1/25/02 Update: Nurse Reinvestment Act: Does anyone know...

the nurse reinvestment act is law:p.l. 107-205 from 107th congress.

one of the benefits of ana (federal laws) and state nursing association (state laws) membership is being able to sign up for their legislative list-serve: political activity comes right to your computer!

check out this article:

new ojin article on nursing shortage topic 12/24/02

the nurse reinvestment act, p.l 107-205, was signed by

president bush in august, 2002. in the latest online

journal of issues in nursing (ojin) article "what does the nurse reinvestment act mean to you"on the topic of the nursing shortage, the authors explain the new law and urges nurses to take advantages of its provisions.

http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topic14/tpc14_5.htm

read the article, check the governments thomas website (link in above article) for appropriations funding, contact the coauthors of the bill and ask to be put on their healthcare e-mail list as you want info re funding this law. also email your senators and congress persons re need for funding and want to be added to their healthcare email alerts.

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many rn's are unaware this law has nurse retention as one of its major components.

copying part of above article here:

title ii. nurse retention

title ii addresses the nursing shortage by emphasizing the role of the work place in retaining and enhancing the education and professional development of nurses.

title ii addresses nurse retention. this component of the nurse reinvestment act represents a significant departure from older versions of nurse training and nursing education laws described in title 8 of the public health service act. typical legislation relied on schools of nursing to address the cyclical nursing shortages, focusing on increasing the supply of nurses, preparing nurses for specified areas of practice, and encouraging work force diversity by the recruitment of minority students. the literature on the current nursing shortage identifies retention as a factor and proclaims that nurses change jobs and careers because of issues in the workplace (aiken et al., 2001). contemporary debate often cites the culture of the hospital workplace as a factor in the shortage. mandatory overtime became the mantra to focus attention on poor working conditions. newspapers reflected the charge that acute care hospitals are not good places for nurses or patients (fackelmann, 2001). on the positive side, the reawakened interest in the work place focused new attention on the value of magnet hospitals (mcclure, poulin, sovie, & wandelt, 1983). these institutions attracted and retained nurses because of the governance style of the organizations and their ability to engage nurses in decision making.

section 201, building career ladders and retaining quality nurses

section 831, nurse education, practice, and retention grants:

this section, composed of parts a, b, and c, addresses funding priorities in education, practice and retention. it applies practice and educational frameworks to retention with two categories: (a) nurse education, practice, and retention, and (b)building career ladders and retaining quality nurses.

section 831a, education priority areas: this section provides funds to expand enrollment in baccalaureate nursing programs, to develop internships and residency programs in nursing specialties, and to encourage new educational technologies.

section 831b. practice priority areas: this section describes the availability of grants to demonstrate new nursing practice arrangements that improve access to primary health care for underserved and high-risk populations and to develop skill in providing managed care and quality improvement in organized health systems.

section 831b introduces new ideas as it gives the secretary authority to award demonstration grants or contracts; to establish/expand practice arrangements in non-institutional settings; to improve access to primary health care in medically underserved communities; to provide care for underserved and high-risk groups, such as the elderly, persons with hiv/aids, substance abusers, the homeless, and victims of domestic violence; to provide managed care, quality improvement, and other skills needed to practice in existing/emerging health care systems; and to develop cultural competencies among nurses

section 831c, retention priority areas: in this section, priority is given to the development of career ladder programs and the design of systems that enhance the delivery of patient care by improving collaboration and communication within the health care team.

section 202, comprehensive geriatric education

this section establishes programs to educate and develop nurses and others to care for the nation's aging.

section 203, nurse faculty loan program

to address the shortage of faculty in schools of nursing, the federal government has created a loan forgiveness program for nurses who prepare to become faculty in the nation's nursing schools. section 846a describes the establishment of the nurse faculty loan program. this section encourages schools of nursing to partner with the federal government in establishing and administering a nurse faculty loan fund.

graduates who teach full time in schools of nursing for four years can have eighty-five percent of their school loans canceled

section 204, reports by the general accounting office

the final component of p.l. 107-205 mandates that the comptroller general of the united states prepare a series of comprehensive reports to congress documenting how the educational and practice communities responded to this legislative initiative and describing the effectiveness of the nurse reinvestment act in addressing the nation's nursing shortage.

love this quote from the authors :

if nursing does not come forward and write grants to develop media campaigns, health insurers, managed care organizations, hospitals, and unions will shape nursing's image to suit their ends.

section 831b challenges the nursing community to envision and create practice environments that respond to contemporary and future demands, are more supportive of patients and their families, and create healthier places for nurses to practice their profession.

ana worked collaboratively with the authors of this bill to get nurse retention stratagies as key part of this law. think they helped craft a great piece of legislation.

am sticking this thread in the hopes that all nurses, nursing students, educators and persons interested in healthcare will write their legislators to get this law funded. karen

links to senators and congressmen/woman can be found in thread nurse activism primer:

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25102

Also check out: Nurse Education and Practice Grant Programs from HHS, Burreau of Health Professions:

http://www.bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/

See if things get funded.