Virginia Nurses Today - November 2021

The Official Publication of the Virginia Nurses Foundation 

November 2021 Quarterly publication distributed to approximately 111,000 Registered Nurses 

Volume 29 • No. 4 

We are pleased to provide every registered nurse in Virginia with a copy of Virginia Nurses Today. 

For more information on the benefits of membership in of the Virginia Nurses Association, 

please visit www.virginianurses.com! 

Virginia Nurses Foundation’s 

new website! 

Page 5 

BON Regulatory Myths 

Page 13 

Calling All Disruptors for the 

Future of Nursing 

Page 15 

First cohort of VNF’s Nurse 

Leadership Academy will launch 

January 2022 

Page 16 

VNA Welcomes New President- 

Elect & Elected Leadership 

The Virginia Nurses Association (VNA) installed newly-elected leaders at their 

annual membership assembly in late September. 

“The impressive accomplishments and leadership expertise of our newlyelected 

leaders will serve our membership well as we work to advance the voice 

of nursing in Virginia. I’m excited to see the talent, energy, and experience they 

bring to the table!” said Janet Wall, VNA chief executive officer. 

Newly sworn-in board and nominating committee members include: 

President-Elect 

Sherri Wilson, DNP, MPA, RN 

Dr. Sherri Wilson, Health Careers Program Director, 

with Stride, Inc., was recently elected President-elect 

of VNA, an ANA affiliate. During this one-year term, 

Dr. Wilson will work closely with Linda Shepherd, 

current VNA President, to ensure a smooth transition of 

presidential duties. Dr. Wilson will succeed to the office 

of the President in September 2022. 

As an experienced board member of VNA, Dr. Wilson 

offers a unique cross-sector approach that combines 

more than two decades of nursing expertise across 

multiple roles and settings. Dr. Wilson’s background and combined experiences 

distinctly position her to lead the Virginia Nurses Association, through an 

equity lens, in meeting its mission as the leading professional organization for 

Virginia’s registered nurses. 

Vice President 

Jennifer Shepherd, DNP, MHA, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, 

CHPN, CCRN-K 

Dr. Shepherd has been a member of ANA/VNA for her 

entire career. She previously served on the VNA Board as 

Commissioner of Workforce Issues for three years. During 

this time, Dr. Shepherd successfully managed VNA memberlead 

subgroups to develop initiatives addressing the specific 

nursing workforce challenges in the Commonwealth of 

Virginia. 

VNA Welcomes New President-Elect & Elected Leadership continued on page 15 

current resident or 

Non-Profit Org. 

U.S. Postage Paid 

Princeton, MN 

Permit No. 14 

Our Response to 

the Pandemic 

While the past eighteen months of the COVID-19 pandemic have certainly 

been tumultuous for the nursing profession, VNA has continued to support its 

members (and nonmembers) and spread the word about what nurses in Virginia 

have been facing. 

Calls for Action & Legislation 

Virginia Nurses Association worked with Delegate Chris Hurst to sponsor 

HB1985, which created a COVID-19 workers’ compensation presumption 

specifically to benefit healthcare workers who as part of their employment are 

directly involved in the diagnosis or treating of patients known or suspected 

to have COVID-19. Virginia is now one of only nine states to enact a COVID-19 

workers compensation presumption, and one of only a few to make it retroactive 

to the start of the pandemic. 

This means: 

• If you contracted COVID-19 on the job while treating diagnosed or 

suspected COVID-19 patients from March 13, 2020 to December 31, 2021 

• and got seriously ill or missed a significant amount of work, you are 

potentially eligible for retroactive workers compensation benefits without 

having to prove a specific exposure. 

A healthcare worker must avail themselves of 

an employer offered vaccine once available in order 

to maintain the benefit of a presumption, unless 

their physician determines in writing that it would 

pose a significant risk to their health. 

If you or someone you know would like to file 

a claim to receive workers’ compensation benefits, 

please go to https://virginianurses.com/resource/ 

resmgr/covid/Workers_Compensation_Filing_.pdf 

to download the form. More information about this 

legislation can be found here or online at www. 

virginianurses.com/page/COVIDResources. 

At the state level, VNA called upon our state 

officials to make decisions related to masking, 

social distancing, and vaccinations that would 

Virginia is now 

one of only nine 

states to enact a 

COVID-19 workers 

compensation 

presumption, and 

one of only a few to 

make it retroactive 

to the start of the 

pandemic. 

promote public health and reduce the strain on our healthcare system. We 

continue to participate in as-needed weekly conference calls with the Virginia 

Department of Health in order to ensure that we are making them aware of the 

needs of nurses during the pandemic and that we have the most up-to-date 

information to share with our members. 

In partnership with the American Nurses Association, VNA was an early 

supporter for the call at the federal level for public transparency related to 

personal protective equipment and data-driven science around the COVID-19 

outbreak. We also advocated for CARES act funding for healthcare, and will 

continue to work with ANA on federal initiatives. Recently, we have joined ANA’s 

call to declare healthcare staffing shortages a national emergency. 

On our COVID-19 resource page, we have compiled links of useful resources, 

as well as VNA developed materials designed to help educate the general public. 

Please follow our Facebook page for real-time updates at facebook.com/vaell. 

Continuing Education Initiatives 

During the onset of the pandemic, VNA & VNF opened the online learning 

library FREE to all nurses so that any RN who needs to keep up with their CE 

may do so safely and virtually from the comfort of their home or workplace on 

their own schedule. Many of these education credits remain free of charge today. 

Our Response to the Pandemic continued on page 15

Page 2 | November, December 2021, January 2022 

Virginia Nurses Today | www.VirginiaNurses.com 

There’s still time to register for our virtual 

Legislative Summit on November 9! 

Register by 11:59 pm, Sunday, November 7 

VNA’s 2021 Legislative Summit will be held 

virtually via Zoom on November 9 from 8am to 4pm. 

Nursing students and nurses from all levels of the 

profession are encouraged to attend! 

You will learn how to be a powerful advocate for 

nursing and for the health of all Virginians. Plus, 

we’ll examine the critical issues facing nursing 

and healthcare and discuss the statewide impact 

of the results of the November 2 election. You'll get 

a detailed look into upcoming nursing legislation 

and nursing’s 2022 legislative priorities. We’ll be 

talking about legislative solutions for our nurse 

staffing shortage, school nurses, COVID workers 

compensation, APRN issues, and more! 

Additional information, including registration, 

can be found at virginianurses.com/page/ 

LegislativeSummit. 

We’ve significantly reduced our prices to 

$59 for members, $79 for nonmembers, and 

$29 for students! We’re also offering hospitals, 

health systems, and schools of nursing the 

same great all-inclusive pricing as we did for 

our fall conference. Contact Lindsey Cardwell at 

lcardwell@virginianurses.com for more info. 

is the official publication of the Virginia Nurses 

Foundation: 2819 N. Parham Road, Suite 230, 

Richmond, Virginia 23294, VNF’s affiliate, the 

Virginia Nurses Association, is a constituent of 

the American Nurses Association. 

www.VirginiaNurses.com 

admin@virginianurses.com 

Phone: 804-282-1808 

The opinions contained herein are those of the 

individual authors and do not necessarily 

reflect the views of the Foundation. 

Virginia Nurses Today reserves the 

right to edit all materials to its style 

and space requirements and to 

clarify presentations. 

VNF Mission Statement 

VNF is committed to improving the health 

of Virginia’s communities by developing an 

educated and diverse nursing workforce 

through leadership development, research, 

and innovation. 

Connecting Innovation, 

Education and 

Collaboration. 

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We are a state employer 

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Or call 804-371-8430 for more information. 

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We are hiring for multiple positions! 

Our nurses impact patients, families and each other in 

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VNT Staff 

Janet Wall, CEO 

Kristin Jimison, Editor-in-Chief 

Elle Buck, Managing Editor 

Virginia Nurses Today is published quarterly 

every February, May, August and November by 

the Arthur L. Davis Publishing Agency, Inc. 

Copyright © 2020, ISSN #1084-4740 

Subscriber rates are available, 804-282-1808. 

For advertising rates and information, please 

contact Arthur L. Davis Publishing Agency, 

Inc., PO Box 216, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. 

(800) 626-4081, sales@aldpub.com. 

VNF and the Arthur L. Davis Publishing 

Agency, Inc. reserve the right to reject any 

advertisement. Responsibility for errors in 

advertising is limited to corrections in the 

next issue or refund of price of advertisement. 

Acceptance of advertising does not imply 

endorsement or approval by the Virginia 

Nurses Foundation of the products advertised, 

the advertisers or the claims made. Rejection 

of an advertisement does not imply that a 

product offered for advertising is without 

merit, or that the manufacturer lacks 

integrity, or that this association disapproves 

of the product or its use. VNF and the Arthur 

L. Davis Publishing Agency, Inc. shall not be 

held liable for any consequences resulting 

from purchase or use of advertisers’ products. 

Articles appearing in this publication express 

the opinions of the authors; they do not 

necessarily reflect views of the staff, board, or 

membership of VNF, or those of the national 

or local chapters. 

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www.VirginiaNurses.com | Virginia Nurses Today November, December 2021, January 2022 | Page 3 

VNA President's Message 

The Time Is Now: Caring for the Caregiver 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating 

effects on nurses and nursing. Many nurses have 

suffered adverse health consequences, while 

collectively, the emotional and mental impact has 

had a devastating impact across the profession. 

During this time, many nurses sustained 

excessive job stress, while simultaneously 

experiencing moral distress and moral injury. 

Compounding this has been the exit of nurses 

leaving the bedside, on top of an ongoing nursing 

shortage nationwide that began before the 

pandemic. During this time, some nurses have 

found themselves caring for patients outside of their 

realms of expertise with only minimal training. As 

the pandemic has entered a fourth wave, further 

fallout is likely. We have yet to experience the 

extended long-term impact upon healthcare and 

the nursing profession. Even though there is an 

expectation and hope to return to “normal” soon, it 

is hard to predict what this will look like. 

In recognition of the ongoing toll the pandemic 

has taken on the well-being of healthcare 

professionals, the Virginia Hospital and 

Healthcare Association (VHHA) has partnered 

with organizations and healthcare representatives 

statewide to form the “Caring for Virginia’s 

Caregivers Task Force.” The task force, which 

is led by: Dr. Tracey Hoke, Chief of Quality and 

Performance Improvement UVA, Dr. Joel Bundy, 

Chief Clinical and Safety Officer Sentara, and 

Abraham Segres, Vice President of Quality and 

Patient Safety at VHHA, is addressing burnout and 

the causes of burnout among caregivers. 

In a report issued on October 23, 2019 by the 

National Academy of Medicine, entitled, “Taking 

Action Against Burnout: A System Approach to 

Professional Well-Being,” The report examines the 

scientific evidence behind the burnout of healthcare 

professionals and the required interventions 

needed to support resilience and well-being. 

Recommendations include a systematic approach 

to address burnout that focuses on creating 

organizational cultures which support and promote 

the health and well-being of their teams while 

building resilience. The aim is to “assist Virginia 

hospitals and health system leaders in their effort 

to provide resilient workplaces that promote joy in 

practice and work and reduce health care burnout” 

(VHHA, 2021). The objectives of the group are to: 

1. “Recommend interventions and strategies to 

assist Virginia hospitals in improving their 

ability to provide healthy and resilient work 

environments 

2. Align Virginia hospital’s well-being related 

activities with those being promoted through the 

Lora Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act 

legislation 

3. Make recommendations to the VHHA Board 

of Directors for future statewide healthcare 

organizational resilience and provider well-being 

related action.” 

(VHHA, 2021). 

The group has been tasked with creating a toolkit 

built upon evidence based models that hospitals 

and other healthcare organizations can adopt and 

implement. This includes validated survey tools 

which can be deployed to gain feedback and create 

a baseline for the organization as well as measure 

the ongoing progress of staff and providers post- 

program implementation. 

Additionally, there is a 

collection of evidence 

based practice policies 

and procedures that can 

be adapted to create the 

foundation for building 

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VNF President's Message 


How Can I Sustain My Passion for Nursing while 

Struggling with Compassion Fatigue? 

Phyllis Whitehead, PhD, APRN/CNS, ACHPN, 

PMGT-BC, FNAP, FAAN 

Virginia Nurses Foundation President 

The other day, I was asked by a dear friend and 

colleague, “How are you?” Normally, I would say “I’m 

fine” but this day I wasn’t okay. 

I took a deep breath and replied, “I am tired.” As 

I reflected upon the last year and half, I don’t ever 

remember being so exhausted both physically and 

emotionally. And if I am being honest, I am also 

irritable, short tempered, and less patient than I 

have ever been in my nursing career. Will any of this 

ever end – this pandemic, the staffing challenges, 

the constant stress and strain? Will life ever resume 

to how it was pre-pandemic? How do I carry on? 

What is happening to me? Is this compassion 

fatigue? 

The term “compassion fatigue” has been used 

to describe the negative impact of working in 

an emotionally and psychologically distressing 

environment on a person’s ability to feel compassion 

for others. 1 One of the first symptoms is usually 

emotional volatility. 2,3 This is manifested by feeling 

tired and overwhelmed with work or feeling detached 

and distant from patients and colleagues. 1,2,3 

Frequently, you may experience sleepless nights 

and worry about what you forgot to do at work 

or even replay disturbing events in your mind. If 

you’re experiencing compassion fatigue, you may 

also be forgetful at work, in school, or at home. As 

compassion fatigue progresses, physical symptoms 

typically arise. You may feel physically and mentally 

exhausted, and suffer from headaches or backaches. 

You can begin to dread work, and those feelings 

intensify as you walk in the door. 2,3 

What happens when you do not deal with 

compassion fatigue symptoms? First, work 

performance changes; for example, the risk for 

medication errors increases. Without realizing why, 

you may call out for work and become emotionally 

volatile. Emotional volatility may include being 

short-tempered, sarcastic, or rude to colleagues and 

even to patients or families. You may appear tired to 

others and may become more easily startled. 1,3 

Unfortunately, some may attempt to reduce 

emotional saturation through alcohol or drug use. 

Ultimately, when emotional saturation becomes 

too intense, some nurses may view leaving the 

profession as the only means of escape. This can 

lead to additional mental health issues, such as 

depression and anxiety disorders. 3 

The pandemic has worsened the intensity of these 

experiences. For example, the pressure on nurses 

is compounded by the staffing shortages and with 

this surge of COVID patients who are younger and 

sicker than those who were sick in the initial wave. 

Many of us are caring for patients who are our age 

and younger. We cannot ignore the impact of being 

exhausted and yet needing to be able to care for 

sicker and younger patients. How can we do this? 

The first step is recognizing how you are feeling 

physically and emotionally. Share your experiences, 

feelings and thoughts with a trusted colleague, 

friend, or mentor. Know you are not alone. If this 

is happening to you, it is affecting others. There is 

power in validation of your feelings. 2 

Establishing healthy boundaries is an important 

strategy but you may be asking, “How can I say no 

when my team needs help with staffing?” Nurses put 

others ahead of their needs so saying no and setting 

limits are extremely important skill sets for nurses 

to learn. Cognitively, many nurses know they need 

to say “no,” but are left with feelings of regret and 

failure to their team. Recognizing this struggle and 

giving yourself permission to respond firmly and 

courteously will enable you to work through this 

challenge. 1,3 

The literature is clear that one of the most 

important ways to mitigate compassion fatigue is to 

take care of ourselves. As nurses, we work hard and 

really need to get away from our hectic work for our 

mental and physical well-being. 2,3 We need hobbies 

and activities that are enjoyable. Small things can 

make a difference. Take the dog for a walk every day, 

listen to music, read a book for pleasure, go for a 

hike, call a friend – something that provides you joy 

even for a brief moment. 

Furthermore, self-compassion is crucial, 

and historically, we have not taught this lesson 

in nursing school. Instead we were taught the 

importance of self-sacrifice. 1,3 We need to change 

this dynamic. Extend yourself grace as you 

encounter microaggressions at work. It is natural 

to get frustrated. Take a moment between patients 

and issues for a deep breath and reset for the 

next situation. Even if you can’t change your work 

environment, you can find power within by listening 

to your emotions. Strive to 

approach colleagues and 

patients with a perspective 

of “how would I like to be 

treated at this moment?” 

Phyllis Whitehead, 

PhD, APRN/CNS, 

ACHPN, PMGT-BC, 

FNAP 

Know the resources available to you at your 

organization such as chaplains, social workers, 

ethics and moral distress consultants, and employee 

assistance programs. 

A new coaching and support program for 

nurses, SafeHaven, is also being launched with 

our partners, the Medical Society of Virginia and 

EAP firm Vital Worklife. In fact, MSV is now taking 

the program – which focuses on various groups of 

healthcare professionals, nationwide and is already 

working with some of our fellow nurses associations 

in other states. MSV, who has been an absolutely 

wonderful partner, is marketing the program, which 

they first developed for physicians, to health systems 

throughout the commonwealth with our assistance. 

And of course, we were intimately involved in the 

development of this nurse-centric program, which 

includes peer coaching sessions with a nurse, 

unlimited in-the-moment support, virtual or face-toface 

counseling sessions, and access to well-being 

advocates. The cost is borne by the health system, 

but does not go through the formal EAP program, 

and recent legislation ensures the confidentiality of 

all participants. Our hope is that, as the program 

grows, we will be able to expand it to other large 

practice settings. 

If you’d like more information about SafeHaven to 

share with your hospital leadership, contact VNA & 

VNF CEO Janet Wall. 

Together we will get through this next wave, the 

next crisis, the next shift. Together we are stronger. 

1. Cavanagh, N, Cockett, G, Heinrich, C, et al. (2020). 

Compassion fatigue in healthcare providers: A 

systematic review and meta-analysis. Nursing Ethics, 

27(3):639-665. doi:10.1177/0969733019889400 

2. Jo, Minjeong, Na, Hyunjoo, Jung, Young-Eun. (2020). 

Mediation Effects of Compassion Satisfaction and 

Compassion Fatigue in the Relationships Between 

Resilience and Anxiety or Depression Among Hospice 

Volunteers. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing. 22(3), 

246-253. doi: 10.1097/NJH.0000000000000640 

3. Kelly, Lesly. (2020). Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, 

and Secondary Trauma in Nurses. Critical Care 

Nursing Quarterly: 43(1), 73-80. doi: 10.1097/ 

CNQ.0000000000000293


The Virginia Nurses Foundation’s new website is almost here! 

The Virginia Nurses Foundation (VNF), the 

philanthropic arm of the Virginia Nurses Association 

(VNA), will be launching a new website soon! VNA 

staff have been hard at work the past few months 

compiling resources and toolkits related to moral 

resilience and nurse burnout; diversity, equity, 

and inclusion; staffing and more! We couldn’t be 

more excited to release the new website this fall, 

which includes a comprehensive list of awards and 

scholarships available to RNs and nursing students 

across the commonwealth, as well as our new yearlong 

Nurse Leadership Academy and mental health 

programs! 

All VNA members will receive a new launch 

email once the website is live, so stay tuned! More 

information about the new website will be released 

in the next edition of Virginia Nurses Today.


CEO Reflections 


Annual report illustrates past year’s challenges and successes 

As individuals, a profession, and a nation, we continue to be challenged at 

every turn. From health inequities and historically excluded communities, 

to social unrest and racial injustices, we are a country divided on the path 

forward. When we add an unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic to the pot, It’s 

exhausting, especially when we see members of our communities unwilling to 

participate in solutions that would end the pandemic faster. 

I know it’s taken a toll on all of you, emotionally, physically, and possibly 

economically. At the beginning of the pandemic, you were called heroes, signs 

were erected outside hospitals, and communities sent meals and rang bells in 

your honor. Now, 18+ months later, some of those same community members 

refuse to take simple steps to ease the burden on you, like wearing masks and 

getting vaccinated. 

We all had high hopes that we would have COVID well in our rearview 

mirror at this point. But we know this is sadly not the case, and at our 2021 

Membership Assembly, VNA President Linda Shepherd, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA- 

BC recognized that nurses have repeatedly pivoted in response to these social 

and health challenges.” She added that “VNA has done the same, to ensure our 

relevance to the 115,000 nurses throughout the commonwealth, in tandem with 

continuing our core work on your behalf.” President Shepherd shared that VNA 

has: 

• Provided quality professional development in a now virtual environment. 

Testimonials from fall conference participants: 

“Thank you for the tools to make it through this pandemic. Thank you for a 

conference that allowed me to realize what was happening to me for the last 18 

months.” 

“I learned that the VNA and ANA websites have tons of resources that I need to 

take advantage of - especially COVID-19 self-recovery package” 

“Great resources. Hope to have in-service with our staff using resources and 

information at this conference. Great conference!!! Could not have come at a better 

time. Thank you.” 

• Launched a completely redesigned website that is bold, content rich, 

professional, fresh, and user friendly! 

• Having what was perhaps the most successful year of advocacy on behalf 

of nurses. (Read more below, under Government Relations.”) 

Finances 

VNA & VNF Treasurer Sherri Wilson, DNP, MPA, RN said it’s been another 

challenging year, but despite the pandemic, and thanks to unanticipated 

revenue as well as savings, the Virginia Nurses Association continues to 

maintain a healthy financial position. 

We typically budget a year-end goal of net-zero; in other words we want to 

spend as much on services, programming and operations as we bring in, 

assuming we have an adequate financial reserve of 6-12 months’ operating 

expenses. But these are far from typical times and so we instead had 

anticipated a year-end deficit. Thankfully, in the past eight years, we’ve been 

fastidious about building a financial reserve for precisely these unexpected 

occasions. The board approved the budget knowing we would do everything 

possible to end the year, but there were so many unknowns! 

Staff worked tirelessly to ensure that our programs and services didn’t suffer. 

In fact, our initiatives exponentially ramped up in order to respond to nurses’ 

new needs for advocacy, education, resources, and support in the face of a 

pandemic and a volatile social environment. 

Ultimately, our pre-audit results show VNA ending the 2020-2021 budget 

year with a net revenue of more than $20,000, which is after we disbursed 

nearly $12,000 into chapter-specific programmatic and scholarship funds and 

designated $50,000 be set-aside for use in our current budget year to 

support mental health initiatives intended to help nurses in these emotionally 

depleting times. 

Creating our 2021/22 budget earlier this year proved to be even more 

challenging than developing the 2020/2021 budget. We were at a loss to predict 

how long the pandemic would continue and what the financial impact would be 

on nurses, families, and health systems…and so we couldn’t anticipate how it 

would impact our budget. 

The bottom line for the 2021/22 Fiscal Year budget is net zero, which -- as a 

nonprofit -- is how we always intend to budget and, after the past year-and-ahalf, 

is really quite exciting! 

Government Relations 

Our leaders, members, and staff have ensured that nursing’s voice is heard! 

At the start of this year, we had one of the most successful legislative sessions 

in VNA history, and sent more than 5,500 emails and made more than 250 “in 

person” (zoom) contacts with legislators! Frontline nurses also made a huge 

impact when they provided testimony about COVID-19 to legislative committees 

via testimony and a statewide press conference. 

VNA Board Government Relation Commissioner Mary Kay Goldschmidt, 

DNP, RN, PHNA-BC emphasized how hard VNA pushed for our retroactive 

presumptive worker’s compensation bill for those healthcare workers who have 

fallen ill to COVID. Virginia is one of only nine states to successfully pass this 

legislation, and one of only a few to make this retroactive to the start of the 

pandemic in March 2020. We are proud to have led the way in protecting our 

nurses. 

We continue to advocate for more nursing faculty and nurses in schools 

despite the cost. The pipeline for graduating nurses is of tremendous concern to 

us all and we know it must be addressed as quickly as possible to help alleviate 

long-term staffing challenges.. 

The Virginia Legislative Nursing Alliance has 

met several times recently to develop a joint nursing 

Public Policy Platform, which has also been vetted 

Janet Wall, MS 

by our Government Relations Commission. The 

alliance is spearheaded by VNA and we’re thrilled to see the growing year-overyear 

engagement in this collaboration by specialty nursing organizations from 

throughout Virginia. 

At this point, the agenda includes six main items, including: 

1. Ensuring school nurses in public schools 

2. Supporting legislation to increase the health and wellbeing of all 

Virginians 

3. Extending the COVID-19 workers’ compensation presumption 

4. Funding for APRN preceptors 

5. Making permanent the abbreviated two-year transition to autonomous 

practice for NPs 

6. Clarifying practice and prescriptive authority changes for CNS - The full 

draft platform is attached, though it is still a work in progress. 

Read Nursing’s Public Policy Platform in detail at https://virginianurses.com/ 

page/PublicPolicyPlatform. 

We have heard you loud and clear – the nurse staffing crisis and 

its many causes is the top issue on everyone’s minds. VNA is 

having ongoing conversations and planning for any and all possible 

budgetary and legislative solutions to address the toll the pandemic 

is taking on Virginia’s nurses and the resulting staffing challenges. 

Additionally, VNA has worked with the Virginia Healthcare Workforce 

Development Authority to design the VDH-led program to provide incentive 

funding for APRN preceptors in Virginia, commencing with the fall 2021 

semester. The program will offer $500 grants for every 125 hours that a 

preceptor works with APRN students in non-profit accredited Virginia schools. 

The program will have an annual cap of $2000 in incentives that a single 

preceptor may earn through this program, except for hard to fill specialty 

roles as determined by VDH. If the program is not oversubscribed, there will 

be no upward limit on incentives in the categories of nurse midwives, Ob/Gyn, 

Pediatrics, or Psych/Mental Health. Schools will provide preceptors with a 

form verifying their total number of hours per semester, which will in turn be 

provided to VDH for direct payment to preceptors. 

VNA also continues to monitor several studies which will impact our 

legislative priorities for the 2022 session. These studies are critical precursors 

CEO Reflections continued on page 8

a 

Nurses (RNs and LPNs), Psychiatric Technicians/ 

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CEO Reflections continued from page 6 

to the passage of any related legislation, and so they 

are an important step forward. The studies include: 

1. The Department of Health Professions study 

and possible recommendations regarding the 

oversight and regulation of advanced practice 

registered nurses, due 11/1/21. 

2. The Department of Education’s work group 

regarding how to place school nurses in 

Virginia’s public schools, due 10/1/21, and 

3. The Joint Commission on Healthcare’s study 

of staffing issues in Virginia’s long-term care 

facilities, due this fall. 

Resources & Policy 

VNA Board Commissioner on Resources and 

Policy Jennifer Martin, DNP, RN, NEA-BC reviewed 

proposed bylaws changes developed by the Bylaws 

Committee during the past couple years. These 

proposed changes had been discussed and approved 

by the VNA Board of Directors for presentation to 

the membership. While some minor changes had 

been made in 2014, we knew that a deeper dive was 

needed to ensure that the growth of the organization 

as well as our relationship with ANA was accurately 

reflected in this guiding document, that some 

problems with process were addressed, and that 

our bylaws continued to support a member-centric 

organization. 

Some of the changes of significance address: 

• Inclusion of a diversity, equity & inclusion 

statement developed by our joint VNA/VNF DEI 

Council and approved by both boards 

• Implementing a more strategic approach for 

the creation, realignment, and dissolution of 

chapters 

• Enabling members to more easily take an 

action without a meeting; thereby ensuring 

that, to the extent possible, voting power 

remains with our members 

• Allowing members to concurrently hold an 

elected board seat and chapter leadership 

position 

• Developing a clear mechanism by which a 

president can pursue a second term via a 

membership vote. 

• Clarifying language regarding officers and 

executive committee, including the composition 

of the executive committee to include the 

President, Vice President, Treasurer, and 

Secretary 

• Ensuring an effective approach to selection 

of VNA [voting] Representatives to the ANA 

Membership Assembly 

• Creating a new board position for Director-at- 

Large, APRN 

• Creating a process for appointment of 

commission members and sub-structural leads 

to ensure greater issues expertise as well as 

more opportunities for development of new 

leaders 

Per Article XII - Amendments, Section I - Adoption 

of the VNA Bylaws, and lacking the necessary 

255-member quorum at the recent Membership 

Assembly, the proposed bylaws will be taken up by 

the Board of Directors. 

Workforce Issues 

VNA Board Commissioner on Workforce Issues 

Richard Ridge, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CENP shared 

that the commission includes 22 active members; 

one-third are hospital-based, one-third are from 

academia, and the remaining members are from 

hospice and ambulatory direct care. 

The commission has three active workgroups: 

• Healthy Workplace Culture - Nina Beaman, 

EdD, MSN, CNE, RN PMH-BC, RNC-AWHC, CMA 

(AAMA), Lead 

- Building on the ANA “Healthy Nurse, 

Healthy Nation” initiative 

- Recently focused on analyzing data gathered 

from a survey of academic-based nurses in 

collaboration with the Virginia League for 

Nurses 

• Lateral Incivility - Linda Thurby-Hay, DNP, 

APRN, ACNS-BC, ADM, CDE, Lead 

- The workgroup has published the first of 

three podcasts, providing an overview of 

incivility. Listen in at https://virginianurses. 

com/page/WorkforceIssues. The second 

podcast will be completed later this fall. 

• Workplace Violence – Melissa Earley, BSN, RN, 

QMHP-A/C, NHDP-BC, Lead 

- The workgroup recently relaunched and is 

working collaboratively with the Virginia 

Hospital & Healthcare Association to 

increase awareness of Virginia laws related 

to battery and threats of harm of healthcare 

providers in stakeholders. 

- The group previously developed and is 

currently updating, an online Workplace 

Violence Toolkit, which provides information 

to guide nurses in understanding the 

significance of workplace violence, the 

Virginia Laws that address it, and evidencebased 

resources from within Virginia and 

beyond. Nurses are encouraged to explore 

the toolkit and help spread the word related 

to the law and prevention strategies. Learn 

more at https://virginianurses.com/page/ 

WorkplaceViolenceToolkit. 

A fourth workgroup, focused on occupational 

stress, is planned. This issue has been identified as 

one of the top concerns of nurses, especially within 

the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nursing Education 

VNA Board Commissioner on Nursing Education 

Catherine Cox, PhD, RN, CEN, CNE, Alumnus CCRN 

discussed the work of the commission, applauding 

the great volunteers on the commission who provide 

strategic insight and guidance for the development 

of the VNA Education Plan and the ANCC accredited 

Approval and Provider units. They also assist with 

addressing key issues related to nursing academic 

education and nursing professional development. 

The commission promotes collaboration between 

practice and academia as well as among the various 

nursing education groups in Virginia. 

• We were thrilled with the turnout for our 

spring conference, Creating a Multicultural 

Foundation for Nursing, with 152 registrants. 

Our participants shared that they were more 

aware of their own implicit biases, learned 

steps to address racism and improve health 

equity, and left with a framework for inclusivity 

that they can apply in their workplaces. We are 

excited for our next spring conference, Calling 

All Disruptors for the Future of Nursing, to be 

held April 27-28, 2022. Stay tuned for more 

information! 

• VNA’s fall conference, Fostering Recovery by 

Creating Moral Community in the Wake of a 

Pandemic, was a huge success with well over 

200 live participants and because we felt that 

this content needed to reach nurses across 

the state we offered a new pricing model for 

health systems and schools of nursing. We had 

13 health systems register all of their nurses 

to attend live or view the recorded on-demand 

conference and five schools of nursing register 

their pre-licensure students to do the same. 

The program focused on systemic changes 

needed to create cultures of well-being and 

support resilience in the nursing community. 

• Registration is now open for our 2021 virtual 

Legislative Summit, slated for November 9. We 

will also be offering the new pricing model to 

health systems and schools of nursing for this 

program! During the summit, we will address 

key nursing issues, such as nurse staffing, 

school nurses, APRN oversight, and workers' 

compensation. Participants will learn about the 

issues, have the opportunity to share their own 

thoughts about needed policy and legislation, 

learn to share their own elevator advocacy 

speech, and engage with state legislators. We 

hope you will join us! 

• Be sure to take advantage of the ondemand 

learning opportunities available to 

VNA members in our new online learning 

environment. As a member, you have access to 

more than 30 contact hours for free! Programs 

are also available to nonmembers for a nominal 

cost of $15/contact hour, with some programs 

available at no cost. The new professional 

learning environment makes it easy to 

purchase courses, complete them as you are 

able, and store your nursing contact hours 

certificates! 

• VNA is not only accredited by the American 

Nurses Credentialing Center to provide 

nursing continuing professional development 

programs and award nursing contact hours 

for those programs, but is also accredited 

as an approver of nursing continuing


professional development! During the 

last year, VNA’s Accredited Approval Unit 

approved 77 individual activity applications 

to award 480 contact hours. VNA has also 

approved 24 organizations as providers 

and these organizations provided 2,103 

activities last year and awarded in excess 

of 118,000 nursing contact hours! The work 

of our Accredited Approver Unit impacts the 

professional development of nurses across the 

commonwealth. 

• Lastly, the commission is developing subcommittees 

to provide guidance and assistance 

with conference planning, continuing 

education articles, and other on-demand 

learning activities! Our hope is to continue to 

grow the professional development resources 

available to you. 

Nursing Practice 

VNA Board Commissioner on Nursing Practice 

Erin Keister, MSN, CPPS, CPHQ commented on 

the Nursing Practice Commission’s many great 

discussions around alternative and innovative ways 

to staff during the pandemic. Ideas were presented 

for flexible staffing, staffing to the full scope of one’s 

license, and increasing staff coming back to the 

workforce. 

The commission discussed other pressing issues 

they could address, and also commented on the 

OSHA emergency Temporary Standards, as well as 

a proposal by the Virginia Department of Health for 

treatment of anaphylaxis in public places. 

The commission’s two workgroups, Nursing 

Research, led by Mary Jane Bowles, DNP, RN, CCRN, 

CNS-BC, MWH-AACN and Vicky Brunet, DNP, 

NNP-BC, NL; and Nursing Ethics, led by Ronnette 

Langhorne, BS, MS, RN. Workgroup participation 

has been understandably light for the past year. 

Most notably, the Research Workgroup developed 

and continues to refine a toolkit filled with resources 

for those nurses newer to research, and the Nursing 

Ethics Committee has published multiple thoughtprovoking 

articles tied to ethics in Virginia Nurses 

Today. 

VNA Chapters 

Director-at-Large, Chapter Representative Mesha 

Jones, BSN, RN, CCRN, CWON noted that Chapter 

activities this year were a challenge, as we had to 

remain virtual and could not hold events in person, 

adding that “Our chapters adjusted beautifully and 

managed to make an impact in their regions!” 

Each chapter has two main projects each 

year, a legislative event and regional student 

outreach, usually consisting of a student event. 

Some chapters held virtual student nights, which 

worked particularly well for larger chapters, and 

some did virtual outreach to individual schools of 

nursing. The chapters also awarded scholarships 

and book stipends to nursing students across the 

commonwealth and are excited to expand that 

program, in partnership with the Virginia Nurses 

Foundation, in 2021-22. 

The 11 virtual Legislative Advocacy Hours, held in 

place of our traditional in-person receptions, proved 

particularly successful, with more legislators and 

nurses participating, and greater engagement by all. 

The nurse participants shared that they felt more 

empowered to talk with their legislators via Zoom, 

and appreciated the greater convenience and ease 

of access. In all, the Advocacy Hours reached about 

50% of legislators and legislators said they knew our 

platform even before session began! 

During 2021/2022 we plan to keep the virtual 

advocacy hour format, but condense some smaller 

areas into joint events to increase potential number 

of attendees. And now that we have a strong 

format for yearly advocacy events at the chapter 

level, chapter legislative chairs will be given the 

opportunity to engage in the advocacy process via 

Chapter Lobby Days, dependent of course on how the 

General Assembly decides to hold session. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

VNA/VNF DEI Council Chair Vivienne McDaniel, 

DNP, RN discussed the council’s strategic imperative 

to ensure the importance and value of organizational 

diversity, equity & inclusion. Goals and current 

projects are focused on achieving more inclusion of 

people from historically excluded populations, and 

also achieving a workforce that more closely mirrors 

the make-up of the communities being served. The 

council is currently working with diverse groups of 

elementary and middle school students to increase 

their understanding of nursing and encourage them 

to consider nursing as a career. 

The DEI council also began working in 

partnership with our conference and education 

planning committees to diversify our speakers and 

presenters, developed a comprehensive toolkit for 

nurses and organizations, and much more. 

Before concluding the Membership Assembly, 

Linda commended our staff, saying “They’re 

passionate about their work and furthering VNA’s 

mission. They also share an incredible work ethic, 

are infinitely talented, and despite the challenges 

each of them has endured through the pandemic 

and social strife of the past year, they have worked 

exhaustively to ensure your professional association 

continues to be held up by the American Nurses 

Association as a model among state nurses 

associations…. And most importantly, by you, as 

professional nursing’s day-in, day-out advocates!” 

The Membership Assembly was recorded and 

can be accessed by members at https://youtu.be/ 

ABZc7lACTbs. 

Remember what a powerful time this can be for 

nurses. I know there are many times you feel that 

the public isn’t listening - that no one’s listening, - 

please know that we are always listening to you 

and turning your pleas into action. You should be 

aware that right now, the media and the public are 

finally beginning to pay attention to the things you 

have been shouting for so long. They understand the 

breadth of your work just a bit better. They’ve seen 

you persevere in the most difficult of times. Nurses 

have a unique opportunity to seize your collective 

power and transform it into the change we need. 

The Virginia Nurses Association is committed 

to affecting real change, and with you by our side, 

we know we can continue to advance the nursing 

profession and the health of the communities we 

serve. Now more than ever, nurses are visible and 

valued. Let’s leverage that, TOGETHER!



Virginia nurses are asking the public for help 

Here’s what six nurses across Virginia have to say about the nursing shortage 

On Tuesday, September 21 the Virginia Nurses Association held a virtual 

press conference to address the current state of the commonwealth’s hospitals 

and health systems during the delta wave and its impact on nurses' mental 

health. VNA encourages all to view and share this press conference at https:// 

www.youtube.com/user/virginianurses. 

We are in a crisis-level shortage of nurses and nurses are suffering and 

exhausted. 

According to an April 2021* study, 4 in 10 nurses are considering leaving the 

profession right now. 

Nurses are walking away for a variety of reasons: 

• Our nurses are not respected. At the beginning of the pandemic, nurses 

were called heroes, signs were erected outside hospitals, and communities 

sent meals and rang bells in their honor. Now, 18 months later, some of 

those same community members refuse to take simple steps to ease the 

burden on their nurses, like wearing masks and getting vaccinated. 

• Our nurses are mentally depleted right now. They are exhausted, 

traumatized, and experiencing high levels of pandemic-related PTSD with 

little or no time to seek adequate mental healthcare. Nurses have been the 

healthcare professionals throughout the pandemic handling death and 

despair at the bedside, holding the hands of dying patients and talking 

with family members about impossible decisions. With the onset of the 

Delta variant, nurses are again carrying this emotional load for their 

patients, but now, the patients are predominantly unvaccinated. Nurses 

are growing more angry and frustrated at the serious illness and death 

that could have been prevented. 

• Our nurses are not given time to rest. Nurses should not be forced to 

repeatedly work mandatory overtime or denied breaks and time off. 

• Our nurses are not interchangeable. Nursing is a highly specialized 

profession, and you cannot simply move a nurse from one specialty to 

another to adequately staff a hospital. 

The outcome of this staffing shortage for patients is bleak: 

• Not enough nurses means not enough open staffed beds. When a 

hospital with a nurse shortage becomes overloaded with acute COVID-19 

patients, this means that other patients who need emergency care cannot 

receive it. Imagine having to wait for care after being in a car accident, 

having a heart attack, or needing cancer treatment. Hospital bed counts 

only matter if you are counting the nurses available to staff them. 

• A loved one might not receive the individualized care they need. As 

more nurses leave the profession at the same time COVID-19 admissions 

continue to rise, each individual nurse becomes responsible for more 

patients to deal with this surge. This in turn means that they may not be 

able to provide the level of individual care to each patient. 

What can the community do to help? 

VNA Piedmont Chapter President Mesha Jones closes out the nurses’ 

testimony during the press conference succinctly as she states, “We can’t keep 

doing this. We’ve been the frontline of this pandemic for the last 18 months and 

what we’re asking the community to do now is for you to be the frontline, for you 

to take care of us. We’ll take care of you when you’re in the hospital but we’re 

asking you to do your part and take care of us and your communities. And what 

that looks like is wearing a mask, getting vaccinated, washing your hands. We’ll 

get through this but it’s going to take a village.” 

*https://www.vivian.com/community/announcements/one-year-in-whatsnext-for-americas-healthcare-workers/



VNF and VNA Present Future Nurse Leader Awards to 

Outstanding Recent Graduates 

Recently, the Virginia Nurses Foundation (VNF) and the Virginia Nurses 

Association (VNA) presented the 2020 and 2021 Future Nurse Leader award 

to two outstanding BSN graduates. Recipients were selected by their school’s 

faculty based on their leadership impact, activity in nursing associations, 

a history of community involvement, and significant contributions to their 

school’s overall excellence. Each winner received a one-year VNA membership, 

an invitation to participate on one of VNF or VNA’s commissions or workgroups, 

complimentary “Nurses Change Lives” license plates for their car and a 

NOW HIRING!! 

• Certified Nursing Assistant (Evening 

or Night Shift) Full Time 

• Certified Nursing Assistant 

Part-Time/PRN 

• Licensed Practical Nurse Full Time and 

Part Time positions available 

• Personal Care Attendants Full-Time and 

Part-Time 

Currently offering $3,000 sign-on 

bonus for full time CNAs and LPNs 

For more information, call 804-524-7300. 

To learn more and apply, please visit 

https://virginiajobs.peopleadmin.com/ 

HIRAM W. DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER 

26317 WEST WASHINGTON STREET 

PETERSBURG, VA 23803 

complimentary registration for our fall conference, Fostering Recovery by 

Creating Moral Community In the Wake of a Pandemic. 

Learn more about our Future Nurse Leaders by contacting MJ Gearles at 

mgearles@virginianurses.com. 

Anna Hagerty, BSN, RN 

Liberty University School of Nursing 

Liberty faculty writes of Anna: “She is a stand out 

among her peers. Her desire, drive, and discipline 

to make a difference in the nursing profession is 

contagious and she is always going above expectations. 

The daughter of missionaries, she further reflects His 

image in all she does. Her character is genuine and 

her approach to healthcare is intentional and wholehearted. 

Her spirit and value of service to those in need 

never waivers. She has also risen to the challenge of 

her studies in the nursing program and approached 

everything with a can-do attitude. Her confidence and commitment are front 

and center in her studies both in the books and in the clinical setting. Fall 

semester of 2020 she completed her leadership clinicals well in advance of the 

expectation in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit at Lynchburg General 

Hospital, where she has already been hired. Her preceptor could not say enough 

wonderful things about her and highlighted her attention to detail and her 

compassion with patients. She clearly exemplifies the criteria of a future nurse 

leader and will serve this role well.” 

Makayla Reynolds, BSN, RN 

Liberty University School of Nursing 

Liberty faculty writes of Makayla: “She is dependable, 

respectful and an excellent team player bringing joy 

and energy to her work. She has served on the Nursing 

Student Advisory Board and has prepared and mentored 

new members to the board during her senior year. She 

has participated in this year’s COVID vaccine clinics 

within the Lynchburg community, and traveled with the 

nursing school’s faculty to Rwanda where she served 

alongside Rwandan healthcare teams in Cyangugu. 

Makayla volunteered for a weekend with the School 

of Nursing’s Summer Nurse Camp, providing opportunities for prospective 

students to engage with the nursing profession. She embodies the ethics and 

values of nursing and has accepted a new graduate RN position in the SICU at 

Carilion, Roanoke.”


Are Regulatory Myths Inhibiting Your Workforce? 

Terri Gaffney, PhD, MPA, RN 

Jacquelyn Wilmoth, MSN, RN 

As hospitals sustain new waves of COVID-19 

cases, nurses fight fear and exhaustion, and nursing 

leaders are concerned with staffing shortages. New 

graduate nurses are the future pipeline for the 

profession. However, myths and misconceptions 

abound that impact the ability of healthcare 

facilities to appropriately utilize new graduate nurses 

and nursing students to meet the care demands of 

today. 

Myth #1 

New graduate nurses must pass NCLEX before 

they can begin working with their employer of 

choice. 

Upon graduation from an approved nursing 

program, new graduate nurses (NGN) apply for 

licensure in their primary state of residence and 

to take the National Council Licensure Exam 

(NCLEX). NGNs who have successfully completed 

an approved education program are able to practice 

for a period not to exceed 90 days from successful 

program completion as a licensure applicant. To be 

eligible to practice as a licensure applicant, the NGN 

must complete the licensure application process 

and receive an authorization to practice letter from 

the Board of Nursing. Candidates working in this 

capacity shall use the designation “RN Applicant” or 

“LPN Applicant.” If the graduate fails the licensing 

exam within the 90-day period, they are no longer 

permitted to practice. 

In some instances, working in the healthcare 

environment may help to prepare the NGN for 

success when taking the nurse licensure exam. 

For example, this time spent in the clinical 

environment may help NGNs adapt to the realities 

of the healthcare environment. It is important to 

keep in mind that once the NGN passes the NCLEX 

exam, the literature supports the importance of 

new graduate nurse transition programs to support 

practice readiness and reduce burnout among NGNs. 

For further information see the Code of Virginia 

Section 54.1-3001 Exemptions and the Regulations 

Governing the Practice of Nursing Section 18VAC90- 

19-110. Licensure by examination. 

Myth #2 

Precepting a nursing student will put my 

license at risk. 

Nursing students are the future workforce for 

the nation's largest group of healthcare workers. 

While enrolled in a nursing program, students may 

assist with workforce demands by participating 

in precepted experiences as part of the program 

curriculum. Many nursing programs include one 

or more precepted clinical experiences in their 

curriculum. The purpose of the precepted experience 

is to provide students with an opportunity to work 

alongside a licensed nurse and apply theoretical 

knowledge to the clinical setting to decrease the 

gap between theory and practice. During precepted 

experiences, nursing students are assigned an 

experienced nurse preceptor who is employed in a 

clinical environment. 

Nurse preceptors must be licensed at or above 

the level for which the student is preparing and are 

critical contributors to nursing education programs 

playing a key role in ensuring a competent future 

workforce. They support nursing students by serving 

as a resource person and a role model of professional 

behaviors, while evaluating clinical competence. 

However, some nurses hesitate to serve as preceptors 

Bachelor of Science 

in Nursing (RN to BSN) 

[6 

For practicing RNs who 

wish to obtain their BSN 

Finish in 5 semesters 

part-time 

Financial aid available 

for those who qualify 

because they believe this places their nursing license 

at risk. As the precepted experience is prescribed as 

part of a program of study, nursing students have 

the ability to practice and are held to the standards 

in place for licensed nurses. 

For further information see the Code of Virginia 

Section 54.1-3001 Exemptions and the Regulations 

governing Nursing Education Programs 18VAC90-27- 

110. 

Terri Gaffney is an associate professor in the 

Malek School of Nursing Professions at Marymount 

University. Jacquelyn Wilmoth is the Deputy 

Executive Director for the Virginia Board of Nursing. 

Clinical Nurse 

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The Future of Nursing: Advancing Health Equity 

Vivienne McDaniel, DNP, MSN, RN 

Chair, Virginia Nurses Association/Foundation 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council 

“The Virginia Nurses Association and Virginia 

Nurses Foundation (VNA/VNF) are committed to 

building a culture of health that provides everyone in 

Virginia a fair and just opportunity for health and wellbeing. 

Achieving this goal requires focus on diversity, 

equity, and inclusion (DEI).” 

This is the first paragraph in the DEI statement 

developed when the VNA/VNF Diversity, Equity, and 

Inclusion (DEI) Council convened in October 2019. 

The strategic goal and three of the five action items 

laid the foundation for the work of the DEI Council: 

(1) to ensure that the diversity of the nursing 

workforce mirrored the populations nurses served; 

(2) to increase the number of underrepresented 

nurses on boards; and (3) to partner with 

organizations to offer scholarships for nursing 

students from diverse backgrounds. The DEI Council 

has developed initiatives to improve health equity 

and decrease the disparities that exist. 

Disparities of all types negatively impact 

historically underserved groups of people who 

already face significantly more barriers to 

maintaining good health and overall well-being. 

Health disparities that are deemed unfair or stem 

from some forms of injustice result in health 

inequities (NHLBI, n. d.). As nurses, we should 

always be intentional about advancing health 

equity, and social justice which requires changing 

policies that impede quality healthcare for all. Dr. 

Sue Hassmiller articulated it best when she said, 

“the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is devoted 

to building a culture of health and has pledged to 

dismantle structural racism.” The Virginia Nurses 

Association and Foundation are also fully vested 

in advancing health equity and dismantling the 

structural racism that underlie disparities. 

Drs. S. Hassmiller and V. McDaniel 

The National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Future 

of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve 

Health Equity report was released in May 2021 to 

help guide nurses to responsibly improve health 

equity. The coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc 

worldwide and disproportionately impacted specific 

groups of people (i.e., based on race, ethnicity, 

disability, and vulnerability) and communities 

that already reflected existing societal inequalities 

(CDC, 2021). The report, which was scheduled to be 

released in 2020, was released late so the NAM could 

expand the report to include information about the 

COVID-19 global pandemic and recommendations on 

how nurses can reduce health disparities (Campaign 

for Action, 2021). The 2020-2030 report builds on 

the foundation of the seminal 2011 Institute of 

Medicine report, The Future of Nursing: Leading 

Change, Advancing Health. 

During a virtual summit in June 2021, led by 

Dr. Sue Hassmiller and Dr. Susan Reinhard, the 

Campaign for Action assembled key opinion leaders, 

experts and change makers across the fields of 

healthcare, nursing, business, academia, and social 

justice, just to name a few. The goal was to build 

action plans to operationalize the Future of Nursing 

report recommendations. Dr. Kathy Baker, chief 

nursing officer at University of Virginia Medical 

Center and I were honored to attend. 

Nine major Future of Nursing recommendations 

and 54 sub-recommendations were addressed. 

With the assistance of Dr. Winifred Quinn, 

Director, Advocacy and Consumer Affairs, Center 

to Champion Nursing in America, 200 people were 

grouped into 28 teams to workshop each of the 

report’s 54 sub-recommendations. Each group 

addressed several questions which resulted in 

54 Draft Action Plans, each with specific tasks, 

timelines, and goals, that can guide how nursing 

will help transform health, healthcare and health 

equity for all. The examples of how each of the 

report recommendations can be addressed and put 

into practice can be found on the Future of Nursing 

2030 Action Hub at https://campaignforaction.org/ 

resources/future-of-nursing-2030-action-hub/. 

Dr. Vivienne McDaniel & Dr. Beverly Malone 

My team included National League for Nursing 

President Dr. Beverly Malone and American 

Organization of Nursing Leadership CEO Dr. Robyn 

Begley, and I gained a wealth of ideas from both of 

these nursing leaders. Our team focused on two 

report recommendations (sub-recommendations): 

• Recommendation #1, Creating a Shared 

Agenda; Sub-Recommendation 1.4 Across 

nursing organizations: develop mechanisms for 

nurses’ health, well-being, resiliency, and selfcare; 

and 

• Recommendation #5, Paying for Nursing Care; 

Sub-Recommendation 5.1 Reform fee-forservice 

payment models. 

Dr. Baker’s team concentrated on staff resiliency 

and preparing nurses to respond to disasters 

and public health emergencies, which is critical 

considering the pandemic we are battling. 

The Campaign for Action Summit reconvened 

in September 2021 to continue to process the 

Future of Nursing report with three objectives: 

(1) to discuss and identify initial priorities, key 

partners, and measures of success; (2) to activate 

the field to disseminate and implement the NAM 

2020-2030 report recommendations; and (3) to 

consider topics for learning collaboratives. A Summit 

Priorities Worksheet was provided to capture notes 

that organizations or individuals identified as 

priorities. The worksheet can be found at https:// 

campaignforaction.org/resource/september-2021- 

summit-priorities-worksheet/. Please take advantage 

of the worksheet and other tools on the Campaign 

for Action website as we all work together to move 

the health equity agenda forward. Which of the 

recommendations will you select for you or your 

organization? 

In memory of our discussion 

leader for the June 2021 Summit, 

Aila Accad (formerly Barbara 

Banonis), Executive Director, West 

Virginia Action Coalition who 

“transitioned” three days before 

our September summit. May she 

rest in peace. 

“For it is in the creative space between ideas that new 

insights are frequently born.” - Aila Accad, RN 

References 

Campaign For Action (2021). Improving health equity. 

https://campaignforaction.org/issue/improving-healthequity/ 

Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2021, 

April 19). Health equity considerations and racial 

and ethnic minority groups. https://www.cdc.gov/ 

coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/raceethnicity.html 

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). (n. d.). 

Health disparities and inequities. The National Institute 

of Health. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/science/healthdisparities-and-inequities 

Advocating for Cleaner Air and Better Health Outcomes 

Sandra Olanitori, MS, RN, 

VNA/VNF Diversity, Equity, 

and Inclusion Council 

Member 

It was a pleasure to have 

the opportunity to be a part 

of a virtual panel of Virginia 

nurses to meet with Senator 

Mark Warner’s office. We met 

to speak with the senator 

W e’re H iring! 

RNs, LPNs, CNAs, and more! 

Various shifts (full time, part-time, per diem) 

5 Star Staffing 

www.wcbay.com/careers 

3100 Shore Drive, 

Virginia Beach, VA 23451 

about the impacts of climate change on health, 

especially in relation to the bipartisan infrastructure 

bill and budget reconciliation. 

On behalf of our nurses and our patients and 

communities, I asked Senator Warner and our 

lawmakers to remember that because of the Clean 

Air Act and its amendments: 

• More than 2.4 million asthma exacerbations, 

135,000 hospital admissions, and more 

than 230,000 premature deaths have been 

prevented. 

• The premature deaths would have been caused 

by ozone exposure and particulate matter and 

related cardiac conditions and heart attacks. 

• The hospital admissions would have been for 

respiratory conditions made works by poor air 

quality and pollution 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ 

PMC4133758/ 

Everyone, as well as our lawmakers should also 

remember the acronym APES, which stands for the 

following: 

A=Avoiding 

Continue to avoid deaths from PM (particulate 

matter) and ozone exposure. 

P=Preventing 

Continue to prevent heart attacks tied to air 

quality and pollution. 

E=Eliminating 

Continue to eliminate hospital admissions for 

respiratory conditions made worse by air pollution. 

S=Stopping 

Continue to stop asthma attacks from taking 

place due to air pollution. 

I also shared that we need to continue to focus 

on the impacts of climate change and air pollution 

that are tied to health inequities. Specifically, I 

spoke about how both air pollution and extreme heat 

events increase the risk of pre-term birth especially 

for black, hispanic and low income women. You can 

read more on this issue here: https://www.ucsf.edu/ 

news/2021/09/421471/study-links-air-pollutionnearly-6-million-preterm-births-around-world. 

I encourage all nurses to think about the impacts 

of climate change on health and advocate directly 

with your elected officials.


Our Response to the Pandemic continued from page 1 

As the COVID-19 pandemic escalated, VNA & VNF swiftly launched 

numerous educational campaigns and webinars for healthcare professionals 

and the general public. All of these events, materials, and continuing education 

credits were free of charge, regardless of membership status. Some of the many 

topics we covered included: general safety guidelines for the public, mental 

health and moral injury in healthcare professionals, ensuring health equity in 

the midst of a pandemic, maternal mental health, and the latest healthcare and 

COVID-19 updates from President Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony 

Faucci as well as from the Virginia Department of Health. These webinars and 

resources can be found on our website at www.virginianurses.com. 

VNA & VNF’s recent fall conference, Fostering Recovery by Creating Moral 

Community In the Wake of a Pandemic, received rave reviews from participants 

(as have all of our other virtual events!) as a much needed shift in focus for 

healthcare professionals as we leave summer behind. It became evident from 

VNA’s environmental forecasting that nurses across the nation were feeling 

burned out, disrespected, and lost as a result of being 18 months on the 

frontlines of a war that came from the COVID-19 pandemic. This program 

delved into the trauma and moral injury experienced by nurses during the 

past year and examined how we as nurses and a community can move toward 

recovery and sustainable systemic change. This program and the nursing 

continuing education hours are still available in VNA’s online store until 

December 31, 2021. To access, simply go to: https://virginianurses.com/store/. 

Amplifying Existing ANA Programs 

Along with the American Nurses Association, VNA has been an avid 

supporter and promoter of the ANA COVID Response Fund for Nurses, to enable 

the public to support and thank nurses. The national fund addresses the 

identified, emerging needs of nurses: 

• Supporting the mental health of nurses – today and in the future 

• Ensuring nurses everywhere have access to the latest science-based 

information to protect themselves, prevent infection, and care for those in 

need 

• Driving the national advocacy focused on nurses and patients 

• Provide direct financial assistance to nurses facing financial hardship due 

to a COVID diagnosis. 

As it became evident the COVID-19 pandemic was not going to resolve 

swiftly, VNA & VNF quickly pivoted to circulate free trauma, burnout, moral 

injury, and mental health resources to as many nurses as we could. With 

supplemental materials from ANA, we published our Mental Health Help for 

Nurses (virginianurses.com/page/MentalHealthHelpforNurses) webpage, all free 

materials - no membership required! 

Access VNA’s Mental Health Resources for Nurses 

virginianurses.com/page/MentalHealthHelpforNurses 

VNA Welcomes New President-Elect & Elected Leadership continued from page 1 

Treasurer 

Dee Eldardiri, MS, NPD-RN, CMSRN 

Ms. Eldardiri has been a volunteer peer reviewer for 

the CNE Provider Unit for VNA for the last five years. 

In this role she reviewed individual CNE applications 

as well as provider unit applications. Ms. Eldardiri has 

been serving as a nurse for 31 years and is certified in 

nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) 

and med-surg nursing. She is currently the manager 

for NCPD and program design for the American Nurses 

Association (ANA). 

Commissioner on Government Relations 

Ashley Apple, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, CEN 

As an active member of VNA, Dr. Apple has lobbied at 

the Virginia General Assembly many times, advocating 

on various legislative issues such as full practice 

authority for APRNs, multi-state compacts, workplace 

violence. When COVID-19 arrived in Virginia, Dr. Apple 

worked to ensure access to workers’ compensation 

benefits for nurses who became infected, and testified 

before House and Senate committees to help VNA 

achieve one of the most successful legislative agendas in 

recent memory. 

Commissioner on Resources & Policy 

Sabrina Gregory Hancock, DNP, RN, CNML 

Dr. Gregory has been a long term champion for the 

improvement of healthcare and the facilitation of positive 

patient outcomes. She has focused her nursing career on 

ensuring that nurses have the resources necessary to 

ensure patient safety and policies based on evidence to 

help improve healthcare across the continuum. 

Director-at-Large, Recent Graduate 

Logan Kantsios, BSN, CCRN 

Mr. Kantsios was the National Student Nurses Association 

(NSNA) Breakthrough to Nursing Director from 2018-2019. 

During his time on the National Board he founded the Alaska 

Nursing Student Association and the New Mexico Nursing 

Student Association. Mr. Kantsios has also served in three 

positions on the Virginia Nursing Student Association (VNSA) 

Board of Directors including director-at-large, 1st Vice President, 

and Graduate Consultant. 

What’s next? 

As we hopefully move out towards an endemic version of COVID-19 rather 

than pandemic, we will continue to advocate for nurses and the nursing 

profession, with a focus on what can be done, including any and all policy and 

legislative avenues, to alleviate staffing shortages and the mental health strain 

on nurses here in Virginia. 

We want you to know that we are here to help you in any way we can. If you 

need to speak with us, please reach out to VNA Communications Manager Elle 

Buck at ebuck@virginianurses.com. Thank you for all you do to keep Virginians 

healthy today and every day. 

Committee on Nominations 

Erica Davis, FNP-C 

Ms. Davis has worked previously with the National 

Black Nurses Association (NBNA) where she served 

as treasurer and on various committees. She was 

instrumental in establishing NBNA’s first brain health 

institute in 2017. She also served on the diversity and 

inclusion committee for Bon Secours Health System, 

Inc., a Nursing Employee Resource Group called “One 

Voice, United in Excellence.” 

Committee on Nominations 

Melissa Gomes, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC 

Currently, Dr. Gomes serves as a National Advisory 

Board Member and Mentor for SAMHSA Minority 

Fellowship Program working with burgeoning nurse 

clinicians and researchers. Her work has sought 

to identify and address the mental health needs of 

individuals and communities at risk of experiencing 

alterations in mental health. 

VNA and VNF are thrilled to announce the topic for the 2022 annual spring 

conference, Calling All Disruptors for the Future of Nursing. This will be a 1.5 day 

conference that will be held virtually in April 2022. 

Attendees can expect to learn more about and discuss best practices or 

"new norms" that have emerged from the pandemic related to all practice 

environments and specialties of nursing. We’ll also take a look at what’s next for 

the future of nursing in its current environment and how to move forward from 

the trauma of the past two years. 

More information, including the conference date and agenda, can be found 

online at www.virginianurses.com/SpringConference. Be sure to keep an eye out 

in our next edition of Virginia Nurses Today and online, virginianurses.com, for 

our speaker line up and agenda! 

Southwestern VA Mental Health Institute 

SWVMHI is a 179 bed state-of-the-art inpatient Mental Health 

facility located in the beautiful mountains of Southwestern 

Virginia and is part of Virginia’s Dept. of Behavioral Health 

and Developmental Services. 

Nursing employees make a valuable difference in the lives of 

the individuals served on our Acute Admissions, Long- term 

Adult, or Geriatric Units. 

www.virginiajobs.peopleadmin.com 

Visit the website or use the QR Code above to apply today! 

Excellent Benefits Include: 

* $7,500 Sign-On Bonus for Registered Nurses 

* $3,000 Sign-On Bonus for Licensed Practical 

Nurses 

* $3,000 Sign-On Bonus for Psychiatric Care 

Technicians 

* Shift Differential, Weekend and Holiday 

Supplements 

* Employer/Employee funded Retirement 

* State Life Insurance 

* Minimum of 28 Days of Paid Time Off/Yr.


First cohort of VNF’s 

Nurse Leadership 

Academy will launch 

January 2022 


Due to the Delta variant’s impact on our 

healthcare organizations, we have delayed the start 

of our Nurse Leadership Academy until January 

2022. 

There is still time to register! The Nurse 

Leadership Academy is a brand new year-long 

leadership development program spearheaded by 

the Virginia Nurses Foundation in partnership with 

the Virginia Nurses Association and is set to launch 

virtually in January. Intended for new and emerging 

nurse leaders across all healthcare settings, fellows 

of this robust program will learn foundational 

leadership skills and demonstrate these skills 

through an applied leadership project within their 

organization. 

The first six months of this Academy program will 

be dedicated to live didactic sessions and webinars 

focused on effective leadership, organizational 

culture, influencing change, finances and more. 

During the subsequent six months, fellows will 

develop an applied leadership project with support 

from their individually identified mentor. More 

information about the Academy curriculum 

and registration can be found online at https:// 

virginianurses.com/page/NLA. Registration closes 

on January 5, 2022. 

Interested in donating to this program? 

VNF encourages you to consider making 

donations through our Nightingale Legacy Fund at 

tinyurl.com/VNFNightingaleLegacyFund. The VNF 

Nightingale Legacy Fund was created as a tribute 

to nursing leaders who have made a difference 

and to help support the development of the Nurse 

Leadership Academy. 

Monies donated will help support the initial startup 

of this leadership development program and 

provide donors with an opportunity to recognize and 

give tribute to those they are thankful for because of 

the difference their leadership has made to us. 

The nurse leader you recognize will receive an 

email letting them know you wanted to say thank 

you!


Frontline nurses and others weigh in on 

top needs in the workplace 

Janet Wall, MS, VNA & VNF CEO 

During what appears to have been the height 

of the COVID Delta variant, VNA sent members 

a single-question survey asking “If there was one 

thing you could implement at your organization 

right now that you think would help improve nurse 

staffing, what would that be?” As your professional 

organization, we feel it’s imperative that employers 

hear you. Your responses were powerful, consistent, 

and many were innovative. Thank you all for taking 

the time to respond. 

381 VNA member nurses responded to the survey, 

including 61% frontline nurses, 14% management, 

5% executive, and 4% faculty. Others responding 

included consultants and care coordinators, as well 

as professional development, infection control, and 

quality assurance staff. 

Further breakdown reveals that 71% work in 

hospitals, 5% in ambulatory, 4% in academia, and 

2% in long-term care. Of those nurses working in 

hospitals, 59% practiced in medium-sized hospitals 

(100-499-beds), 33% in large hospitals (500+ beds), 

and 9% in small hospitals (fewer than 100 beds). 

Among frontline nurses (the largest group of 

respondents at 61%), the top three needs identified 

were: 

1. retention bonuses, 

2. competitive pay, and 

3. safe nurse-patient ratios. 

Many frontline nurses rallied for significant 

bonuses and double-digit pay increases. As one 

nurse wrote, “Give retention bonuses. It will help 

ease the burden of all the extra hours we are having 

to work. The hospitals are willing to give huge signon 

bonuses for new employees, but nothing other 

than a pizza here and there for the dedicated staff.” 

Another nurse responded “Pay us what we 

are worth. It would be a lot less expensive than 

playing the traveler nurse game. It’s insulting that 

I am working the same job, and also precept, take 

charge, run committees, and coordinate all nursing 

education for the unit, but get paid 2/3 less than 

a traveler. Hospital administrators put us in this 

position. Soon, all nurses will be contract nurses.” 

Many nurses shared similar sentiments, 

including that “higher pay is needed to promote 

nurse retention and improve job satisfaction. Our 

traveling nurses make nearly 6.7x the pay that we 

do as staff nurses. Not only is this a difficult pill to 

swallow, but we are now losing nurses to traveling. 

We are staffing other hospitals, and other hospitals 

are now staffing us.” 

We agree… It’s a hard pill to swallow. We are 

thrilled to have taken note of recent articles in 

local newspapers about health systems, including 

UVA Health, Bon Secours, and Riverside Health 

System, announcing precisely this level of financial 

recognition to nurses and other healthcare 

professionals. We hope more employers are able to 

follow suit, even as we know many of their budgets 

have been hard-hit by the pandemic. 

Others rallied for hazard pay and salary 

differentials for working at a higher acuity facility 

Nurse-patient ratios are a complex issue, and 

one that can’t be resolved with a single number. 

At the same time, we know that adequate staffing 

is imperative for quality patient outcomes and 

nurses’ mental health. Now, because of a nursing 

shortage which began in 2012 and has exponentially 

worsened since the pandemic, achieving safe ratios 

has proven even more challenging. While there’s 

no silver bullet solution, immediate change needs 

to happen before the practice setting – and most 

importantly our patients – lose even more of the 

nurse professionals that are the backbone of our 

healthcare system. 

Many frontline nurses also said that leadership 

needs to fill open positions. “We’ve had several 

nurses leave and management is not replacing 

them.” 

As nurses, you know that staffing directly 

impacts quality, and as one nurse commented, 

better staffing will enable the frontline nurse “to 

truly understand what is actually happening with 

the patients, instead of just pushing pills;” and 

completing an overabundance of electronic forms 

and check boxes, we might add. 

The voluminous amount of documentation, 

including EHR, charting, and review required of 

nurses consumes on average 25% of their time. It’s a 

result of years of both federal and state bureaucracy 

implementing rules and regulations by a seemingly 

endless list of agencies and departments that haven’t 

always communicated at levels that will ensure 

avoidance of duplicative documentation and efforts. 

They’re all well-intended, to be sure, but are part of 

a healthcare model riddled with problems and long 

overdue for an overhaul. 

We need “staffing based on direct care needs 

and acuity, not perceived needs. The ED needs 

staffing based more on what may come in, rather 

than the lowest average.” Respondents also shared 

their concerns that too often, nurses are floated to 

other units where they are not adequately trained. 

Underlying all of their responses: “Take care of the 

nursing staff that are already here.” 

Another called for planned recovery periods, 

stating that “portions of units should be closed so 

that nurses aren’t running unsafely understaffed. 

This is wearing us down mentally, physically, and 

emotionally.” This was a thought reiterated by 

many… “Close beds until staffing can be built back 

up to full capacity.” Others recommended “More 

PTO on a rotating basis so nurses have built-in 

breaks from the demands of the pandemic.” 

Frontline nurses also called for upper 

management to “take turns working on the floor 

with us.” 

“They could assist with menial, but timeconsuming 

tasks that take time (i.e., bringing water, 

passing trays, answering phones) and we could focus 

on nursing,” said one nurse. 

Another said, “We are constantly bombarded 

with requests to stay late or come in early while 

management leaves on time every day. I only see 

them around when they want something or when 

something is wrong. It's hard to feel supported 

when we are being overworked and placed in unsafe 

situations while they make staffing decisions away 

from the bedside. If they would work the floor for a 

few hours a week to equally help day and night shift 

I think that a lot of us would feel more supported 

and not leave.” 

All nurses commenting on this (and there were 

many) felt it was important for management and 

administration to walk a mile in their shoes… 

to make the time to help out, and in the process 

develop a clear understanding of all that nurses 

do, and how truly dire the staffing issue is and the 

extent to which the quality of care for patients is in 

jeopardy. 

Other thoughts shared by frontline nurses 

included: 

• More shift start times, with 4, 6, 8, & 10 hour 

shifts. “I think it's really hard to get people 

to agree to a full extra shift when they are so 

burnt out. They might, however, be willing to 

come in for several hours which could be really 

helpful to a unit. If you have enough people 

willing to do that, you have coverage. 

• A better partnership with management, in 

which the voice of frontline nurses is clearly 

heard, and their opinions respected. Bottom 

line, said one frontline nurse, “Treat us like we 

matter.” 

• So many nurses, in addition to the three 

top issues mentioned above, simply wanted 

to feel appreciated, and respected. Not with 

the occasional pizza as mentioned above, 

but in meaningful ways that show they are 

valued team members who are in large part 

responsible for the quality outcomes for 

which everyone – C-suite, nurses in all roles, 

physicians, patients, and their families -- 

strive. 

• Support for professional growth within the 

organization 

While I’ve focused thus far on the responses 

of frontline nurses, it’s important to note that 

nurse executives and nurse management, as well 

as faculty responding to the survey also called 

for significant and competitive pay increases for 

frontline nurses.[JW3] Many also commented on 

the need for “staffing options that cater to healthy 

living” and “appropriate nurse to patient ratios and a 

culture of safety.” 

Nurse executives also called for “Collaborative 

partnerships between higher education and K-14 

schools that foster early awareness of nursing and 

dual enrollment/dual credit programs for high 

schoolers.” And others wanted the ability to “Mobilize 

every nursing resource in the organization and 

nursing student to be part of our workforce in caring 

for patients, and better integrate nursing student 

experience into our care delivery model.” Team 

nursing with additional unlicensed staff support” 

was a recommendation from several nurse execs. 

One nurse exec recommended waivers on 

required documentation. “Asking for more people 

isn’t realistic, so anything we can do to decrease 

the workload and maximize valuable time would 

help.” Frontline nurses currently spend about 25% 

of their time on documentation and EHRs. VNA, 

along with other organizations, is exploring ways in 

which the electronic data entry can be streamlined; 

providing nurses more time with the patient without 

sacrificing quality. 

Nurse managers responded to the survey 

indicating they need to “Partner with hospitals 

for collaborative nurse education relationships 

that include hospital staff as educators/ mentors/ 

preceptors at all levels, not just seniors.” 

One respondent called for an increase in the 

availability of behavioral health resources saying, 

“All of our PCTs keep getting pulled to sit with 

suicidal patients (who sometimes wait in our 

facility for days before an inpatient BH bed can be 

secured), thus increasing the workload of the already 

exhausted and burned out RN staff. Having more 

tech and ancillary support would help since we've 

already enacted all kinds of strategies to help the 

nurses.” Other nurse managers echoed this, with a 

call for more ancillary, HHA, PCA and CNA staff, as 

well as a return to unit secretaries. 

Other responses included “Executive leadership 

allowing the pace of change and support to be 

driven by recommendations from frontline staff,” 

and “Childcare!” We know that, particularly during 

the pandemic, many nurses have needed to either 

leave the workforce or significantly reduce their 

hours in order to become teachers and stay-at-home 

parents to their homebound children. Another nurse 

encouraged shared shifts for working parents. 

There were also calls for student loan repayment. 

VNA is currently exploring options for this as well 

as more funding for nursing scholarships. You can 

hear more about this and other advocacy initiatives 

during our upcoming (Nov. 9) virtual Legislative 

Summit, which can be viewed live or on-demand for 

three months following the event. Learn more on our 

Events page at virginianurses.com. 

Nurse managers also underscored the need for 

better mentorship and support programs for new 

hires, which they felt would reduce turnover. And, 

thinking bigger picture, they recognized the need 

to “Change the patterns and care models, because 

there aren’t more nurses to be had - this is going to 

lead to a two-tiered system that will alienate health 

insecure areas already. 

Faculty shared a consistent message: “We are 

short-staffed! Salaries need to be more competitive 

with those of nurses in the practice setting.” And, 

“Ensure coverage. If one person will be out, plan 

for someone to fill-in. Don't just try to make do 

with less.” Others shared, “Ensure that the hiring 

managers, recruiters and search committees have 

a good understanding of equitable hiring practices” 

and “Stop the antiquated methods of hiring nursing 

faculty.” 

Not surprisingly, the survey responses underscore 

that nurse staffing is a complex issue. Equally 

important, is the fact that nurses in all positions 

and settings have many of the same goals: 

Competitive pay for all nurses, retention bonuses, 

flexible scheduling with shorter shifts available, 

more support staff, and more appropriate staffing 

ratios. Together with meaningful recognition, 

improved two-way communications, respect, and 

shared governance, I believe these efforts will go a 

long way toward improving staff satisfaction and 

translate to nurses’ improved mental health, better 

staff retention, improved patient outcomes, and 

a healthier workforce better positioned to ensure 

optimal patient outcomes. 

Your input is being shared with key stakeholders 

we have convened to develop short- and long-term 

strategies to address nurse staffing challenges, and 

other workforce coalitions we are engaging with 

to consider healthcare workforce issues through a 

policy lens. We’ll also be sharing this article directly 

with CNOs and CNEs as we underscore the need for 

change both in the state and federal public policy 

arena and cultural shifts within the practice setting.



VNA Fall Conference 

VNA Commissioner on Nursing Education 

Catherine Cox, PhD, RN, CEN, CNE, Alumnus CCRN 

For those of you who missed VNA’s 2021 fall 

conference, Fostering Recovery by Creating Moral 

Community in the Wake of a Pandemic, held 

virtually on September 23, we offer you a recap. 

You can also access the recorded conference ondemand 

in our virtual learning center at https:// 

virginianurses.com/store/. 

Keep in mind that the annual fall conference 

traditionally occurs over a period of two days, 

includes a membership assembly, and ends 

with the fantastic VNF gala. However, given the 

pandemic VNA swapped the blueprint of the fall 

and spring conferences by making the fall version 

a one-day event and shifted the 2022 spring 

conference to a two day event, which will also be 

held virtually. 

The Fostering Recovery by Creating Moral 

Community in the Wake of a Pandemic conference 

Under investigation 

by the Virginia 

Board of Nursing? 

was developed in order to provide nurses with 

the opportunity to delve into the concepts of the 

trauma and moral injury experienced by nurses 

during the past year as well as examine how we 

as nurses and a community move toward recovery 

and sustainable systemic change. VNA prioritized 

this subject matter given an environmental scan 

in 2020 that revealed many nurses across the 

commonwealth were experiencing moral distress for 

both professional and personal reasons, especially 

during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To provide context for “where we are,” the 

day began with a pre-conference overview 

from the Virginia Department of Health about 

COVID transmission, the impact on vulnerable 

populations, new testing options, case modeling 

projections for the fall, vaccines, and returning to 

school. 

Eileen M. Talamante, Esq., R.N. 

Eileen is a nurse and an attorney, and is 

here to help you with licensing issues, 

investigations, and disciplinary matters 

before the Virginia Board of Nursing. 

2020 Outstanding 

Advocate Award 

goodmanallen.com 

ETalamante@goodmanallen.com 

(804) 565-3526 

DEDICATED TO SERVING THE LEGAL 

NEEDS OF VIRGINIA NURSES. 

The conference kicked off with a keynote 

presentation from Dr. Cynda Rushton (from Johns 

Hopkins School of Nursing) about “Healing the 

Wounds of the Pandemic by Cultivating Moral 

Resilience.” She talked about how moral suffering 

by nurses represents the anguish we feel related to 

unrelieved moral distress. Extreme cases of moral 

distress can lead to moral injury through which 

moral and ethical codes have been violated. When 

moral distress accrues, it most likely will carry 

over to other situations and result in moral residue. 

Unfortunately, situations with moral residue force 

some nurses to choose the least-worst choice rather 

than the best one. How can we positively manage 

moral adversity? It’s through moral resilience by 

which integrity can be restored and/or sustained. 

Dr. Rushton concluded by saying that both 

clinicians and health care organizations should 

work together to relieve moral suffering and foster 

resilience. 

The conference proceeded with Dr. Bernadette 

Melnyk’s talk on “Building Wellness Cultures to 

Enhance the Health and Well-being of Nurses: 

Evidenced-Based Strategies that Work.”She started 

her presentation by discussing vitamin “G” – 

gratitude – because gratitude does decrease stress 

and improve mood. Dr. Melnyk then reinforced the 

spirit of resiliency with the quote: “Make lemonade 

out of lemons.” But things got really serious when 

she proclaimed that the combination of burnout, 

stress, and depression has led to a public health 

crisis in clinicians. Unfortunately, many nurses 

are coping with the pandemic with unhealthy 

lifestyle behaviors so Dr. Melnyk emphasized 

that we need to prioritize our own self-care given 

these unprecedented times. She then shared some 

great resources that are free via The Ohio State 

University so check out all of the resources and 

webinars via this website: https://u.osu.edu/ 

keepcalmcovid19/. 

We dove into the first afternoon session, provided 

by Dr. Katie Boston-Leary from the American 

Nurses Association. She talked about “Moral 

Leadership, Positive Disruption, and Making 

the Business Case to Improve Nurses’ Health.” 

Regrettably, after sharing evidence regarding the 

current state of nurses’ health, it appears that 

some nurses believe that the only effective means 

to address burnout is to quit. Dr. Boston-Leary 

later shared findings from three bodies of work 

that indicated the potential to empower nurses 

and transform health care. What’s the key? It’s 

prioritizing the well-being of nurses, which may 

require positive disruption in order to make an 

impact. Key strategies shared were: 1) establish 

nurse wellness programs as a recruiting and 

retention tool, 2) define a healthy nurse for your 

organization, 3) craft a financial frame for C-suite 

buy-in, 4) reset the culture, 5) heed the call for 

moral leadership, and 6) face the facts. Dr. Boston- 

Leary clarified the differences between resilience 

versus thrive and finished with three great websites 

to help with such: 

1. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/ 

nurse-suicide-prevention/ 

2. https://www.healthynursehealthynation.org/ 

3. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/ 

work-environment/health-safety/disasterpreparedness/coronavirus/what-you-need-toknow/the-well-being-initiative/ 

The conference closed with “A Call to Action 

for Moral Communities” where we heard from Dr. 

Elizabeth Epstein and Dr. Mary Faith Marshall, 

both from the University of Virginia School of 

Nursing. They defined the concept of “moral 

community” and then charged us to collaborate 

with organizational leaders in order to protect 

ourselves from the sequelae of burnout via mutual 

responsibility and systemic changes. It was great 

to end on a high note when the speakers reminded 

us to think about why we became nurses as well as 

encouraged us to return joy to work. 

More than 250 nurses participated in the live 

event and for those who registered but could 

not, the on-demand version will be available 

from October 15 to December 31, 2021 at www. 

virginianurses.com/store! Additionally, any nurse 

may register for access to the on demand conference 

until December 31st.


VNF Annual Gala 

& Awards Timeline 

Shift 

Traditionally, our fall conference is held on 

a Friday and Saturday in September and is 

immediately followed by our annual VNF gala on 

Saturday night. This year, due to the continuing 

COVID-19 pandemic, we have opted to hold all of our 

conferences virtually. VNF will also be postponing 

the 2021 gala and award nomination process until 

next year. 

Our next in-person 2-day fall conference and gala 

is planned for fall 2022, at which time our hope is 

that the pandemic will be well in our rearview mirror 

and we can safely gather for in-person learning, 

camaraderie, and a much needed celebration of 

nursing! 

Visit our website virginianurses.com for more 

information and event updates! 

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY IS CURRENTLY HIRING: 

DEAN – School of Nursing-12 Month Administrative Position- 

Earned Doctorate -reports to Chancellor and Provost 

FACULTY – Earned Doctorate (Undergraduate and 

Graduate) – 9 month positions 

SUBMIT: Curriculum Vita, contact 

information, and contact information 

for three professional references 

CONTACT: Dr. Arlene J. Montgomery, Search Committee 

Hampton University School of Nursing 

200 William R. Harvey Way, Hampton, VA 23668 

arlene.montgomery@hamptonu.edu | 757-727-5654

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Virginia Nurses Today - November 2021

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