Joining the ANA and staffing issues

While not everyone supports the ANA (particuarly their stance on the BSN vs ADN debate) I applaud you for not sitting on the sidelines and taking some action.

Good luck.

today i finally decided to join the ana. i hope that belonging to an organization with some political input will eventually help make some safe and positive changes in nursing that i am not able to do alone.

there are changes at our facility. they are eliminating some positions, such as the admissions/discharge nurse, while combining others. the corporate office ((all non-nurses naturally)) also want to increase our nurse/patient ratios and increase our job descriptions to include many of the tasks they eliminated by that other person on payroll.

a sort of do-more-with-less philosophy.

i work a telemetry med/surg floor where the acuity levels are off-the-wall and 99% of the patients are total care dependent.

we currently have one nurse to six patients and corporate wants to increase the ratio to 8/9 patients per nurse. i am getting older and i am not willing to loose my license because the corporate office wants to cut costs and pocket more $$$.

i decided that maybe joining the ana would give me some input into issues that face nurses. it seemed like a lot of money to join, but at this stage in my life, i think this may be the best way to elicit change. anyone have any other ideas?

devote 1 day a month to write to your local congress/state officials, jchaco, your state health dept and local paper.

it's free online, or only the cost of a stamp.

you'd be amazed at the interest. it's very enpowering! more nurses should do this.

devote 1 day a month to write to your local congress/state officials, jchaco, your state health dept and local paper.

it's free online, or only the cost of a stamp.

you'd be amazed at the interest. it's very enpowering! more nurses should do this.

posted by tridil2000

i have written various news stations and congressional leaders in the past on issues of importance.

i don't know why i haven't thought of that idea already. :imbar

i am not sure that i would know how to present the issue of staffing and nurse to patient ratios to someone outside of the medical field.

any ideas?

While not everyone supports the ANA (particuarly their stance on the BSN vs ADN debate) I applaud you for not sitting on the sidelines and taking some action.

Good luck.

Tweety, you anticipated me, you sly dog.

I can't/won't join ANA because they not only DON'T represent me; they actively advocate for my elimination.

In fact, I have argued extensively that the ADN vs. BSN debate is the wedge that keeps nursing from being unified PRECISELY BECAUSE our national organization only fully represents 35% of nursing as a result.

They'll take my money, but only to spit in my eye. And they won't even take an LVN/LPN's money. What, they aren't nurses?

Nurses DO need a national organization to represent ourselves. The ANA is NOT that organization. But hey, that was their choice.

~faith,

Timothy.

What Timothy said.

What Timothy said.

I agree with what Timothy said too:)

The hospital I work at has been threatening similar things--increase patient loads, do away with admit nurse. I also joined a nursing organization, the National Nurses Organizing Committee. It's a competitor to the ANA, but the aim is toward direct patient care RNs rather then management RNs.

Website is: http://www.calnurses.org/nnoc/

i agree with what timothy said too:)

the hospital i work at has been threatening similar things--increase patient loads, do away with admit nurse. i also joined a nursing organization, the national nurses organizing committee. it's a competitor to the ana, but the aim is toward direct patient care rns rather then management rns.

website is: http://www.calnurses.org/nnoc/

thanks for the web site. i have already looked it over and it really sounds like more of what i would want. i want to support the nurses at the bedside and on the floors doing direct patient care.

i also read an article today about an organization that works to improve the image of nursing in the media. i have sent in my email address to them to stay updated. this new site gave me food for thought too.

http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/action/action.html

being older may mean that i have to choose my battles more carefully, as well as "how" to do battle with the most impact. i did not realize that there were more organizations out there besides the ana.

nursingadvocacy.org is a very good organization