Nursing Law & Order

Ohio Senate Bill 5: Eliminating Collective Bargaining for State Employees. Should Ohio Nurses Be Concerned?

This a cut and paste of an email I received from the Ohio Nurses Association:

Background/Update:

Ohio Senate Bill 5 is currently in the hearing stage in the Ohio Senate. This bill would eliminate collective bargaining for state employees, and eliminate essential collective bargaining for other public employees. It removes the voice of nurses in decisions about patient care and workplace conditions and it is a clear threat to patient safety.

Senate Bill 5 would make it impossible for nurses who work in the public sector to use their collective strength to affect change. 
 
Senate Bill 5 is bad for all RNs and their patients.
 
Senate Bill 5 would impact critical issues, like:

-          Safe nurse staffing
-          Safe patient handling
-          Medication errors/adverse event prevention
-          Maintenance of a safe environment for patient care
 
 Two days of testimony for this bill took place last week. During this testimony, union members from across the state, including
ONA members, converged in the Statehouse Atrium to show their opposition for this bill. Opposition for this bill is growing, and
this was shown in the numbers of union members who came to oppose Senate Bill 5.
 
Thousands of Ohioans attended testimony at the Statehouse and made their opposition for Senate Bill 5 known.  We need YOU to help show that nurses oppose Senate Bill 5, and the silencing of nurses that it represents.
 
What you can do: All RNs are encouraged to come to the state house to show your
elected officials that you care about this issue.
 
Where: The Ohio Statehouse (1 Capitol Square, Columbus, OH 43215)
 
Date: Tuesday February 22, 2011
 
Time: Testimony starts at 4:00 pm. Due to space limitations ONA supporters are encouraged to gather around 2:00 pm on the East side of the Statehouse.
 
If you are unable to come when testimony first starts, we encourage you to come whenever you can.
ONA staff will be there from 2:00 pm until testimony ends (sometime in the evening).
 
 
Dress: To show your professional identity, we are encouraging our members to wear scrubs. 
If you do not have scrubs, please wear ONA logo wear.

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So, what do you think?

Its official: I am on the Board of Directors of the Southwestern Ohio Nurses Association

I am on the Board (again) of the Southwestern Ohio Nurses Association (SONA). SONA is a district nurses association of the Ohio Nurses Association which is a constituent member of the American Nurses Association.  

My goals in rejoining the Board are as follows:

1. Increase the attendance at SONA educational meetings during 2010 and 2011; and

2. Work with other Board members to spark interest in SONA here in the Greater Cincinnati area.

See http://www.sonanet.org/.

 

Free Webinars for Nurses offered by the Center for American Nurses

The CENTER Gets a New President Donna Warzynski, MSHSA, RN, NE, BC, was sworn in as the CENTER's new president at the annual Membership Council Meeting, June 2, 2010.  Donna is the Nursing Administrator of the Wisconsin Veterans Home where she oversees the care of veterans in a healthcare complex totaling 741 beds.  A registered nurse for over 40 years, Warzynski has been an acitve member of the CENTER since its establishment in 2003.  She will lead the national nursing organization for the next 2 years.        read more... Free Webinar:  Publication for Nurses -   Putting Practice into Print  Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was a prolific writer.  Today, writing is a neglected area of professional development for most nurses.  The reasons for this are many including lack of time, being mystified by the publishing process, and experiencing a lack of comfort with writing skills. However, it is important for nurses to write for both personal and professional reasons as it is a means to share information, increase knowledge, and achieve recognition. The benefits of writing greatly outweigh such fears.   Join Judith Mitiguy, RN, MS - Executive Vice President, Gannett Healthcare Group (publishers of Nursing Spectrum & NurseWeek) as she shares tips on Putting Practice into Print.  Navigate Nursing is a product of the Institute of Nursing Research & Education which is a nonprofit affiliate of the Center for American Nurses.  Navigate Nursing is dedicated to helping professional nurses navigate their nursing career.  Our website, www.NavigateNursing.org, brings you the latest news, career tips, education, innovative products, and an online community to support RNs in all roles and specialties in creating health work environments.   CENTER, Department of Labor, WISER  Present Free Webinar  Planning for Retirement:  A Guide for Nurses and Other Busy Women When you walk out the door at the end of your workday, you have given your all.  But you rally.  You take care of the things your life demands of you—whether it is the kids or your partner, the house or the bills.  The last thing you are inclined to think about is your retirement planning.  But here is the problem: women face a bleak retirement future.  Women are twice as likely as men to live in or near poverty in old age, and many women who were never poor during their working years, will find themselves struggling to get by in retirement.  The time to start planning for these years is now   Here is one simple way to get you on the road to financial security:  Join us as we talk about ways to increase your financial fitness and save for retirement, including making the most of employer-based retirement savings plans.       Nurse's Retirement Decision-Making Guide Wins Award The Busy Nurses Retirement Decision-Making Guide won a bronze award from the Mature Media Awards which honors the best marketing, communications and education programs for older adults.  The Guide was entered in the  "Community Organizations" category for Brochure/Booklet (Mature Work & Retirement). Download a free pdf      The CENTER and Women's Institue for a Secure Retirement (WISER) is partnering to provide nurses with the information and tools they need to plan effectively for retirement.    See all the resources - Save and share this link with other nurses!

IN THIS NEWSLETTER CENTER Gets New President Webinar:  Writing for Publication Webinar:  Financial Fitness Busy Nurses Guide Wins Award Call for Nominations Medication Error/Reporting Survey View Previous Newsletters     REGISTER NOW! Publication for Nurses  Tuesday, July 27,  2:00 - 3:00 pm (ET) Presenter: Judith Mitiguy    REGISTER NOW! Planning for Retirement Thursday, July 29 2:00 - 3:00 PM (ET) Presenter: Kathy Stokes Murray Order a hardcopy of The Busy Nurses Guide to Planning for Retirement, a companion publication to the Decision-Making Guide Download a free pdf!

Call for Nominations The CENTER is currently seeking nominations for four (4) Board Positions as well as persons to be appointed to the Program & Services Advisory Council (PSAC) and Subscriber Engagement Advisory Group (SEAG).  PSAC will provide oversight and coordination of the program and service development activities for the CENTER and the Institute.  SEAG will craft and implement strategies to develop and grow the individual and organizational subscriber categories approved with the adoption of the CENTER's new bylaws.  August 24, 2010 is the deadline for submission of nominations packets.  Qualifications for all Board positions and appointments are listed in: 2010 - 2012 Board Nominations Packet Program and Services Advisory Council Nominations Packet Subscriber Engagement Advisory Group Nominations Packet Should you have questions, please feel free to contact the CENTER Staff - 301-628-5243. Medication Error & Reporting:  Call for Survey Participants How would you like to help improve patient safety in our country's hospitals?  You can do that by participating in a research study about medication errors and medication error reporting.  The study is being conducted for dissertation  research by Joyce Shanty, Co-Investigator, (under the guidance of Dr. June Larrabee, Principal Investigator ([email protected] or [email protected]). This survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes of your time.  "West Virginia University Institutional Review Board (IRB) has acknowledgment of this study on file." To find out more about the study and your opportunity to win 1 of 20 $50 gift cards, click on the link below:   http://iup.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_b7NEQYjkj7EbE4k

APNs Barriers to Practice Survey by the Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses (OAAPN)

See Download 5.2.2.1%20OAAPN%20Survey.

Just my two cents but the cumbersome law/rules agreed to for APRN prescriptive in authority as a "foot in the door approach" and truce between dueling medical and nursing professionals associations here in O-HI-O are more difficult to amend than initially imagined. Sometimes just "getting a foot in the door" isn't the best approach to legislation and opening the Nurse Practice Act and in hindsight maybe a "do or die" , "do it or die trying" , or "all or nothing" approach to prescriptive authority was needed here in O-HI-O.

Just compare and contrast prescriptive authority for APRNs (excluding CRNAs who of course did it the right way initially for the most part. CRNAs and their national and state prof. associations are on the ball I tell you!!!) in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Its like comparing fresh spring water and sweat tea to flat and warm Pepsi. You can drink the Pepsi if if you have to but its nothing to look forward to consuming. 

 

 

 

Licensed Practical Nurse Association of Ohio (LPNAO) launches a full-service Career Center

Dear Licensed Practical Nurses and Registered Nurses of Ohio, As your primary resource for professional development and services, LPNAO is excited to announce a brand new addition to our website. We recently launched a full-service Career Center designed especially for employers and job seekers in the nursing industry. Posting your positions and resumes on the LPNAO Career Center will give you great exposure to a wide array of candidates and exciting opportunities in our professional community. Looking to fill a position? Gain access to LPNAO's most qualified nursing professionals Post multiple positions at affordable prices Receive Resume Alerts of recently uploaded resumes Searching for a job? Create a FREE Job Seeker account Set up automated email Job Alerts Post resumes anonymously Thank you in advance for supporting our new Career Center. The revenue generated by this service will allow us to continue meeting our goals in best serving our members and advancing the LPNAO community in nursing. Sincerely, Shasme Jones President Licensed Practical Nurse Association of Ohio Hire and Be Hired on the LPNAO Career Center TODAY!
	You are receiving this email as a member of the Licensed Practical Nurse Association of Ohio. Licensed Practical Nurse Association of Ohio | 1310 St. Paris Rd | Springfield OH | 45504 | 513.910.6090

11th Annual Nightingale Moment, May 12, 2010 at 12noon

The American Holistic Nurses Association  invites you to Join Nurses Around the World to celebrate the    11th Annual   NIGHTINGALE MOMENT    May 12, 2010  Noon (local time)   Every Nurse around the world is invited to pause, take a moment of silence or create a healing ceremony or ritual in celebration and dedication to the heart and spirit of nursing.   We invite you and your colleagues to:   Honor Florence Nightingale and her legacy to modern nursing. Honor the strength and wisdom of our nursing mission. Reconnect with the fire and the soul, the sense of calling in nursing.  Acknowledge the interconnections and oneness of nurses in the personal, political, social, and scientific domains. Carry the vision of caring and healing into the future. Share Nightingale's legacy with the larger community.      *********************************************** For more information about the Nightingale Moment and to print out fliers for your organization and for the "Blessing of the Hands"  visit the AHNA website:  www.ahna.org

Save the Date:  November 20, 2010   "Nutrition:   What Nurses Bring to the Table"    Join National Speaker and Author Pamela McDonald for a one day conference on the health and healing effects of nutrition.   Place:  Indiana University Southeast     --more details to follow--                           Visit Pam's website for more information www.apoegenediet.com   June 2-5, 2011  AHNA National Conference - Louisville, KY  31st Annual American Holistic Nurses Association   Conference    Marriott Downtown -- Louisville, KY    June 2-5, 2011     "Holistic Nursing:  Tending to the Sacred Flow of Life"     Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.    In the early 1980's Dr. Borysenko co-founded a Mind/Body clinic with Dr. Benson and Dr. Ilan Kutz, became licensed as a psychologist, and was appointed instructor in medicine at the Harvard Medical School. Her years of clinical experience and research culminated in the 1987 publication of the New York Times best seller, Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, which sold over 400,000 copies. The 20th anniversary edition, newly revised, was published in 2007. Author or co-author of 13 other books and numerous audio and video programs, including the Public Television special Inner Peace for Busy People, she is the Founding Partner of Mind/Body Health Sciences, LLC located in Boulder, Colorado and the Director of The Claritas Institute Interspiritual Mentor Training Program. For More Information:  www.joanborysenko.com      ~~~Along with Dr. Kitty Ernst and Dr. Kay Sandor   "Kitty" will be addressing issues of the journey at the beginning of life and Kay will speak as one who walks with  those at the end of life~~~     Eunice (Kitty) Ernst, RN, CNM, MPH, DSc (hon) - Mary Breckinridge Chair of Midwifery  Dr. Ernst is the only endowed Chair of Midwifery in the United States. She is a certified nurse-midwife graduate of Kentucky's Frontier School of Midwifery with a master's degree in public health. A renowned visionary in the field of midwifery, Kitty has pioneered pregnancy and birth care advances for more than 40 years.               Kay Sandor, Ph.D., RN, LPC, AHN-BC Dr. Sandor is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch, School of Nursing at Galveston and An Associate Member of the Institute for the Medical Humanities.  Dr. Sandor is a licensed professional counselor and psychotherapist and is a certified advanced practice holistic nurse.  She has completed the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) training, a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to train faculty and practitioners in Palliative Care.  Her specialty as a nurse psychotherapist is grief and loss.

Contact the Speak of the House in Ohio to pass HB 206-the APN Schedule II Bill

The Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses has asked ONA to join them in asking the Speaker of the House to pass HB 206 –the APN Schedule II Bill.

 

Your Immediate Action is Required!!  We need thousands of calls to be made before May 1st!
 
Please call or fax Speaker Armond Budish and your member of the Ohio General Assembly to ask them to pass HB 206 (APN Schedule II Bill)!

Phone Number of Speaker Budish:     (614) 466-5441
Fax number of Speaker Budish   (614) 719-0008
 
House of Representatives website to determine who your state representative is and obtain the phone and fax numbers:  http://www.house.state.oh.us/

 

Please pass this e-mail onto your colleagues.

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Save the Date!
May 11, 2010 - Rally at the Statehouse in Support of HB 206

 

Nurses, Physicians and Patients: Join the Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses and the Ohio Nurses Association on May 11th for a statehouse rally to support advanced practice nurses efforts to improve access to quality healthcare with the passage of HB 206!

 

Where: Ohio Statehouse, South Lawn (Front Street)

 

When: Tuesday, May 11, 2 p.m.

 

Who: Nurses, physicians and patients, nursing organizations, advocacy groups, legislators, media and the general public

 

Information: The Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses and the Ohio Nurses Association are holding a rally to show support for nurses and the ever-increasing role they play in the health care delivery system. With a shortage of primary care physicians and the extension of health care coverage to tens of millions of currently uninsured Americans, nurses will play a vital role in providing care to the increasing number of patients who will be seeking medical services.

 

HB 206 will enhance the  APN’s ability to treat patients with schedule II controlled substances.

 

HB 206 passed the House Health Committee 14-3 last October.  It is time for the bill to be voted out of the House– all Ohioans should have access to prompt and appropriate health care!

 

* Wear your clinical attire and bring signs of support (but no signs on poles or sticks).

May 11, 2010 Rally for APRNs in Columbus, Ohio

Save the Date!!

 

Nurses, Physicians and Patients!!  Join the Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses and the Ohio Nurses Association on May 11^th for a statehouse rally to support advanced practice nurses efforts to improve access to quality healthcare with the passage of HB 206!!

 

 

Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses

www.oaapn.org

 

What:   Statehouse Rally

 

Where:     Ohio Statehouse, South Lawn (Front Street)

 

When:   Tuesday, May 11th at 2 p.m.

 

Who:     Nurses, physicians and patients, nursing organizations, advocacy groups, legislators, media and the general public

 

Information:   The Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses and the Ohio Nurses Association are holding a rally to show support for nurses and the ever-increasing role they play in the health care delivery system. With a shortage of primary care physicians and the extension of health care coverage to tens of millions of currently uninsured Americans, nurses will play a vital role in providing care to the increasing number of patients who will be seeking medical services.   HB 206 will enhance the  APN’s ability to treat patients with schedule II controlled substances.

 

HB 206 passed the House Health Committee 14-3 last October.  It is time for the bill to be voted out of the House– all Ohioans should have access to prompt and appropriate health care!

 

* Wear your clinical attire and bring signs of support (but no signs on poles or sticks)

 

Elise Geig

Director Health Policy

Ohio Nurses Association

4000 E. Main St.

Columbus, OH 43213

PH: (614) 448-1024

Cell: (614) 371-7554 ***Please note this is a new number

Fax: (614) 237-6074

[email protected]

Kentucky Coalition of NP & NM Legislative Update

KCNPNM LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - 3/1/10

We have a new bill: HB 556

Urgent Call to Action

SB 75 is stalled in the Senate. Therefore we have switched gears. With 4 weeks left in this legislative session, we must move quickly if we want to pass legislation this year. Today, Representative Mary Lou Marzian filed HB 556 and is the chief sponsor of the bill. This bill breathes new life into our legislative effort!

Within hours, these Representatives signed on to the bill as co-sponsors: Rep. Keith Hall, Rep. Tom Burch, Rep. Charles Hoffman, Rep. Joni Jenkins, Rep. Charles Miller, Rep. Charles Siler, and Rep. John Will Stacy. Please send a thank you note to Rep. Marzian and to these Representatives. Please ask your Representative to be a co-sponsor!

 

All provisions in the previous Senate bill related to ARNP prescribing of scheduled drugs have been deleted from this bill. If passed, the current laws governing ARNP prescribing of scheduled drugs will remain the same. We believe this shows our willingness to compromise and our commitment to improving access to health care services.

 

 

Here is a summary of HB 556:

The bill improves access, especially in underserved areas, to quality,
cost-effective health care provided to Kentuckians by Nurse
Practitioners (NPs) and Nurse Midwives (NMs) 

 Makes NO Changes in Any Current Laws Governing ARNP Scheduled Drug Prescribing

• Limits on NP prescribing imposed in statute for each level of controlled substances remain unchanged.
• The Collaborative Agreement for Prescriptive Authority for Controlled Substances remains unchanged.
• The Controlled Substances Formulary Development Committee (CSFDC) remains unchanged.

Removes the Requirement for a Collaborative Agreement for ARNP Prescriptive Authority for Nonscheduled Drugs (CAPA-NS)

• Nurse practitioners in Kentucky have never been required to practice under the supervision of a physician. They   are considered licensed independent providers. However, Kentucky statute enacted in 1996 has required NPs to have a collaborative prescribing agreement with a physician in order to prescribe nonscheduled (legend)  medications. The agreement applies only to prescribing.
• Nurse practitioners have been safely writing prescriptions for non-controlled substances since1996.
• Nurse practitioners provide care in 116 of the 120 counties in Kentucky, showing a willingness to practice in  underserved areas. However, their ability to do so has been adversely affected by the difficulty in finding a  physician  to sign a collaborative prescribing agreement. Thus, NPs and NMs are increasingly limited in improving access to care,particularly for rural Kentuckians. Nurse practitioners who desire to open a practice must pay a physician a monthly fee to enter into a collaborative prescribing agreement. In some cases, this fee is very high.

Amends a limited number of statutes which currently require a signature, report, examination or order by a physician to allow NPs to perform these functions.

• Nine specific statutes which require a physician to sign, report, examine, order or certify such things as a child's immunization record, ordering and reporting HIV tests and results, certifying a family child care home provider's good health, the need for a telephone for the deaf, and reporting communicable diseases would now allow those functions to also be performed by ARNPs.
• These statutes currently limit patient access to services and limit the ability of nurse practitioners to provide continuity of care to their patients, consistent with their education and training. By amending these specific statutes, some of those limitations and barriers will be removed, and nurse practitioners will be able to make a greater contribution to protecting the public health of Kentuckians.

 

TALKING POINTS

Nurse practitioners have been prescribing non-scheduled drugs in Kentucky
for 14 years and have demonstrated that they are safe prescribers of these medications.

Research over 40 years shows that nurse practitioners:

• reduce ER visits
• reduce hospitalizations
• improve access to health care services
• reduce health care costs

The simple facts are that physicians do not want to go into primary care; the shortage of primary care physicians is projected to get worse; and NPs provide quality care and are willing help improve access to health care services.

HB 556 is not about competition among health care providers; it is about removing barriers to health care access, particularly in rural areas of Kentucky

 

CALL EVERY DAY TO SUPPORT HB 556

It is extremely important that Representatives hear from ARNPs, nurses, and the general public. Call each day until further notice and ask others to do the same. Tell the operator that you want to leave your message for your Representative and all Representatives

Legislative Message Line : 1-800-372-7181

The Message:"I am a Nurse Practitioner (nurse, physician, patient, constituent, etc.) and I urge you to support HB 556 to increase access to quality, cost-effective health care.”

FAX LETTERS TO LEGISLATORS

In addition to your calls, FAX letters to Frankfort to all Representatives asking them to support HB 556. Address your letter to "Dear Representative”. On the fax cover sheet, ask that the letter be distributed to all Representatives. You can use points from this message, previous messages, and the talking points on HB 556, which are available on the KCNPNM web site under legislative updates. Limit your letters to one page.

 

Legislators' Fax Number: 502-564-6543

 

PLEASE SHARE ANY FEEDBACK

If you receive feedback from Representatives on HB 556, please let us know.

Also, let us know if you have questions.

Thanks for all your efforts,

Beth Partin [email protected]Sheila Schuster [email protected]

The AANA has got it going on with respect to Peer Assistance and CRNAs

The AANA is doing its thing!!! The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) has taken the lead in nursing with assisting its members and the CRNA community with addiction, treatment, and recovery. See http://www.aana.com/peerassist.aspx. This organization is light years ahead of other nursing professional associations in so many ways its scary. Not only peer assistance but wellness also.

AANA has an active peer assistance program nationally and peer assistance advisors in all or most of the 50 states. http://webapps.aana.com/Peer/directory.asp

AANA even has a peer assistance hotline.  AANA Peer Assistance Hotline 800/654-5167

My legal assistant Jack is a volunteer peer assistance advisor here in Ohio http://osana.org/  and therefore I know first hand the wonderful things this program is doing for CRNA and Student Nurse Anesthetists. Jack is a former CRNA who surrended his Ohio license because of his addiction over a decade ago.

Why hasn't other national nursing professional associations stepped up like the AANA has for its members with addiction, treatment, and recovery? Is addiction, treatment, and recovery only an issue with CRNAs? Of course not so why haven't other national and specialty nursing associations stepped up to assist the profession? Where is the voice of these national nursing unions with respect to addiction, treatment, and recovery in nursing?

The majority of CRNAs in the US belong to the AANA while the majority of the 3 million RNs in the US don't belong to a national, specialty, or state nursing association or a nursing union. I wonder why? Stop the in-fighting and go grassroots with a issue like this which hits close to home. Maybe just maybe your membership numbers will increase :)

I have alot of cases (actually a large percentages of my cases) that involve allegations of abuse, impairment, and medication discrepancies in my law practice. We work very closely with our clients who are in recovery and it is a process. State Nursing Board complaints, suspensions, alternative to discipline programs, probation and monitoring, employment, return to work issues, criminal charges, criminal probation, etc. A long and complex process that we enjoy performing because there is a light at the end of the tunnel and its not a train!

I would like to see a national nurses association or a national union which both purport to represent the profession step up the plate and do for RNs nationally and on the state level what AANA does for CRNAs with respect to addiction, treatment, and recovery. I am willing to roll up my sleeves and become a super volunteer to assist with this type of endeavor. I can dream, right?

Southwestern Ohio Nurses Association (SONA) Winter 2010 Newsletter

See http://www.sonanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/10-01-sona-newsletter.pdf

See also Download 10-01-sona-newsletter.

For additional information about SONA, see its website at www.sonanet.org.

My law firm is participating in the SONA legal referral program. See http://www.sonanet.org/?page_id=181

National Nurses United: Is it the largest professional association of nurses now?

See http://www.uannurse.org/media/press.html?view=press_release&press_id=551&year=2009.

What does this mean for the American Nurses Association here and internationally if another nursing union and professional association is saying "its the largest" professional association for nurses in the United States?

Is this the beginning of the end and/or the end of the beginning for one or more national professional nursing associations? What do you think? In a Mortal Kombat battle and pure slugfest between the American Nurses Association and the National Nurses United, who would you root for to win? Which organization has the stamina to go the distance? Which organization better represents individual nurses and the profession of nursing? What do you think?

Wanda Wilson, CRNA, MSN, PhD named the Executive Director of the AANA

http://www.aana.com/news.aspx?ucNavMenu_TSMenuTargetID=171&ucNavMenu_TSMenuTargetType=4&ucNavMenu_TSMenuID=6&id=23876

Wanda was with the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing Nurse Anesthesia Program for a number of years. Congrats and best wishes!

Center for American Nurses November 2009 Newsletter

See http://www.can.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=278.

Kentucky Holistic Nurses Association Meeting this Month

"Soul Party" Workshop Series with Virginia Drake

Come to our Soul Party!   Come and "Soul"cialize with us at another great Virginia Drake Workshop series!    Dates:  Friday, October 23rd Time:  10 am - 2 pm     Cost:  "From the Heart Pricing Donation"    Locations: Occupational Kinetics, LLC directions:  www.myockn.com     RSVP:  [email protected]   Virginia Drake has worked in the fields of education, social work, counseling, consulting, and motivational speaking for over 30 years.  She holds a Master's Degree in Education from Georgetown College, a TEaching Certificate from Eastern Kentucky Univerity, and a B.S. Degree in Social Work form Murray State University.      In 1998, Virginia had a miraculous healing after a major heart attack and near death experience.  It was then that she became interested in the mind, body, and spirit connection and the impact these forces can have on ones' health and relationship.  She devoted the next 8 years to intensive study of meditaiton, natural healing, and quantum physics and how the electromagnetic field aof the human body works in connection with the healing process.   In addition to her private consulting business, Virginia also teaches workshops on developing strategies to promote a healthy and enriched life.      Virginia's website: www.revisions.us

Ohio League for Nursing-Southwest Ohio Regional Meeting

http://www.ohioleaguefornursing.org/associations/4237/files/SW%20Region%20Flyer.pdf

I am attending and its good to hear the Ohio League for Nursing is cranking up its efforts in Southwest Ohio.

Marla Weston named the new CEO of the American Nurses Association

The American Nurses Association has a new CEO.

The Board of Directors of the American Nurses Association (ANA) takes great pride in announcing that Marla J. Weston, PhD, RN has been named chief executive officer (CEO), effective June 14, 2009. As CEO, Weston will be responsible for providing visionary, strategic, and progressive leadership for the ANA enterprise. In her new role, Weston will also serve as CEO of the American Nurses Foundation (ANF), the research, education, and charitable arm of ANA.

See the press release at:

http://www.nursingworld.org/HomepageCategory/NursingInsider/Weston-Named-CEO-for-ANA.aspx

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Weston is without doubt an accomplished administrator (I like Marla) however she has her hands full with the ANA and guiding the professional association to a different mindset than what you currently see with ANA.

ANA is an organization for your great-grandmother and if it wants to survive and thrive in today's market, the organization needs to adopt the strategies and operating principles commonly seen in savvy specialty nursing assocations like the Infusion Nurses Society, Oncology Nurses Society, Emergency Nurses Association, National Association of Student Nurses, and of course the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.

The problem being that the majority of ANA's dues paying members are members of collective bargaining who belong to the assocation because of where they work (the facility has a collective bargaining agreement) not because the members voluntary joined and sought out to join and belong to the ANA.

Dr. Weston does have ties to the ANA and State Nurses Associations as a former Executive Director for Arizona; in my opinion this is good and bad. I hope this doesn't prevent her from making the hard calls needed to shake things up and the "elbow to the ribs" actions needed to make ANA a relevant organization for America's 2.9 million nurses.

 

Ohio Nurses Association Convention is this year: For Whatever Reason

See the link below if you are an ONA member or if you are planning to attend the Convention this year. Its in October 2009 in Independence, Ohio for whatever reason.

I haven't decided if I am attending. I don't think I am running for an office. I may run for Center delegate again this year. I know I am not running for anything ANA related. I haven't decided if I am running as a SONA delegate to attend the ONA convention for whatever reason.

At one point I was very active in nursing professional associations. I am still a member of different professional associations however I am not as active as I used to be for whatever reason.

If I attend I can use the time in Independence, Ohio to meet with clients from the Akron, Cleveland, and Youngstown, Ohio areas. I have alot of clients in Northern Ohio for whatever reason. I am still recovering from the four hour drive to Canton, Ohio last Sunday for a client meeting for whatever reason.

http://ona2009convention.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/2009-convention-timeline/

The ONA convention is October 15-18, 2009 in Independence, Ohio and it should be an interesting convention to say the least again this year for whatever reason.   

Minnesota Nurses Association correspondence related to severance of ANA relationship

This information is available on the Minnesota Nurses Association website.

See http://mnnurses.org/vertical/Sites/%7B41671038-B8D0-4277-90A9-50B10F730CBD%7D/uploads/%7BF790F9F6-D9CA-472A-8E60-ADDCE109C4D4%7D.PDF. 

Is It Your Professional Obligation to Pay Professional Association Dues?

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5PXR/is_2_71/ai_n29481838/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1

See this article published in the Tennessee Nurse in the Summer of 2008. The Tennessee Nurse is a publication of the Tennessee Nurses Association.

Do you feel you its your professional obligation to pay professional association dues?

For me its the perceived value in professional association dues. I don't mind paying dues for an organization if I feel (subjective) that I am receiving my money's worth. I don't need anyone to point to the tangible benefits of belonging (objective) to a professional association.

The key for professional association survival is for professional association (not potential members) to mesh and combine the subjective with the objective for me if they want my hard earned money.

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Your professional obligation—pay your dues

Tennessee Nurse,  Summer, 2008 by Laura Beth Brown

Five percent of the people reading this editorial can stop now because this doesn't apply to you, but 95% of you need to keep on reading because you are receiving the benefits of the Tennessee Nurses Association without paying your dues. For the past several years, I have been conducting an analysis of TNA membership. This has not been a sophisticated study with statistical striations-it has simply been a sort of campaign to ask the question-why are you not a member of your professional association?

Every month I review the cancelled memberships and make phone calls to various members. Some nurses say they don't agree with TNA so they don't join--I say pay your dues and influence change. Often nurses are guilty of forgetting to renew and just a need a reminder, other times we don't have accurate information on how to locate the member, but most often, the reason for not joining or not renewing I hear is related to the cost of membership.

Louise Browning, our former Executive Director, said it best when she quoted the philosopher Pogo, "we are faced with insurmountable opportunity." Could Pogo have been referring to Tennessee's 70,000 registered nurses when he made that profound observation?

The Tennessee Nurses Association is the only organization in our state whose mission is to promote and protect the registered nurse and advance the practice of nursing in order to assure a healthier Tennessee. The formation of TNA in 1905 began with the drive to develop and pass a law to regulate nursing practice. The first bill was introduced in 1907, but was defeated. In 1909, a second attempt was made to pass a bill, and it was once again defeated. But, on February 14, 1911, after much tenacious lobbying by TNA members across Tennessee, the first nurse practice act became law. Today, the nurse practice act regulates nursing and protects the public from unsafe nursing practice. The law includes a clear definition of professional nursing practice and necessary educational qualifications a registered nurse must have in order to practice; it also outlines the criteria schools of nursing must meet in order to gain approval by the board of nursing to educate registered nurses. TNA continually updates the nurse practice act to reflect the changing role of the registered nurse. This is just one example of how we began and what we do for each of you everyday that we exist.

You should feel an obligation to contribute to the profession of nursing by paying your dues. Everyday we make decisions that affect the practice of nursing for the 70,000 registered nurses in Tennessee--no one should expect the services for free, but that is in fact what happens when you don't join. Membership is important to both you and the organization.

So how do we rank among other professional associations in membership fees? Some of the strongest associations in numbers have the highest dues structure; logic would lead me to believe we need to increase our dues and get more members. For example, the Tennessee Medical Association's annual dues are $485 and the Tennessee Dental Association's annual dues are $375. They are two of the stronger associations in Tennessee, both in membership and Political Action Committee contributions. The logic doesn't work when you study the various associations in our state. (Table 1.0) Membership fees don't drive the decision; the professionalism of the individual making the decision drives the membership.

Yes, this is a challenge to each and every one of you to think with a serious heart and mind about your contribution to the association that keeps vigil over your practice. Think with a serious heart and mind that nursing professionalism is just as important as that of dentists and medical doctors. Tennesseans expect us to rise to a level of professionalism and be active participants. Don't let your profession down!

Laura Beth Brown, MSN, RN TNA President

COPYRIGHT 2008 Tennessee Nurses Association
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning