Nurses spend more time with patients than most other types of providers and have unique insight into patient care and the the healthcare system.

Nurses Change Presidents and Go Home

Wrapping up the 2010 ANA House of Delegates

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN interim editor-in-chief. See Shawn’s other blog posts from the ANA House of Delegates meeting here and here.

The ANA House of Delegates, the governing body of the American Nurses Association, ended its 2010 meeting on Saturday, June 21, saying goodbye to outgoing president Becky Patton and welcoming new president Karen Daley, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, from Massachusetts.

Daley, who’s held various state and national offices, is probably best known for her advocacy and leadership in working to pass federal legislation for safer needles and needlestick injury prevention programs. The next day, the first full day of her presidency, she made a trip to the White House (not her first visit—she was there in 2000 when President Bill Clinton signed the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act). (See the ANA press release with the full list of newly elected officers; other House of Delegate actions are listed here.)

This year, the atmosphere was markedly different from past years—no angry delegates walked out; no groups plotted disruptive strategies; there was even little word-smithing of resolutions. Everyone seemed to be working together.  Maybe the cooperative atmosphere came about because there were no really controversial issues relating to organizational structure or dues or bylaws (perhaps the most controversial was whether to change terms of office from two years to four—it didn’t pass); or because the President of the United States […]

2016-11-21T13:17:07-05:00June 23rd, 2010|career, nursing perspective|0 Comments
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Nursing Education and Collective Bargaining: ANA Nurses Look Back to the Future

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN interim editor-in-chief. (She e-mailed Off the Charts this post at the end of the day yesterday.)  

There were no surprise guests today at the American Nurses Association (ANA) House of Delegates meeting here in Washington, DC. Today the House got down to business—Rebecca Patton addressed the House, reminding attendees that current accomplishments were built on work that began long before her presidency. This segued nicely into the insightful panel presentation by past presidents of the ANA, from Jo Eleanor Eliot through to Barbara Blakeny (Beverly Malone was absent). These past presidents reviewed their accomplishments with candor, noting accomplishments as well as regrets. For instance, Eliot noted that in retrospect, she wished that the ANA had developed an implementation plan to go with the proposal for basic educational preparation at the baccalaureate level. Barbara Nichols noted that the “elephant in the room” was collective bargaining, and that the ANA’s work in this area, whether one agreed with it or not, “forced the discussion” on what role and rights and influence nurses should have in their workplaces.

The threads of basic nursing education and collective bargaining ran through all the presidencies. After the distinguished panel and the standing ovation accorded to them, the House turned to resolutions and bylaws changes and clarifications of procedure . . . and this reporter was very grateful for the chocolate distributed by some of the candidates for ANA president.

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2016-11-21T13:17:10-05:00June 18th, 2010|career, nursing perspective|1 Comment
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Obama, Rock Star for Nurses

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN interim editor-in-chief (sent yesterday from her Iphone)

So it’s Wednesday afternoon, June 16, and I’m here in Washington, DC, attending the 2010 House of Delegates meeting of the American Nurses Association (ANA). It’s easy to find the sessions—one just has to follow all the middle-aged women walking in one direction through the lobby (full disclosure: that includes me).

ANA president Rebecca Patton opened the session and announced that there would be a “special surprise guest.” She got about halfway through announcements about parliamentary procedure, using the electronic voting machines, and the other housekeeping details when I noticed a rather large muscular young man with an earpiece slip in the door near me. I noticed several clones of him at each exit. Our “special guest” had arrived.

Patton introduced President Barack Obama and he received a rock star welcome from the approximately 800 attendees. He said he came because he promised he would if nurses supported his campaign and he won the presidential election. He proclaimed, “I love nurses.” (I wonder: when he goes to other groups, does he say, “I love physicians” or “I love auto workers”?) He retold the story of how nurses took care of his wife and daughters when his daughters were born and how the nurses “got him through” when one of his daughters had meningitis and how they gave her such good care.

Obama then spoke about the changes in health care brought about by the Patient […]

2016-11-21T13:17:11-05:00June 17th, 2010|career, nursing perspective|2 Comments
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Do You Have to Like People To Be a Good Nurse?

When I began nursing school I was confident that I’d enjoy being a nurse because I already liked being a waitress. I imagine that you’re already groaning, but hear me out. I had traits that served me well when I put food and drinks on the table: I was smart and organized, I learned quickly, I was usually able to rescue disastrous situations, and I liked people and wanted to make them happy.

That last characteristic is a secret that most of us nurses keep to ourselves as we emphasize the more cerebral nursing traits—the critical thinking, the autonomy, the professional skills.

That’s the start of an essay called “Nurse, Where’s My Lunch?” by the accomplished nurse and writer Christine Contillo in the June issue of AJN. It’s about some of the human pleasures of being a nurse, the deep human encounters you remember many years later. Is there a temperament best suited for nursing? And how do you define competence? Is it all just a matter of mastering “cerebral” technical skills? Or is there more?



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2016-11-21T13:17:16-05:00June 10th, 2010|career, nursing perspective|1 Comment
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What Nurses Told Us About How They Relax

We recently posed the following question on AJN’s Twitter page: “RNs: we want to know: how do you relax?” Some of the answers are below. Exercise is one biggie, at least among those who answered. (Are Twitterers more exercise-prone than non-Twitterers? Hmmm….) Anything you’d like to add to our unscientific list of ways to relax? (If for any reason you mind us citing your Twitter self here, please let us know and we will remove your comment!)

Safety4Nurses @AmJNurs I was recently reminded by my 6 month old puppy that play time and naps are important for relaxation!

ErinRN @AmJNurs relax with hot bath, alcohol, reading, and favorite tv show (not all at once, ha!)

lydiasmith@AmJNurs Prayer, music, going out dancing, and cooking. Psychosociospiritual and physical modes! Practice what we preach.

andrealgilmore @AmJNurs: #1 getting off the floor & outside if possible. #2 balancing work with family & me time. #3 exercise and last but not least, TEA.

WendyGlosser @AmJNurs I jump in my pool but also have a photography business on the side that allows me to escape a few times a week.

superjenie RT @AmJNurs: RNs: we want to know: how do you relax? –LOL do we nurses ever relax?? :))

LiveLaughLetGo @AmJNurs The best way for me is to run, but also hanging with friends and family.

ThaRizz0 @AmJNurs As an RN I find time to exercise and push […]

2016-11-21T13:17:19-05:00June 9th, 2010|career, nursing perspective, personal health practices|2 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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