For comparisons sake, I made a couple of phone calls -
First to the Texas Nurses Association – according to them, there are about 170,000 nurses in Texas, but only 3,800 of them are members of the Texas Nurses Association. That means that about 2% of all nurses in Texas are members of the TNA.
In contrast, the Texas Medical Association has 40,683 members as of March 31, 2006 according to a phone call placed to their membership department. There are about 53,000 physicians in Texas according to the Texas board of medical examiners. 76% of physicians are members of their professional organization.
HUH???? Are we listed in Webster's under the definition for apathy?
I just wanted to add my 2 cents to this topic here, as I find it quite interesting. Where I am from (Canada) all the nurses in the province that I live in are all under both the provincial RN association as well as the Provincial union. We dont have a choice it is a must for both. I think with all the nurses in the Province being under both it gives both associations more clout and barganing power. Whether nurses here like it or not we are all stuck together so I guess many have learned to play nice nice with polatitions and such. Now this isnt to say that we get totally walked over cause we do in a way but not in the same way as others. Our union is strong and those in positions of power with in both associations are voted in so if they suck they can be fired in a way :)
P.S. sorry using someone elses computer and it doesnt have spell check so for all those reading my post and cringing at the hhorrible spelling I'm sorry :)
I have looked into joining but I can't afford the membership cost and never could figure out if that was an annual cost or what. I didn't find the websight that easy to manuver around in.
Specializes in home & public health, med-surg, hospice.
Well, that would be one strategy - but no organization can do much of anything until it has members and money :)
I'm working on a survey - I will have it ready in a few weeks. Gotta get through graduation first!
This may take some time to stew...
How's that stew comin' along???
Thinking of the stew, reminded me of one of my daughter's favorite stories, "Stone Soup." For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, the moral of it is: "...by working together, with everyone contributing what they can, a greater good is achieved".
I am thinking of this contribution by many, for many, as it pertains to nursing; could we not achieve a greater good (not only for ourselves but for those in our care) by doing so?
Well, there's my feeble attempt of "contributing" to you all - "food for thought."
I have worked in many CA hospitals since the "ratio law" has gone into effect. I have a regular job at Long Beach Memorial where CNA has done nothing but make it harder for RNs to be cohesive and work together...but that isn'twhat I want to talk about. In almost every hospital I work (through registry) we are working outside of the ratio. If you don't have enough nurses, the charge nurse is taking assignments, can't find any more registry nurses...what do you do????Send the patients home? NO! We continue to take care of them. I take pride in what I do. I am a professional. I have never felt that my nurse manager wanted me to provide subpar nursing care, I have never had a nurse manager that put the budget before good patient care...but there are times when we just can't find another nurse to work and we make the most of it!
I have a very good friend who is a nurse in Texas and she asked me about the ratio law. I told her that it looks good on paper, but most hospitals find themselves outside of the ratios quite often, especially for breaks. I explained to her that there are absolutely NO TEETH in the law. Nothing happens to the hospital all they do is "report to the department of health" I was told by the department of health that they are no longer taking these reports because there are so many and they can't do anything about it anyway.
So, for people who think that this ratio law is the best thing since sliced bread...think again. In practice it really isn't any different than before the ratios, except we see ERs close more often and it's much harder to admit patients from the ER. I'm glad that I didn't give any money to this cause. Really, all it has turned out to be is PR for CNA.
Yes and more meetings. More networking and more new membership every day. More cities. NNOC message is for Safe Staffing,nurse advocacy and nurse protect is the mission. Always politics but WHAT IS THE MESSAGE? Who is has the best message for safe bedside care and nurse protection?
Nothing is perfect but the American Hospital Assocation and the ANA do not represent my welfare or my Texas patients.
I support the AACN. I lefted the ENA when the politics and inaction were apparent with critical national issues about unsafe and overwhelmed ERs everwhere. ENA was more concerned about gun safety than staffingand practice issues. Seem to sell a lot of handbooks and TNCC/CATN/EPNCC course books. ASPAN made a statement about safe staffing.
Work in CA but nothing is perfect.
Safe Harbor in Texas is reporting to the hospital that is causing the problem.
Look at an ADO form on the CNA website and note that the CA nurse practice act is state law and written in the report form. Texas nurse practice act issues with nurse advocacy is not state law with any kind of protection for a RN.
I came late to this conversation and just recently to this forum.
I am a Texan and a RN that just can't sit still.
Afraid of the blacklisting you bet. Know it better than anyone. I have a roof over my head and few bills not dependent on a nursing job and wouldn't let that stop me at this point. I have reached my absolute pain level with working conditons for nurisng and bedside Texas nursing.
I was in your Long Beach area and working registry and never was called for shifts. That is your hospital's method of staffing and claiming "not enough nurses".
Look at the numbers of new CA licenses that have been issued in the years since Safe Staffing has happened.
Hospitals are making the statement that "See we can't fill the ratios because we can't find any nurses". Look at your CEO salary and CA hospital's profits for the last severval years. The CEO and CNO gets performance bonuses for short staffing.
I will NEVER join TNA until they recognize and appreciate LVN's and ADN's and quit their endless whining campaign about "BSN's and Phd's". The MAJORITY of Registered Nurses in this state and the nation are ADN level....HELLO......anyone home?
Oh yeah, let us not forget, TNA routinely "endorses" political candidates and advocates for you and I right? Not only is the mentality at entry level BSN, but in Nurse Practitioners having Phd mininmum. I guess to some, the real world doesn't exsist, bills don't need paying, children don't need rearin' and nursing from a desk is grandure.... life is good at the TNA!
gauge14iv, MSN, APRN, NP
1,622 Posts
Cool...glad to see he endorses something - seeing as how his wife is a nurse - I suppose that doesnt surprise me.
ETA: I wonder if SHE is a member of the TNA? LOL!!!