Support Group for Nurses???

[nurturing_angel]

Hi,

Not sure where I should actually be posting this but I thought here would be a good start.

Has anyone here ever started or belonged to a community support group for nurses? I was talking to some co-workers today and we are very interested in starting a county nurses group where we can get together about once a month and share how we feel.....vents, frustrations, and complaints but also a group where we can learn from each other, and work to improve nursing in our local area. And the social (fun) aspect of getting together cannot be ignored. We feel that while families and friends outside the profession can be supportive, they don't always understand the stress and special problems we have.

Any suggestions for getting started would be so appreciated.

Vickie :Melody:

[cursenurse]

that sounds like a really good idea. why don't you just organize on a small level, like with the nurses at your job. most nurses already associate with other nurses so you can just set it up with the nurses you know and they will tell their friends and you'll probably get alot of nurses interested. i don't know if i would emphasize it being a support group, people might get the idea that they are going to go and sit in a circle crying and griping for two hours. i would bill it more as a nurses' social club or something where you can get together talk, network, etc. if you serve good refreshments, maybe some wine you should have lots of nurses wanting to participate. :)

[live4today, RN]

I agree with cursenurse. It's a great idea, but lighten up on the title as cursenurse already said. :)

You could hang posters in healthcare clinics and on hospital bulletin boards (with their permission of course). You could also put an ad in the social section of your newspaper, in schools and churches; malls and grocery stores might have a place you could post posters; laundromats, healthclubs.........anywhere people are there are bound to be nurses present as members or visitors. Good luck in your endeavors! :)