My 2 Cents

Altered Standard of Care in Disasters

Does the nursing standard of care change during a natural disaster? If so, what is the standard of care?

The American Nurses Association Quadrennial Policy Conference is titled Nursing Care in Life, Death and Disaster. The date is June 20-22, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The conference "...will inform the nurisng profession, policy makers, government and other disaster planners and responders regarding reconciliation of the professional, legal, and regulatory conflicts of a diminished standard of care during a major disaster."

A Call for Abstracts is posted on the ANA website at www.nursingworld.org and abstracts are due on Friday, January 5, 2007.

Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses

I presented a poster yesterday evening at the OAAPN Annual Meeting and I attended a CE session titled ABCs of Ohio Law for APNs. The presenters included a past president of the association and an advanced practice consultant with the Ohio Board of Nursing.

The session was well attended with over 150 attendees. I presented a poster on The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) Business & Legal Guidebook.

In your opinion what are the ABCs of Law for APNs?

Make a Decision

I want to say thank you again to the minority nursing students at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing for the invitation to be part of a panel presentation on career options for nurses. The panel included an emergency room nurse who is also a ARNP and currently a second year medical student, an OB RN, a RN with experience in occupational health and home health, and a RN with expertise in pediatric oncology.

I graduated from nursing school 13 years ago but seeing those eager faces debating and discussing career options reminded me of myself in 1992-1993. It was either graduate school for a MSN or law school for a JD. I decided to attend law school and it was a good decision just like the decision to attend nursing school was a good decision. If I knew then what I know now, I would have sought a dual MSN/JD. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I used to work in a large firm. I started my own law practice because I wanted to represent, counsel, and advise individual nurses. There are not many law firms focusing exclusively on the needs of individuals nurses. This was another good decision.

What were some of my bad decisions? I borrowed way too much money in law school and there were obvious ways to decrease my need for students loans. This may not be a "bad decision" but I wish now I had attended nursing and/or law school outside of the Cincinnati area. You can always move back home and Cincinnati for better or for worse is home for me. 

Nurses, its never too late to make a career change, continue your education, or enter a different specialty in nursing. Start your own business, complete your BSN, moonlight as a agency nurse for extra cash, seek certification, etc. Make a decision. What are your career options? What did you tell yourself you would accomplish after 5 years in nursing? 10 years in nursing? 15 years in nursing? 20 years in nursing?

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.

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?

Nursing Spectrum

I just finished browsing the Feb. 2006 Midwestern Edition of Nursing Spectrum. There were some interesting articles in this edition including Putting the "We" in Team that highlights a program designed to bridge the gap between staff nurses and leadership, A New Look at Older RNs, Magnet Recognition-a Journey, Not a Destination, and Remote Control, an article that discusses electronic ICUs assisting bedside RNs. See Nursing Spectrum. Regardless of your specialty in nursing you may be able to find an article or two of interest in Nursing Spectrum.

Writing for Publication

Do you like to write articles, columns, or commentary? All nurses regardless of education, title, and licensure have experiences worth communicating to colleagues therefore considering writing an article. You don't necessarily have to write to published in national journals. You can write for nursing professional association newsletters, your church newsletter, local nursing magazines, nursing school alumni newsletters, etc.

I love to write, which is probably why I have a blog, website, and constantly submit articles for publication. I started years ago writing for Medical Career Source (www.medicalcareersource.com) and served as Editor of the publication for a year. I also wrote articles for the Center for American Nurses (www.centerforamericannurses.com) and the Ohio Nurses Association (www.ohnurses.org). I also wrote an article for Today's Nurse (healthcareerweb.com) in 2005, a publication provided to nurses in Central Ohio. I am the Editor of the Center for American Nurses new legal monograph, Legal Basics for Professional Nursing Practice available at www.nursingworld.org.

Why am I going on and on about writing? I agreed to Co-Chair The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) Publication & Products Committee for 2005. In this role, I will coordinate TAANA members submission of articles and commentary to various nursing journals. If you are a member of TAANA and want to write, contact me.

Ready, Set, Go..... Pull out a pen and get the paper and start creating your outline for your 1st draft.....You have to start somewhere, right? What have been your experiences with writing regarding your nursing experiences and expertise?

Mediation Training

I am scheduled to begin Intensive Mediation Training next week, Monday, Sept. 5th - Thursday, Sept. 8th at Capital University. I am incorporating health care alternative dispute resolution (ADR)into the services offered by my consulting firm, The Healthcare Risk Aversion Group, LLC.

I enrolled in the ADR certificate program with Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. I was awarded a full scholarship. I am also planning to attend Mediation and Arbitration training sessions in the future offered by the American Association of Health Lawyers (AHLA) www.ahla.org, which will count as credit towards my ADR certificate.

Are you planning to go back to school? LPN to RN? RN to BSN? Graduate Nursing College? What are your plans? What is your dream job?

My dream job is a combination of roles, positions, and responsibilities. I would like to practice home health nursing (10%), represent, counsel, and advise nurses in licensure defense and business matters (20%), healthcare ADR (20%), speaking engagements (10%), teach legal & ethical issues to nursing students (10%), clinical consulting (20%), and practice health law (10%).

Career Development

I am reading Wildy Sophisticated: A Bold New Attitude for Career Success by Nicole Williams. On page 101 she states "[y]our career development is an investment and investment requires sacrifice." Have you developed goals for your nursing career? Are you investing in your career development and personal enrichment as a nurse? Are you managing your nursing career or allowing your career to be managed?

Vacation or Vacation & CE

I am going to Las Vegas for vacation next week for five days. This is my first vacation for the year because I don't consider business trips as "vacation." I normally try to combine vacation with CLE or CE for tax purposes, but not this time. Do you combine vacations with CE? If you are interested see the CEs at Sea website.

Too Much CE and CLE

Okay, I am a nurse and an attorney practicing in both fields. Nice, right? Yes, but it means I have to complete CE for my Ohio nursing license and CLE (continuing legal education) for my law licensure in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Of course, each state has varying amount of CLE to be completed for renewal. My RN renewal for Ohio was $65.00 this year. I received my Ohio law license renewal which is due September 1, 2005 and costs $300.00. Kentucky and Indiana are coming.

How do you feel about mandatory CE? What is your impression of licensure fees for professional licenses? Does CE equate to competency in nursing?