NURSES Rights

Cardiolo · Jul 20, 2001

Thanks -jt!

ktwlpn, LPN · Jul 20, 2001

Originally posted by -jt
For posting at work:

The American Nurses Association's

~ BILL OF RIGHTS for REGISTERED NURSES ~

Registered Nurses promote and restore health, prevent illness, and protect the people entrusted to their care. They work to alleviate the suffering experienced by individuals, families, groups, and communities. In so doing, nurses provide services that maintain respect for human dignity and embrace the uniqueness of each patient and the nature of his or her health problems, without restriction with regard to social or economic status.
To maximize the contributions nurses make to society, it is necessary to protect the dignity and autonomy of nurses in the workplace. To that end, the following rights must be afforded:

I. Nurses have the Right to practice in a manner that fulfills their obligations to society and to those who receive nursing care.

II. Nurses have the Right to practice in environments that allow them to act in accordance with professional standards and legally authorized scopes of practice.

III. Nurses have the Right to a work environment that supports and facilitates ethical practice, in accordance with the Code for Nurses and its interpretive statements.

IV. Nurses have the Right to freely and openly advocate for themselves and their patients, without fear of retribution.

V. Nurses have the Right to fair compensation for their work, consistent with their knowledge, experience, and professional responsibilities.

VI. Nurses have the Right to a work environment that is safe for themselves and their patients.

VII. Nurses have the Right to negotiate the conditions of their employment, either as individuals or collectively, in all practice settings.
>>>>>>>>
Got to love that ANA-many thanks....from an L.P.N. with no rights....

-jt · Jul 20, 2001

The ANA is an organization that deals mostly with RN issues. The national organization that deals specifically with LPNs & their rights is the National Federation of LPNS. You can become a part of that & make your voice heard through it. You can contact it at http://www.NFLPN.org

Jenny P · Jul 21, 2001

Ktwlpn, the "Bill of Rights for Registered Nurses" is written by the ANA, the professional organization for registered nurses. If you read it through, it uses the words "registered" twice in the whole page, once in the title, and as the first word of the statement where it describes what RNs do. The rest of the document uses "Nurses" for a reason: we believe that RNs and LPNs have 2 distinct scopes of practice. I personally think (after reading it through several times) that this covers both scopes of practice and isn't meant to strip you or anyone of their rights.

Why are you reading it that way? :eek:

Is it really that tough to be an LPN these days? Many of us were LPNs before we became RNs (including me) and we were taught to work together as a team; why does it seem as though some just want to cause further divisions among us?

(BTW, I've mentioned this in other threads before, if it is the name ANA that bugs you, that has been the title of the organization since the 1910's, and LPNs didn't come into existance until the 1940's, around WWII and the Korean War. LPNs have had their own organization since around then also. Why take offense to that?).

ktwlpn, LPN · Jul 22, 2001

I am not implying that it is really "so tough to be an LPN these days"nor am I being divisive. It's tough for us ALL where I work,RN's,LPN's and CNA'S.We are all working toward the same goal-giving our residents the care they need which is tough in our current staffing crisis...If we ALL joined our voices together we would be heard loudly and clearly.....

JenKatt · Jul 22, 2001

But ktwlpn, don't LPN's and RN's have different issues also? While we are all nurses but are jobs are also different, with different scopes of practice. Yes we need to unite, but I also think we need to each be represented for our different issues. That's what the ANA and the NFLPN do. The represent LPNS and RNs individually for their issues, if there was one nursing organization, I believe it wouldn't be able to represent eveyone evenly nor fairly.

I dunno, just my opinion

-jt · Jul 22, 2001

Oh so true. But since only about 10% of all RNs belong to their national professional association & less than that amount of LPNs belong to theirs, we're probably living in a fantasy world if we think we ALL will ever join our voices together anywhere. Just because there are separate national organizations for the different groups does not preclude them from working with each other together for the common good. We even can put differences aside with competing labor unions to work on issues like the national safe needles law. Being a separate entity to focus on just your own members needs is a good thing & doesnt stop both parties from joining their voices together on certain issues. Read the following and find out if your national association is getting involved & if not, tell them you want them to get involved (it would help if you were a member giving them orders!):

ANA Acts to Unite Nursing Profession Over Staffing Crisis, Emerging Shortage -

Washington, DC --In response to the current nurse staffing crisis and a massive nursing shortage expected to hit the U.S. by 2010, the American Nurses Association House of Delegates today overwhelmingly approved a plan to unite national nursing groups to develop an agenda that advocates changes in the work environment to increase retention efforts in the profession. Nearly 800 registered nurses have been gathered in Washington, DC, over the past week for annual meetings to address concerns regarding nursing and safe, quality patient care, as well as business of the ANA.

Nursing's Agenda to Shape the Future for the Profession and for Safe, Quality Care Delivery directly addresses the concerns of nurses nationwide who daily face such challenges as inadequate staffing and mandatory overtime. These practices not only endanger patient care but are driving nurses from the bedside, aggravating the emerging nursing shortage. ANA released a survey earlier this year that revealed that 75 percent of registered nurses believe the quality of care in their facilities has deteriorated in the past two years. Forty percent said they would not recommend the profession to friends or family.

"What does that mean for the next 10 or 20 years?" asked ANA President Mary Foley, MS, RN, who has led the House through its discussions during the past few days. Current projections forecast that the supply of registered nurses will no longer meet the demand for nursing services by 2010. This prediction is based on the fact that the average age of employed registered nurses is 43, enrollments in schools of nursing continue to decline, and the demand for nursing services will increase as a result of the aging of the U.S. population and the growing need for management of chronic illnesses and conditions.

"These factors, which point to a massive shortage, make it imperative that we be able to attract new nurses into the profession. WE CANNOT DO THAT UNTIL WORKING CONDITIONS ARE IMPROVED", ANA President, Mary Foley said.

Today's action by the House of Delegates directs the ANA to work with other nursing organizations to outline necessary changes within the work environment, the health care industry, nursing education programs and workforce diversity to promote accessible, quality health care delivery and to focus resources on the recruitment and retention of nurses in all roles and settings. To that end, the ANA is coordinating a four-day nursing summit this fall to address the critical issues of nurse staffing and the looming shortage. Representatives of approximately 100 national nursing and specialty organizations have been invited to meet Sept. 8-11 in the Washington, DC, area for a Call to the Nursing Profession, to develop a comprehensive, overarching plan to resolve current staffing concerns and to mitigate the emerging nursing shortage.

With 14 of the nation's largest nursing organizations serving as a steering committee, the summit will address the specific concerns of nurses across America related to insufficient staffing, current shortage pockets, and the impending national shortage. The summit will build upon previous work, including: Nursing's Agenda for Health Care Reform, developed by the ANA; the nursing shortage statement developed by the Tri-Council on Nursing (ANA, the National League for Nursing, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the American Organization of Nurse Executives); and a workforce model that describes the shortage from a systems perspective developed by the AONE. In addition, the summit will utilize work from the Nursing Practice and Education Consortium, 11 nursing organizations that developed a strategic plan around practice and education disconnects that are impacting the nursing workforce. The summit also will enable the nursing groups to identify and commit to the work necessary to implement Nursing's Agenda to Shape the Future.

"This national effort is critical as the country copes with a nurse staffing crisis and faces a nursing shortage of massive proportions," Foley said. "ANA believes that without sufficient nurse staffing and expert care delivery, patient safety is compromised and the overall quality of care in the United States is destined for deterioration. This situation constitutes a public health crisis and action must be taken immediately."

###

http://www.ana.org/pressrel/2001/pr0701.htm

-jt · Jul 22, 2001

Representatives of approximately 100 national nursing and specialty organizations have been invited to meet Sept. 8-11 in the Washington, DC, area for a Call to the Nursing Profession, to develop a comprehensive, overarching plan to resolve current staffing concerns and to mitigate the emerging nursing shortage.>>

Have any LPNs contacted their national association and asked it if it is getting involved in this summit? Or let them know that you want them to get involved in it?

Jenny P · Jul 22, 2001

Ktwlpn, my little sister is an LPN. Does she work as one in a health care setting? NO, she works as a cashier in a large grocery store out in Montana because she gets more money and more respect from her employer than when she worked in a hospital as a nurse. After having to work every weekend night (while working full time!!!) for around 6-7 years; she finally quit working as an LPN in a health care facility and started managing gas and convenience stores. She has had several small businesses on the side doing foot care in several LTC settings for several years (as an independant practictioner); she has sold Mary Kay products to trans-sexuals and transvestites; and she has also taught CPR classes on the side (and who knows what else-- I'm always amazed at what she is up to).

She feels that nurses in general aren't treated fairly, and in a way envies RNs because of ANA. But, like most LPNs, she didn't join NFLPN, and has felt that this lack of a strong voice is what ails LPNs today.

I really feel that nurses, as a whole, will do better if we had a stronger political voice, and that will only happen if we all join our national associations. After all, politics plays a major role in even something as simple as the local PTA; so if we could all flex our collective might, just think how much stronger we would be as a whole. I definitely don't think we would be feeling as victimized as we currently do.

ktwlpn, LPN · Jul 23, 2001

Originally posted by JenKatt
But ktwlpn, don't LPN's and RN's have different issues also? While we are all nurses but are jobs are also different, with different scopes of practice. >>>>>>>>How different are our issues,really?Most of the pertinent issues are a concern to all-such as nurse- ratio; the current trend in which unlicensed personel are being trained to perform duties formerly performed by nurses-to save money...What issues would concern you but not me? I am seriously not fanning flames-I really want to know what you think...

JenKatt · Jul 23, 2001

I think there are similar issues, like the ones you said, but there are different ones also..

How bout this: From what I can see, LPNs have significant issues with what their rolls are as nurses... Tell me if I'm wrong, but I hear resentment towards the RNs role and the lack of a consistant LPN role. Also, considering that just a little while ago, from what I remember being a nursing student in NJ, there was a definite push to totally phasing out the LPN position in hospitals and acute care centers. The LPNs in NJ had no voice to fight this, and to be quite honest, it seemed like the RNS at the time didn't really care. It wound up being a moot point because the shortage hit hard and now LPNs are being hired in hospitals.

I think the largest point for haven't different organizations is different roles. Yes we all take care of patients, but the role of the RN, is different from an LPN. In the places I have worked, the LPN can't do assessments, IV push meds, and various other tasks.

I just feel that while a united organization would be nice, I feel that as long as the role of the LPN and RN are so different in the care setting, we need equal but sperate organizations.

Look at it this way, on this web site alone, the boards are divided to give LPNs their own voicem which is ofter overlooked for the RNs voice. All I really want is for LPNs to get their own voice and representation.

As bad as this might sound, I really do care deeply for LPNs. My mom teachs LPN school, and I grew up with her students. Over the years I consistantly heard from her graduates how they felt left out of nursing, that they were second class citizens to RNs. Until the world looks at LPNs as real nurses also, I think (and this is just my opinion) that LPNs need a voice that just cares about them and can do justice for ya'll

This is just one nurses opinion