National Nurse

Graduate Students At Wilmington University Study Office of the National Nurse Initiative

University of Wilmington MSN Nursing Students

Graduate and undergraduate nursing students from around the nation continue to enthusiastically study and support the Office of the National Nurse. Cathy Petrucci, a graduate nursing student attending Wilmington University (Delaware), presented a five-minute "infomercial" about the Office of the National Nurse proposal to her Politics and Policy class. She shared the National Nurse web site and blog, and also browsed through the links. Cathy stated there was very positive reception overall. Here are the conclusions that she wrote:

Recommendation and Summary

"Disease prevention and health promotion must be the priority for every healthcare provider. A National Nurse is the ideal person to lead this initiative since these two principles are fundamental to the profession of nursing. The Office of the National Nurse would be a unifying force for all nurses, elevate our influence and prominence, better utilize the expertise of nurses, and serve a vital function in our current climate of healthcare reform. The title of National Nurse would “provide the authority, impetus, and recognition needed to capture the public’s attention, encourage prevention, and raise awareness of a national push for health promotion efforts (Mills et al., 2008).

The impetus of this grass-roots movement is just what nurses need to unify around our core values. This is an unprecedented movement and clearly has captured the attention of America’s nurses. The collective voices of nurses are calling for change, and there is nothing but good to be attained by this initiative."

Reference:
Mills, T., Scanlon, K., & Sullivan, S. (2008). Nurses and the public say it is time for a change. Topics in Advanced Practice Nursing, 9(1).

Cathy Petrucci, RN, BSN, OCN
Current MSN student at Wilmington University, Wilmington, DE

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 2:57 AM 0 comments

Monday, October 26, 2009

Halloween Haunted Hospital Teaches Kids Importance of Prevention

On Saturday, October 31st, the Portland Community College Chapter of the National Student Nurses Association will be transforming the Nursing skills lab into a frightful Haunted Hospital on Halloween! The cost is $4 per child.

The purpose of the Haunted Hospital is a community outreach project aimed at teaching kids about the importance of practicing safety and developing healthy habits to prevent accidents and disease and to promote health.

Come out and begin your Halloween celebration by visiting this fun and spooky hospital.

Trick or Treat bags, donated by the Northwest Health Foundation, will be given to the first 400 visitors! Bring a can or box of non-perishable food for a $1.00 discount on admission. The food will be donated to the Oregon Food Bank to help combat hunger this winter for needy Oregonians

The event serves to help raise money for the PCC SNA chapter by providing the necessary funds and resources to continue community outreach efforts of that students participate and organize all year long.

It has been found that Americans rank prevention as their most important health priority and overwhelming support increasing funding for prevention programs to reduce disease and keep people healthy. The PCC NSNA Chapter believes that nurses should be at the forefront of that movement and when student nurses are out promoting health in the community they become a part of that exciting change!

For more information email teri@nationalnurse.info

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 3:54 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Americans Called to Serve

Last week President Barack Obama joined former President George H. W. Bush on stage at Texas A & M University to celebrate volunteerism and civic involvement. Now the AARP is helping to reinforce this message.

AARP announced that beginning this week TV audiences will see Prime Time Television programs encouraging community volunteerism. More than 100 popular TV shows representing several major networks will participate in this strong television promotion October 19th through October 25th. Well known celebrities will provide public service announcements and many television program scripts will also incorporate the idea of giving back.

AARP states, "Viewers will be encouraged to find volunteer opportunities in their communities at the Entertainment Industry Foundation's iParticipate website as well as the website for Create the Good, AARP's community service program that is cross-promoting with iParticipate.

AARP has more than 9 million volunteers, donors and activists, age 50 and older, involved in community service. The joint promotion is a way for the two organizations to pursue a common goal-showing Americans how easy it is to make a difference."

This public emphasis on volunteerism will serve to encourage nurses (active, retired, and those in student programs) to consider volunteer activity. Strengthening volunteerism is a major goal for creating the Office of the National Nurse. A National Nurse could offer guidance for effective nurse involvement at many levels to replicate successful prevention programs and address health disparities.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 5:25 AM 0 comments

Monday, October 19, 2009

Hitting the Road in Las Vegas for an Office of the National Nurse

Pictured left to right: Gina Rybolt RN (http://www.codeblog.com/), Kim McCallister RN (http://www.emergiblog.com/), and Terri Polick RN (http://www.nurseratchedsplace.com/)

Vice President Terri Polick of the National Nursing Network Organization sent in this report from Blog World Expo 09 that took place last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. Johnson and Johnson and Medpages sponsored the medblogger track at the conference where bloggers from around the world gathered to talk about the hot topics that are currently being discussed in the medical blogosphere. The establishment of the Office of the National Nurse was one of those hot topics, and Terri reported she was able to communicate the important role blogs have played in spreading the word about the Office of the National Nurse initiative.

The title of Terri's panel discussion was “Blogging for Change.” During the discussion moderator Dr. Val Jones from Get Better Health, asked each panelist to share a post from their own personal blog that they were most proud of. Terri told the audience that her favorite post, hands down, was her interview with Dr. Howard Dean. Terri went on to say that Governor Dean strongly supports the establishment of the Office of the National Nurse. Dr. Dean understands that a National Nurse is an important step in helping to keep our nation well by promoting wellness and prevention.

Blogs continue to be an important tool for any grassroots organization. The campaign for an Office of the National Nurse is no exception.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 12:40 AM 0 comments

Monday, October 12, 2009

A National Health Care Advocate for All Americans

Every day nurses play essential roles in the lives of their patients. One of our most important roles is as teachers. We give people the tools to make healthy decisions. Yet, the benefits of preventative medicine and education have been largely ignored over the past years, and the support nurses and patients need to properly carry out prevention has not been there. We need a National Nurse to be a national advocate for our patients and for nurses so that we can help develop a healthier America. A National Nurse would provide valuable insight that comes from men and women who are at the beside more often than any other health care provider, people who hear patient needs on a daily basis. Statistics show that prevention is key in health promotion.

A recent study of obesity in America titled F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2009 shows that “[e]xperts estimate that more than a quarter of America’s health care costs are related to obesity.” and “[t]hat an investment of just $10 per person per year in proven community-based disease prevention programs could save the country more than $16 billion annually within five years. This is a return of $5.60 for every $1.” In the next few years, patient care will need to become more prevention based than treatment based if we are to meet our Healthy People 2010 and 2020 goals. A National Nurse will be essential to successful health care reform in America that truly benefits all by making healthier Americans and decreasing health care costs. A National Nurse would be a national health care advocate for all Americans.

Submitted by Beth Ann Nyssen RN, BSN
Portland, Oregon

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 12:55 AM 0 comments

Monday, October 05, 2009

MammaCare Says Yes to Office of the National Nurse

Thank you to the MammaCare Organization for their recent endorsement of the Office of the National Nurse initiative. One of our dedicated supporters, Cathy Coleman RN, BSN became the very first MammaCare trained nurse in the country in 1980. The MammaCare Organization recommendations remain the most published and best practice standard for manual breast examination.

September 14, 2009

Dear Teri,

There is convincing evidence that American health-care reform can be dramatically advanced by deploying our greatest and most trusted national health resource, America's nurses. No other Western nation has the magnitude of skilled health-care professionals ready to serve its needs. No other Western nation needs a trusted, national public heath resource more than we do.

Establishing the Office of the National Nurse would be a brilliant and practical first step in publicly acknowledging America’s nurses as the nation's most dedicated and available health-care resource. This act would give life, substance, and a trusted human face to our emergent national health-care system. If affirmed, the Office of the National Nurse will organize, enlist, and assure the deployment of nurses to serve the US health needs that have languished for generations.

Our work at MammaCare provides a compelling example of the commitment by corps of nurses with little regard for gain or profit. As you know, the National Cancer Institute supported the development of MammaCare, the quality-standard program for medical practitioners to learn proficient, evidence based breast examination. Nurses represent, by far, the greatest number of participants in this rigorous, life saving program with little or no compensation. As a result each day literally thousands of US women receive proficient clinical breast examinations (CBE's) performed by trained hands belonging to RN's.

The reason I feel compelled to write this letter is our constant observation of the high standards nurses hold for clinical performance and patient care irrespective of personal gain. It would be fortunate to now recognize and enlist this superior and benevolent public health resource in a central role of American health-care reform.

M.K. Goldstein, Ph.D.
Chairman and Senior Scientist
MammaCare Organization

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 3:55 AM 0 comments

Monday, September 28, 2009

Why Doesn't the U.S. Have an Office of the National Nurse?

Why Doesn't the U.S. Have an Office of the National Nurse? asks American Journal of Nursing editor in chief emeritus Diana Mason in a recent article she posted at AJN Off the Charts?.

Mason describes the scene, a public hearing hosted by the Institute of Medicine Initiative on the Future of Nursing. Leading off the session were two nurses, Ann Keen, Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Undersecretary for Health Services, who chairs the British commission; and Jane Salvage, the lead secretariat for the commission and a former contributing editor for AJN. While being interviewed by Mason, Keen and Salvage, both said they didn’t understand why American nurses were not supporting the call for a CNO for the United States. They went on to express support for elevating a nurse to be on par with the Office of the Surgeon General.

Mason concludes, "Our colleagues across the pond are convinced that it makes a difference to have a national CNO who is visible, proactive, collaborative, and savvy. Keen urged nurses to “have courage and take your agenda forward.” While our current priorities should probably be ensuring that Congress passes health care reform legislation this year and that any legislation includes enabling language to improve access to advanced practice nurses, we’ll soon need to focus on how to transform the care we provide to emphasize health promotion and care coordination. Let’s do it with courage and include the notion of a national chief nurse."

Susan Sullivan, NNNO Board Member, left this comment: "The grassroots group of nurses that has been working for over 3 years to establish an Office of the National Nurse in the US remains focused and determined. They continue to be optimistic because support for having a National Nurse is overwhelming when the vision is shared with nursing organizations across all areas of practice.

Opposition arose based on misinformation on the role and details of the proposal. The excellent work done by ANA and other professional nursing organizations will be supported and enhanced by having a National Nurse. Surely support for enhancing nursing’s role in improving the nation’s health would not be adversarial to any group familiar with the issues of nursing advocacy. Nurses, unite, and support having a National Nurse, because both the nursing profession and the nation will benefit."

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 12:57 AM 0 comments

Monday, September 21, 2009

H1N1 Flu Pandemic Illustrates Need for Office of the National Nurse

Continued cutbacks in school nurses raises concerns for H1N1 response. With the threat of H1N1 flu facing schools this fall, the role of school nurses will be pivotal as communities gear up to respond to H1N1. Yet few states or school districts meet the CDC recommended ratio of having one school nurse for every 750 students, and each school nurse often must serve several schools. The National Association of School Nurses found from its own 2007 survey that the ratio was much higher; 1,151 students per nurse.

USA Today recently highlighted the plight of America's school nurse in their report, School Nurses In Short Supply. The article acknowledges that when swine flu appears in schools, it is likely that the school nurse will discover it. Yet nationwide, only an estimated 45% of public schools have a full-time nurse on staff. If public schools who have a part-time nurse are added in, this figure jumps to 75%. Still this leaves 25% of schools with no nurse at all.

The actual impact H1N1 will have on school children is yet to be determined. School nurses anticipate being needed to coordinate screening, plan for mass immunizations, and teach prevention including proper handwashing and cough etiquette.

The pending H1N1 scenario presents a good example of how having a National Nurse would benefit our nation. A National Nurse could provide focused guidance and attention on this crisis; engaging nurses able to volunteer to partner and offer assistance to their local schools, and encourage nurses to participate in immunization clinics as these become available in their own communities.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 12:27 AM 0 comments

Monday, September 14, 2009

President Obama Values Nurses Role in Healthcare Debate

Kudos to the American Nurses Association for applauding and supporting President Barack Obama's commitment to ensuring that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care. In his focused comments to nurses made the day after his historical speech last week to Congress regarding health care reform, President Obama alluded to how nurses can help in reaching healthcare reform. Speaking at a press conference accompanied by nurses and the leadership of the American Nurses Association, President Obama said "because nurses touch many lives” and “people trust you” we can continue to do our jobs and use nursing’s credibility to cut through the public confusion and falsehoods regarding “some government takeover of healthcare.”

The President asked that nurses help clarify proposed changes and explain why "now is the time to act." He confirmed that "saving money now spent on things that don’t improve quality, will allow spending more on things that do improve quality, for example like paying nursing instructors more money to train more nurses that we need.”

These statements by President Obama recognizing the credibility of nurses, also seem to strengthen the premise that trusted, knowledgeable nurses could be very effective change agents for furthering prevention efforts in our nation. Thus, as we tackle how to reform healthcare for the future, the goal of having a National Nurse to spearhead prevention efforts by nurses continues to make sense. The time for change is here and that includes implementation of the Office of the National Nurse initiative.

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 1:01 AM 0 comments

Monday, September 07, 2009

Nurses: Largest Sector of the Healthcare Workforce

Pictured left to right: AFT National President Randi Weingarten and NNNO President Teri Mills MS, RN, CNE

National Nursing Network Organization's President Teri Mills had an opportunity to speak directly with AFT National President Randi Weingarten during AFT's Back To School Tour '09 last week when Weingarten visited the campus of Portland Community College. AFT represents 1.4 million members of which 40,000 are nurses. Weingarten expressed great appreciation for what nurses contribute each and every day to keeping our nation healthy. Nurses represent the largest sector of the healthcare workforce and have played an integral role in healthcare reform activism this past year.

AFT National endorsed the Office of the National Nurse initiative when a resolution passed UNANIMOUSLY out of their national convention in August, 2006. The resolution urges Congress to enact legislation to create the Office of the National Nurse. Covering the AFT Back to School Tour 09 Blog, Annette Licitra writes:

AFT Portland Community College members never do two things: They never let up and they never give up. Take these three examples on display during the AFT Back-to-School Tour '09:

Nurse educators Linda Eby, Maurge Dulaney and Teri Mills are bound and determined to get more, more, more for aspiring nurses: more access to nurse education, more instructors and more seats in classrooms. Forget limitations—these resolute AFT members have visions and plans for partnerships with other institutions, growth in their program that trains nursing and medical assistants to become registered nurses, and expanded clinical opportunities. They think big and they'll win big.

Mills (and AFT Member and NNNO Secretary Alisa Schneider MSN, RN) are helping the union pursue the Office of the National Nurse akin to the Office of the Surgeon General. Her idea has won our members' endorsement as an AFT resolution, and she'll win over Washington, too.

Weingarten and Mills share a lighter moment during the tour of Portland Community College Nursing Simulation Lab

- posted by Natl. Nurse Team @ 2:11 AM 0 comments

An Office of the National Nurse would:

Endorsements

Monday, November 02, 2009