My 2 Cents

KCNPNM Conference

I had fun exhibiting at the Kentucky Coalition of NP & NM Regional Conference at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center this week. I met NPs and NMs from Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi, Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia.

I displayed TAANAs (The American Association of Nurse Attorneys) poster for its Business & Legal Guidebook for Nurse Practitioners. See www.taana.org. I had excellent booth attendance for two of the three days and sold 14 books.

Many NPs didn't know that an association for Nurse Attorneys existed or that TAANA published a legal and business guidebook. I am looking forward to the meeting next year in Northern Kentucky.

KCNPNM Conference

The Southern Ohio/Kentucky chapter of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) is exhibiting at the Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners & Nurse Midwives (KCNPNM) Annual meeting and conference next week at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky. You can purchase the NP Legal and Business Guidebook written by TAANA members at the booth. See www.taana.org for additional information on the Guidebook.

I spoke at this conference last week and I am excited to return as an exhibitor this year on behalf of TAANA. Topics for the conference include a discussion on the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) and a wide variety of clinically focused sessions.

Credentials

Have you attended a nursing conference lately? Do you see the name and credentials listed on badges? Do you see the degrees and credentials displayed in nursing articles and the page listing the editorial board members of nursing journals, etc?

Are we too focused on degrees and credentials because of our lack of recognition as a true profession in nursing? I subscribe to a number of nursing journals and magazines and the issue was addressed a few months ago by a national journal.

My fiance makes me laugh as times when he refers to me as LaTonia Denise Wright, RN, BSN, JD or LaTonia Denise Wright, Home Health RN, Attorney, and Poodle Owner.

The Ohio Nurses Association started a policy a few months ago of listing its members as RN only because it could not keep up on the degrees and credentials for nurses listed or mentioned in the Ohio Nurses Review. So its LaTonia Denise Wright, R.N. in the ONR.

I am running for election to the ANA Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics and I am listed as LaTonia Denise Wright, J.D., R.N.

Are we too focused on degrees and credentials in nursing because of the lack of a standardized entry level into practice? Degrees and credentials are earned so why shouldn't someone proudly display their accomplishments, right? What do you think?

What's Your Rationale?

I am involved in several nursing professional associations. I am a member of the American Nurses Association (ANA), Ohio Nurses Association (ONA), and the Southwestern Ohio Nurses Association (SONA). I am member of the The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) and the Ohio League for Nursing (OLN).

I am running for national office in the ANA as a member of the Congress on Nursing Practice & Economics, co-chairing TAANAs Publication Committee, on the Board of Directors of the Center for American Nurses, and a member of ONAs Council on Practice. I also belong to the American Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association.

And yes, I can think of other ways to spend the money I pay in association dues, as you may be saying....however I choose to support associations that speak and advocate on my behalf (even if I may not always agree with the chosen course of action).

Why do I belong and participate in nursing professional associations? Professional associations advocate for the best interests of its membership and define the aspirational goals of the profession. The majority of nurses do not belong to ANY professional association.

If you a reading this post you may or may not belong to a nursing professional association. Do you belong to any nursing professional associations? If not, what is your rationale for not joining? If you do belong, are you active? If not what is your rationale?

EVERYONE is busy and has to make time for work and family however consider supporting a nursing professional association by joining as a full member. Being active in nursing professional associations has been a positive and rewarding experience for me as a RN and an attorney.

When you need someone to advocate on your behalf or on behalf of the nursing profession or on behalf of your nursing specialty, who will you turn to if nursing professional associations no longer exist because of declining membership?

American Nurses Association    www.nursingworld.org

American Association of Nurse Attorneys www.taana.org

Center for American Nurses   www.centerforamericannurses.org

Home Care Headache

You are a home care nurse. Your employer has you covering all parts of a mid-size city and the suburbs. You thought you were going to be assigned to a particular territory however because of short staffing you are going across town to cover visits and admissions. You are 5 blocks from a wound care patient's home when the home care scheduler calls and tells you he needs you to travel 50 miles to cover an admission. What do you do?

Advanced Practice Nursing

This is the "fun" part of what I do as a nurse attorney who represents nurses exclusively. I am attending the Indiana Board of Nursing meeting in Indianapolis on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 for the discussion on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Vision Paper on APRNs. Next month I will attend the Ohio Board of Nursing APN Task Force meeting on Thursday, May 18, 2006.

If anyone is attending these meetings look for me and let's dialogue on the future of nursing.

What is your opinion on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing APRN Vision Paper?

See www.ncsbn.org, www.nacns.org, and www.nursingworld.org for the APRN Vision Paper and the response of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialist and American Nurses Association. Several others professional associations and credentialing bodies have also responded to the Vision Paper. 

Leadership Institute

I spoke yesterday at the TN Nursing Leadership Institute at Falls Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee. I spoke on Legal Issues for Nurse Leaders. The TN Nurse Leadership Institute is a week long program for BSN prepared nurses (or nurses with diplomas or ASN degrees and enrolled in a BSN program). The attendees were primarily staff nurses in hospitals. The attendees were not nurse managers.

Do you think we need Leadership Institutes for nurses? Does your state nurses association or specialty nursing association offer Leadership Institutes?

LPN Student Nurses

I represented a poster at the Licensed Practical Nurse Association of Ohio (LPNAO) Student Convention this week. There were over 500 attendees at the convention. The students were excited about graduation and eager to start their nursing careers.

What is your opinion of practical nursing and LPN or LVN education?