2014 Nebraska Nurses Association Book of Reports

2014 Nebraska Nurses Association
completed the renewal in 2013, 7.8% of those applications were submitted in a paper versus on line
format, which unfortunately delays the ability to analyze the data. There were 1133 males who were
licensed. This is a 132% increase from 2000, in which there were only 489 males licensed. However,
the total percent of males licensed in Nebraska is about 5.6% which is significantly lower than the
national percentage of 9.1%. The average age of RNs in Nebraska was 44 which is down from 44.7
in 2008. In Nebraska 94.4% of the RNs are non-minorities, as compared to the general Nebraska
population of 81.4%. Minorities continue to be under represented in the nursing field.
Please visit our website for more information from our workforce reports. Questions can
be directed to the contact us section of our website.
http://www.center4nursing.com/contactus.shtml
AMERICAN NURSES ADVOCACY INSTITUTE (ANAI)
Linda Stones, MS, BSN, RN, CRRN
Registered Nurses make up the largest single group of health professionals (3.1 million). Not only do
Registered Nurses have the ability to be an incredible force by sheer numbers, but policy makers
also rely upon nurses’ expertise. In Gallup’s annual honesty and ethics survey Registered Nurses
are viewed as the most trusted profession. This distinction, nurses have held for over a decade.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) created the American Nurses Advocacy Institute. It is a
year-long mentored program created for the purpose of developing nurses into political leaders.
The ANAI fellows, are individuals who are members of ANA and are endorsed by the State Nurses
Association. The Institute kicks off wth a 2 day event in Washington DC and includes 3 phone
conference calls throughout the following year. Information shared with the fellows includes how to
conduct a political environmental scan, messaging tips for media as well as meeting with elected
officials and building collaboration and consensus with other key stakeholders. The fellows also
spend a half day at the US Capital lobbing on national nursing issues.
In the Fall of 2013, NNA endorsed me to attend the 2013 ANAI and partially assisted with the
expenses to attend the event. During this past year I was able to attend the two day event. In
Washington, I met with a Nurse who serves as an elected official in her home state, and we lobbied
on the Capital Hill on topics related to Safe Patient Handling as well as allowing other providers,
such as Nurse Practitioners, to write orders for Home Health Care. As of this report submission, I
have 1 additional phone mentoring to complete.
Information obtained as a result of being a ANAI fellow, is being shared in my role as a member of
the NNA Legislative Advocacy and Representation Committee (LARC) and my project is to bring
back to life the NNA PAC. I also will be contributing information on a project to develop educational
training on political advocacy to nurses and students in Nebraska.
Any questions can be forwarded to Linda Stones at lstonesne@gmail.com
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