My 2 Cents

American Association for Long Term Care Nursing

AALTCN is a fairly new association that promotes the importance of the entire nursing department of long term care facilities. The organizational will attempt to remove" fragmenting silos to promote working relationships that support a caring culture" by addressing issues that affect the entire team. This quote appears in the November 2007, Provider magazine, the journal for long-term care professionals.

For additional information about AALTCN, see its website at http://www.LTCNursing.org.

This is a refreshing approach for a nursing-focused association and organization.

What do you think?

Cheryl Johnson, R.N, a Nursing Leader Passes

Cheryl Johnson, R.N., President of the United American Nurses (http://www.uannurse.org) and the Michigan Nurses Association (http://www.minurses.org) passed away Sunday, October 28, 2007 surrounded my family and friends. She had been admitted to the University of Michigan Health System on Friday, October 19 with a ruptured brain aneurysm.

The AFL-CIO President John Sweeney praised Johnson as a real pioneer for nurses. http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/10/29/workers-mourn-death-of-uan-president-cheryl-johnson/   She was a member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council (http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/leaders/ecmembers_gl.cfm)   and vice president of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, an AFL-CIO constituency group. See http://www.cluw.org/.

Keep Cheryl Johnson and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Does Your State Board of Nursing use TERCAP?

What is TERCAP? It the Taxonomy of Error , Root Cause Analysis and Practice- Responsibility. The TERCAP project was implemented in 1999 by National Council of State Boards of Nursing Board of Directors (http://www.ncsbn.org) who appointed a task force to develop new knowledge about the causes of nursing practice breakdown.

TERCAP was designed as an intake instrument for capturing data from nursing boards' discipline cases.  It creates an opportunity for consistent data collection and future analysis of compiled data by NCSBN and Member Boards.  The NCSBN Research Department will have access to the data submitted by participating Member Boards for the purpose of research through data analysis.  Only Member Boards participating in TERCAP will have access to the TERCAP reports, cases, and data until such time as there are a sufficient number of cases to prepare formal reports that will be published.

The Kentucky Board of Nursing Consumer Protection Branch, Investigation and Discipline Section, is a participating Member Board of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing TERCAP project. To access the Kentucky Board of Nursing TERCAP Data Collection click on the following link.  http://kbn.ky.gov/conprotect/investdiscp/NCSBN-TERCAP.htm.

Does your state BON participte in TERCAP? 

2007 Ohio Nurses Association Election

Please welcome the 2007-2009 ONA Board of Directors and Officers:

President Barbara Nash, Mid-Ohio District
First Vice President Diane Winfrey, Greater Cleveland District
Second Vice President Daniel Kirkpatrick, District 10
Secretary Linda Riazi-Kermani, Summit and Portage District
Treasurer Georgetta Prystash, Northwest Ohio District

Board of Directors Unstructured
Tracy Ruegg, Mid-Ohio District
Dorcas Fitzgerald, District 3

Board of Directors/Member of E&GW Commission
Paula Anderson, Mid-Ohio District
Joyce Powell, Summit and Portage District
Kelly Howard, Southwestern Ohio District

Local Unit Member, E&GW Commission
Jacinta Tucker (4-year term), East-Central District
Rose Marie Martin (2-year term), Mid-Ohio District

Nominating Committee
Karen Budd (Chair), Summit and Portage District
Mary Ellen Seiter, District 3
Annette Lavender, Southwestern Ohio District
Sally Morgan, Mid-Ohio District
Yvonne Smith, Stark-Carroll District
Julie Senita, Ashtabula District
Barbara Conn, Southern Ohio District

ANA Delegate at Large
Barbara Nash, Mid-Ohio District
Gingy Harshey-Meade, ONA CEO
Shirley Fields-McCoy, Mid-Ohio District

ANA Delegate, Unspecified
Linda Warino, District 3
LaTonia Denise Wright, Southwestern Ohio District

ANA Delegate, Nursing Service Administration
Diane Winfrey, Greater Cleveland
Susan Yoder, District 3

ANA Delegate, Nursing Education
Mary Beth Matthews
Dorcas Fitzgerald, District 3
Karen Budd, Summit and Portage District

ANA Delegate, Nursing Practice
Paula Anderson, Mid-Ohio District
Linda Riazi-Kermani, Summit and Portage District
Johanna Edwards, Summit and Portage District
Brennon Giles, Southern Ohio
Rose Marie Martin, Mid-Ohio District
Eric Williams, District 3
Joyce Powell, District 3
Jean Ansley, West Central District
Joyce Cox, Mid-Ohio District
Jennifer Cook, Southwestern Ohio District
Joylynn Daniels, Southwestern Ohio District
Sally Morgan, Mid-Ohio District
Ferlinda Powers, Mid-Ohio District
Joyce Shaffer, District 3
Kelly Christian, Southwestern Ohio District
Holly Klein, Summit and Portage District
Deborah Martz, Mid-Ohio District
Lynette Roush, Mid-Ohio District

UAN Delegates
Linda Warino, District 3
Rose Marie Martin, Mid-Ohio District
Eric Williams, District 3
Linda Riazi-Kermani, Summit and Portage District
Paula Anderson, Mid-Ohio District
Joyce Shaffer, District 3
Jean Ansley, West Central District
Jennifer Cook, Southwestern Ohio District

Center for American Nurses Delegates
Kathleen Montgomery, Greater Cleveland District
LaTonia Denise Wright, Southwestern Ohio District

For information about the Ohio Nurses Association, see its website at www.ohnurses.org.

Kentucky Board of Nursing FY Report

The Kentucky Board of Nursing FY 05-06 Annual Report is available online at http://kbn.ky.gov/board/annualrpt.htm.

For a breakdown of the Kentucky Board of Nursing disciplinary and investigation actions, see page 10.

New Board Members Appointed to Indiana Nursing Board

Governor Daniels appointed several new members to the Indiana Board of Nursing. See http://www.indiananurses.org/news/100607_governor_appoints_nursing_board.htm. Several of these appointees are members of the Indiana State Nurses Association.

Do you think all RNs (this includes Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRN)) appointed to a Board of Nursing should be required to be a member of the American Nurses Association and an ANA-affiliated state nursing association (called constituent members associations or CMAs now)? Should Board appointees be required to belong to a specialty nursing association  (such as the INS, AACN, ENA,  AANA, etc.)?

In your opinion, does it matter?

600 Nurses in Michigan Trying to Organize

Six hundred nurses at Detroit Medical Center are in a union organizing effort with the Michigan Nurses Association. It has been alleged that management is conducting an anti-union campaign. http://www.laborradio.org/node/7081.

Do you think management should conduct anti-union campaigns when nurses organize?

Do Your Homework Before Selecting An Attorney

An article in the October 19, 2007 Cincinnati Business Enquirer's Law & Accounting Trends Advertising Supplement addresses attorney selection. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) suggests :

1. Hiring an attorney with expertise and experience in the area you need;

2. Hiring an attorney who will give you candid advice; and

3. Don't expect to receive good legal advice without paying for it and the cheapest price for legal services isn't always the best price.

If you need assistance with a criminal matter, hire an attorney with significant experience in criminal defense. If you have a workplace discrimination matter, hire an attorney with significant experience in employment law. If you have a licensure matter, hire an attorney with significant experience in administrative law and who has experience working with nurses and/or other licensed healthcare professionals.

Ohio Democratic Nurses Caucus

I joined the Ohio Democratic Nurses Caucus again at the Ohio Nurses Association Convention last weekend. Dues are $10.00 and it supports a worthy cause in my opinion.

For additional information about the Ohio Democratic Nurses Caucus, see its website at http://www.ohdemnurses.org/mambo/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 or contact its Chairperson, Carol Roe, R.N, M.S., J.D. at carol@ohdemnurses.org. 

Carol is a fellow nurse attorney in the Cleveland, Ohio area and an active member of the Ohio Nurses Association (http://www.ohnurses.org), and the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association (http://www.clevelandnurse.org).

I would also join the Ohio Republican Nurses Caucus if such an organization was formed because I want to support organizations or associations that focus on professional, policy, advocacy, legal, and regulatory issues for nurses. After all, it is a nursing world. Don't believe me, see http://www.nursingworld.org.

Graduate Nurse Status in Indiana

Do you know there is an Indiana hospital allowing a nursing school graduate to practice and function as a RN under the supervision of a RN preceptor? I won't mention the name of the hospital however the student was told that she could function in this capacity until she received her license and she is being paid RN wages. If the nursing student wasn't a client of mine, I would report this Hospital to the appropriate federal and state regulatory authorities for investigation. 

Hint, Hint! There is no graduate nursing student status in Indiana anymore! There used to be several years ago. This was changed I believe ten years ago, around 1996-1997.

As a matter of fact, when I graduated with my ASN in 1993 and took my nursing board exam (it was a full day pencil and paper exam back then), I worked as a graduate nursing student the summer after my graduation at Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg, Indiana on a adult and pediatric med-surg floor.

The rationale for the graduate nurse designation was that it took several months to receive your results from the nursing boards. This is no longer true as the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN exams are now offered on a computer and students are informed within days of testing of the pass/fail results.

What's the bottom line here? DO NOT assume that your nursing employer including human resources, your immediate nursing supervisor or mid or executive-level nursing management knows the law, regulations, and standards regarding the practice of nursing in your state.

Nursing students who have completed their initial program should not practice nursing or perform nursing tasks (administering medication, perform nursing assessments, etc.) unless this is authorized by the state nursing law and regulations. Nursing students can assist the licensed nurses with delegated functions and perform the same tasks that an unlicensed technician or nursing assistant performs.

Ask questions if a situation doesn't appear normal or doesn't feel right. Trust your gut instincts. Contact your state board of nursing, state nurses professional association, or a licensure defense attorney for clarification.

YOU as a licensed nurse or nursing student who recently tested, awaiting the authorization to test, etc. are legally responsible and accountable for your actions. As you may know practicing nursing without a license is grounds for disciplinary action with a state board of nursing.

Why is the practice still continuing in this Hospital when it violates the Indiana Nurse Practice Act and subjects nursing students to charges of practicing nursing without a license? Why isn't this Hospital updating its policies and procedures, position description, and practices to comport with state nursing law and regulations? Just imagine if this has "slipped through the cracks" at the Hospital, what else is brewing there?

In my opinion, this Hospital needs to hire an attorney with a nursing background to review its nursing policies, procedures, and practices from top to bottom. What do you think?