In the January, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), Roxane Nelson BSN, RN poses the question of whether or not the idea of a National Nurse for America has stalled. When Teri Mills an NP and nurse educator from Portland OR originally proposed the idea in May of 2005, she suggested the creation of an office of a National Nurse in her op-ed piece in The New York Times. Over time the idea, as promoted by The National Nursing Network Organization (NNNO) chaired by Mills, has evolved to elevate and enhance the chief nurse officer who serves under the Surgeon General to the role of the National…
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More About a National Nurse
Have you read the latest article about the National Nurse campaign in Advance for Nurses, September 15, 2008 issue? If you don’t receive this magazine, you can read the article online. Learn more about this grassroots movement. And visit the National Nurse website and blog.
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Nurses are Calling for Change
The economy has quickly risen to the top of the list of issues facing the U.S. candidates running for office this year from local levels all the way to the Presidential candidates. No doubt that is a major issue on the minds of everyone regardless of their political party preferences. It is something that has to be addressed and fixed, and the sooner the better! But we can’t let the health care crisis be lost in the process of trying to remain afloat financially. In fact the economic downturn directly affects the health care crisis. If we thought Americans couldn’t afford health care before they started losing their homes and…
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Students Learn About Political Activism First Hand
Student nurses at Mt. Wachusett Community College recently took the issue of a National Nurse to the Massachusetts state legislature. They contacted their state representative, Christine Caravan, BSN to assist in this matter. Rep. Caravan took the matter to the MA state legislature and on March 27, unanimously both the House and Senate branches passed a resolution encouraging the U.S. Congress to enact legislation to create an Office of the National Nurse. The students were acting on their belief that elevating the current Chief Nurse Officer position in the USPHS will help to make nurses more visible and prominent in producing a cultural shift to prevention in health care. At…
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Joining Forces With the National Nurse Efforts
Patient education is a key element in helping patients to assume responsibility for their own health status and outcomes. Nurses are a primary source for patient education, but beyond the bedside, nurses are not always as accessible. Practitioners have cut office operational costs by using medical assistants and lay personnel. An Office of the National Nurse could help to make nurses more accessible to the general public. Health care costs are expected to double in the U.S. by 2017. Using nurses effectively to promote wellness and health care education would go a long way in healing the health care crisis.