The Oklahoma Nurse - June 2018

June, July, August 2018 The Oklahoma Nurse 3
CEO REPORT
What’s the Best Thing You Can Do For Your Career?
Jane Nelson, CAE
CEO, Oklahoma Nurses Association
From the beginning
years of your nursing
c a r e e r , t h r o u g h
retirement, being a
member of the Oklahoma
Nurses Association is
one of the best things you
can do for your career!
By uniting with the best
nurses in Oklahoma,
you will have access to
professional development Jane Nelson
opportunities that you
won’t find anywhere else. Your membership is
a way to show pride in your profession and add
value to the nursing profession as a whole.
Are you wondering what ONA does for you?
Let me explain. To start, ONA is the professional
association for Registered Nurses in Oklahoma.
We work to advance nursing though leadership,
professional development and advocacy.
There are a myriad of ways for you to be
involved. ONA has leadership opportunities that
allow you to be involved in a Chapter, Region
or on the ONA Board of Directors. In fact, we
are currently seeking nurses that are interested
in serving on the ONA Board of Directors. The
information regarding board positions can be
found in this newspaper as well as the ONA
website.
Several of the ONA Regions meet on a regular
basis, which allows for networking with fellow
nurses and opportunities for continuing education
with presentations on current nursing issues.
The ONA Board has been working to engage
our Regions, especially those without Region
Leadership, by holding “Meet and Greets” prior to
the ONA Board Meeting. During these “Meet and
Greets”, there is an opportunity to network with
nurses that live and work in the same geographic
ONA Region and learn more about the work
of ONA. It is our hope that nurses will create a
chapter within their community or workplace.
While it is not difficult to start a chapter, it does
require a handful of dedicated nurses who can
work together to create networking and learning
opportunities for nurses in their community. You
can find detailed information on our website about
chapter formation.
If you are not ready to participate on a leadership
level, we have committees that you can serve
on, such as Professional Practice, Governmental
Activities, Education and Convention Committee.
These committees focus on specific activities to
ensure that ONA is focused on issues that are
relevant to nurses. The Education and Convention
committee are more internal committees working to
develop programming that is attractive to nurses. The
Professional Practice and Governmental Activities
Committee works on issues that nurses care about, in
either a practice setting or issues that are legislative
or regulatory in nature.
Nurses who have been licensed for five years or
less are encouraged to participate in the Emerging
Nurses group within ONA. This group offers a great
opportunity for engagement with nurses who are in
the beginning stages of their nursing career. Be sure
to check out the Emerging Nurses column in this
newspaper.
We also have opportunities for you to share your
expertise, best practices or research by presenting
at the ONA Convention with a poster or a formal
presentation. We hope that you will also share your
knowledge by writing an article for this publication,
The Oklahoma Nurse.
Advocacy is a pillar of nursing. Nurses instinctively
advocate, especially for their patients. Being a
member of the Oklahoma Nurses Association
includes advocacy, specifically legislative and
political advocacy, which is important in advancing
the profession. We provide opportunities for you to
go to the State Capitol and talk to legislators about
pending issues. Our Nurse of the Day is the perfect
opportunity for you to advocate for the profession and
for your patients. The Nurse Practice Act is based on
legislation and only the legislature can change it.
Every day, in countless ways, nurses make the
world a better place. These moments of everyday
advocacy change lives by elevating the voices of
vulnerable people, and improving conditions for
those around you. The ANA Code of Ethics defines
it as, “Advocacy is the act or process of pleading
for, supporting, or recommending a cause or course
of action. Advocacy may be for persons (whether as
an individual, group, population, or society) or for an
issue, such as potable water or global health.” (ANA
Code of Ethics -2015)
As the largest group of health professionals in
Oklahoma, and consistently the highest ranked in
terms of ethical behavior by the public, nurses are
in a unique position to influence the direction of
both the profession and healthcare. Advocacy at
the bedside and in your community is immensely
powerful. The local advocacy we’ve seen among
nurses includes: patient-focused practice changes
and process improvements; workplace safety policies
addressing such issues as staffing, workplace
violence, safe patient handling; and representing the
interests of patients and the profession while serving
on a committee or board. This is how members
of the Oklahoma Nurses Association are making
a difference; don’t you want to be a part of it? If so,
we hope that you will join ONA/ANA! If you are a
member of ONA, know that your continued support
is a vital part of our success. Your membership and
your engagement allows for ONA to become the
leading voice of the nursing profession in the state of
Oklahoma.
Career Opportunities
Sign-on Bonus available
Join our team – we make a difference!
Apply online at: https://recruiting.ultipro.com/aca1001
Search location: Rolling Hills Hospital,
1000 Rolling Hills Ln, Ada, OK 74820 | (580) 436-3600
We are looking for the following
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• Intake Assessor RN, LPC or LMSW
• Outpatient Therapist (PRN Status)
• Recreation Therapist (PRN Status)
• Registered Nurse (7p to 7a)
• Clinical Program Therapist (PRN)
Please feel free to log on to our website www.hickorytrail.com
for more information about our hospital and what we do
FIVE-STAR RATED
* Ranking based on cumulative scores for Oklahoma
hospitals receiving 5-star ratings from the Centers for
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RN POSITIONS AVAILABLE
Come join our award winning team!
Community Hospital is proud to be ranked as one
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COMMUNITY HOSPITAL SOUTH CAMPUS
3100 S.W. 89th Street | Oklahoma City, OK 73159
405.602.8100
COMMUNITY HOSPITAL NORTH CAMPUS
9800 Broadway Extension | Oklahoma City, OK 73114
405.419.2980
NORTHWEST SURGICAL HOSPITAL
9204 North May Avenue | Oklahoma City, OK 73120
405.848.1918
Proudly Physician Owned
To apply, please visit www.communityhospitalokc.com
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CONTACT US
Claudia Fields, HRC, Tulsa-Midtown
918-579-7353
clafields@selectmedical.com
John Merkey, HRC, Oklahoma City
405-606-6902
jjmerkey@selectmedical.com
Earn Your BS or MS
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