Nebraska Nurse - August 2022

Page 12 • Nebraska Nurse August, September, October 2022
Finally Back Together –
Discussing Violence, Staffing, Racism and Climate
Linda Stones, RN,
Membership Assembly Representative
First, thank you for allowing me to represent
Nebraska at the American Nurses Association
Membership Assembly, June 10th and 11th in
Washington DC.
The American Nurses Association was finally able
to meet in person for Membership Assembly. It had
been several years where we met virtually due to
COVID and finally, in 2022, we were able to bring
together nurses from all over the US and territories
to talk nursing. The House of Delegates passed three
resolutions and a position statement on racism in
nursing. The unintended product of the assembly
was the power of togetherness. I want to start with
togetherness and then I will share the resolutions on
Climate and Health, Violence in the Workplace, Nurse
Staffing and Racism.
Togetherness: Since I have had the opportunity to
experience both forms of meetings, I can tell you that
the sense of belonging, the sense of togetherness,
the feeling of empowerment is much greater when
we meet in person. So one of the big take-aways
that I want to share from Membership Assembly, is
the importance of being present with each other.
While zoom meetings can bring us together to make
operational decisions, the intangibles are missing.
Being present with one another adds a significant
value to the psyche.
As I was flying back to Nebraska, I reflected on
this. The majority of communication is through
the non-verbal interaction; I think literature says
about 85% of what we communicate is non verbal.
So much of non verbal is in the face and, for many
of our members working in clinical areas, this is still
disrupted with masks. I highly encourage all of you
to take time to reconnect with colleagues and peers
in person with masks aside. It is safe to meet outside
several feet apart without masks. Connection at this
level is important for us to move past this pandemic,
to move to our new reality but more importantly to
reinforce that sense of belonging, togetherness and
empowerment. As nurses we are part of the most
trusted profession, the largest sector of Healthcare
Professionals. Now more than any time in our history,
we need to stand together with one voice to advocate
for necessary changes to our health delivery systems.
We need to address the issues that are driving
nurses out of the profession. The time is now! Our
communities, our neighbors and our peers need us to
stand up.
Climate and Health: During the Membership
Assembly, we took action on three different reference
proposals. The first was on climate change and the
impact that this has on health. This focused on how
drought and extreme heat, air pollution, severe
weather can impact health such as heat related
illnesses, malnutrition, asthma exacerbation and
mental health issues. The final outcome was to direct
ANA to include climate issues in their policy platform
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and to educate members on how climate impacts
health. This resolution was passed by the House of
Delegates.
Workplace Violence: The second resolution was
on workplace violence across the continuum of care.
Members from the New Jersey Nurses Association
as well as the National Association of School Nurses
brought forward this reference proposal. The group
highlighted that one of the biggest issues surrounding
this topic is the lack of data available. There is no
central data base to collect incidence of violence, a
standard definition of violence does not exist and
there is significant under reporting. This topic brought
forward significant discussion and ideas on how the
American Nurses Association can support members.
The general consensus is that violence is a big issue
that needs to be addressed urgently. It is probably one
of the factors driving nurses out of healthcare. The
final reference proposal will be published soon on the
ANA website but some of the ideas included creating
a standard definition of violence, require mandatory
reporting of violence through OHSA, worker’s
compensation coverage for the mental recovery for
victims of violence. Watch for more to come on this
topic. The House of Delegates also had widespread
support of this reference proposal.
Staffing: The final discussion was around nurse
staffing. It was another topic that sparked a spirited
discussion. We heard from colleagues in California
that spoke in support of mandatory ratios. Principles
for appropriate nursing staffing were shared as part of
this reference proposal. The overall consensus of the
House of Delegates was something needs to occur
and it needs to occur now. There was a real sense of
urgency was shared by the members on this topic. We
debated the benefits of standards versus ratios, we
discussed how level of care and location, as well as
the physical structure of the facility and the amount
of support services can impact what is considered
“adequate staffing.” Members from Oregon shared
that they hired staff to teach staff how to advocate
for appropriate staffing in their environments. The
overall consensus of the House of Delegates was that
staffing is an extremely important topic that needs
to be addressed in all healthcare settings. However,
whatever solution that is proposed needs to be
flexible to the type of facility and the ever changing
acuity of patients and consideration should be made
to enforcement. Watch the ANA website for future
actions and focus on this topic.
Racism in Nursing: The final big topic for
Membership Assembly was related to racism
in Nursing. A Racial Reckoning statement was
developed, shared and discussed. The Reckoning
statement is an admittance to racism in our
profession, an acknowledgement that it exists and
that it is not accepted by the organization and that
steps need to be put in place to address racism. Please
watch for ANA release of additional information later
this summer on this topic.
As you can see by my report, some very significant
and relevant topics were discussed that are impacting
our profession. All are very complex issues with
no outright, single solution but yet all need to
be addressed. The American Nurses Association
represents you as a nurse and your nursing profession.
The power of ANA does not come through their
staff, it comes through the togetherness of all of our
members. The power comes in our numbers as the
largest group of health professionals and through the
recognition our the public that we are the #1 most
trusted profession. To make significant changes, we
must do this together. If you belong to your state
nurses association, lean in and ask how you can help.
If you don’t belong, get your membership started and
then lean in. It is in working together that we can
make significant changes to better our profession.
“Be the Change you wish to see in the World”
- Gandhi
Note from Dr. Linda Hardy, President Elect,
NNA: I had the distinct privilege of attending the
Membership Assembly for our President, Dr. Kari
Wade who was unable to attend. This was the first
time that I attended this meeting. What an amazing
feeling to be in a room with hundreds of nurses from
across our country. As Linda mentioned, being faceto-face
was so very powerful.