investigators. We have also increased membership benefits through the recent adoption of Nursing Outlook as our official journal; updating our website with many new features (www.nursingscience.org) including a discussion forum, membership directory, and job board; and implementing an electronic newsletter to better inform our members of our activities and our members' accomplishments.