The National Nurse campaign had some good news last week when Rep. Anthony Weiner (NY-9) introduced HR 1119 the National Nurse Act of 2011 to the 112th Congress. HR1119 has already garnered sponsorship from several members of Congress.
contact your Congressional representative to consider sponsorship an support of this important, bipartisan, cost neutral legislation. If you need a packet of information to take to your Congress person, contact the NNNO Board.
A few weeks ago The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health was published. This was a collaborative effort of The Institute of Medicine and the Robert J Wood Foundation. According to this report, the future of nursing needs to include much more nurse leadership.
As we move from a disease/sick model for health care to a wellness and prevention model, patient education becomes paramount. This paradigm shift will reduce the soaring costs of health care and improve the overall health status of our nation. Nurses will lead this charge.
Nurses need to be present at the table when decisions are made and allowed to take ownership of many of the processes. In so doing, nurses will bring a renewed energy and creativity to tackling issues facing the health care industry.
One of the most important ways we can ensure more nurse leaders is to establish a National Nurse to lead all nurses and work alongside of the Surgeon General to promote prevention and wellness.
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