HJNO Jan/Feb 2026

44 JAN / FEB 2026 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS NURSING 2019 • The Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) was enacted on May 31, 2018. Implementation with the LPN Board occurred on July 1, 2019. • Systematic training, onboarding, and mentorship programs were initiated for board members. • Lean Six Sigma programwas initiated for the agency staff, beginning with the Compliance/Investigation division. 2020 • LSBN developed an evaluation process allowing new boardmembers toprovide feedback on the orientation process. An eight-hour orientation day was developed with chiefs and department heads; assigning new board members with a buddy/mentor was included in this process. 2021 • I was elected as Area 3 board member for National Council of State Boards of Nursing, which includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. • Collaborated with Louisiana Department of Health and received a grant to develop video and marketing program related to our Recovering Nurse Program. • Collaborated with the Louisiana State Nurses Association Foundation to establish the Sister Lucie Leonard Recovering Nurse Fund to assist nurses with substance use disorders. • Staff maintained more than 95% effectiveness and efficiency in the remote workspace. • Metrics accomplished included increasedcaseclosuresandshortened time for processing applications and licensures. 2022 • Launched and published the Newly Licensed Registered Nurse Survey results and prepared 2021 Snapshots for distribution to our constituents. • I was appointed as the National Council of State Boards of Nursing board liaison to the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) committee, collaborating with Philip Dickison, PhD, RN, on the Next Generation NCLEX launch on April 1, 2023. • Launched completely renovated LSBN website. 2023 • Coordinated with Mississippi Board of Nursing to develop their Office of Nursing Workforce. • Worked with Karen Wyble, DNP, and task force members to complete and submit the HCR 44 Health Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force Playbook. • I was invited as the commencement speaker for the fall 2023 commencement of Nicholls State University College of Nursing and College of Business Administration. 2024 • The LSBN board approved the LPN to RN Apprenticeship Program between Bossier Parish Community College and Willis-Knighton. • Approved Tulane University to establish a BSN nursing education program, and granted initial approval, allowing Tulane to market the program, hire a program administrator, and begin admitting students. • Initiated LSBN board evaluation and assessment with Stephanie Ferguson, PhD, to develop individual development plans for each board member and for the board as a group. • Approved a memorandum of understanding for Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing's use of the Department of Health and Human Services grant to provide a clinical faculty and preceptor academy. • LAC 46.XLVII.4303 Employment of Student Nurses and Unsuccessful Candidates on the NCLEX-RN Examination was amended. The rule change allows an undergraduate nursing student currently enrolled in a professional prelicensure education degree program or a graduate nurse who has not passed the NCLEX-RN examination within 12 months of their first attempt to be employed in a nursing setting to perform procedures and tasks for which they have been educated and certified as competent by their educational institution and/or by graduation from a LSBN approved prelicensure nursing education program. From passing the Registered Nurse Compact in 2018 through the growth of schools of nursing from 26 prelicensure programs and 10 graduate APRN pro- grams in 2014 to 33 prelicensure programs and 15 graduate APRN programs in 2024, we have been successful in increasing the RN and APRN workforce by 25.4% and 19.6% respectively. Thanks to all my RN and APRN col- leagues and the current and past board members for your support over these 12 years. I will cherish the memories and rela- tionships I have built here. While I am ex- cited about my retirement and my return to my family in Texas, I will always hold Louisiana close to my heart. n Editor’s Note: Karen Lyon has served as our nursing correspondent for our Louisiana publications for many years, bringing clarity, discipline, and a deep respect for the nursing profession to our pages. As she retires fromher rolewith theLouisianaStateBoardofNursing and concludes her final column for our Loui- siana journals, we thank her for meeting every deadline, elevating nurses’voices, and helping our readers better understand the critical role of nursing leadership in healthcare. We wish her every happiness in retirement.