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National Nurse Act Proposed By writing an op-ed piece promoting the idea of an Office of the National Nurse (ONN) for the New York Times last May, Teri Mills, RN, MS, ANP, intended to draw a little attention to nursing during National Nurses Week. The Portland (Oregon) Community College nursing faculty member’s article wound up being published after the celebratory week, but still drew lots of attention with its oft-quoted line “dethrone the Surgeon General and appoint a National Nurse.”That line, however, was not in her original article, Mills says, but was added by the New York Times. “That’s not what we are proposing,” Mills elaborates. “The whole idea of the Office of the National Nurse, the main mission, is to deliver a message of health care promotion and disease prevention to every single American. The way the Office would function is that it would actually complement the Surgeon General’s and the HHS [Health and Human Services] secretary’s efforts in prevention.” Mills’ vision of the ONN includes a National Nurse Corps, which would teach practical applications for healthy living directly to people in their communities.The article elicited “hundreds if not thousands” of responses nationwide. Using that groundswell of support, she founded the National Nurse Team to advocate for the creation of the ONN, which brought the issue to the attention of Congresswoman Lois Capps, RN, PHN (D-CA).On March 8, Capps proposed HR 4903, “The National Nurse Act,” as an amendment to the Public Health Service Act to ultimately improve the nation’s health by promoting preventive care, increasing public awareness of health care issues, and encouraging individuals to enter and remain in nursing. At press time, co-sponsors of the bill included Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Dale Kildee (D-MI).“One of the ways we can curtail the cost of health care is to focus on ways to keep patients healthy. Through the role of the National Nurse, we can really promote those kinds of campaigns,” Capps says. “The intention is to work cooperatively with other government agencies like the Surgeon General’s Office to help to prioritize and deliver a health agenda to the nation.”One official whom the National Nurse would likely work with is Rear Admiral Carol A. Romano, RN, PhD, FAAN, Chief Nurse Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service and Assistant Surgeon General. In a statement issued to NurseWeek, she said, “The National Nurse Bill is an acknowledgement of the importance and value of nursing in our country.That acknowledgement has fanned the enthusiasm of people who have advocated across the country for an ONN, notes Alisa Schneider, RN, MSN, CNE, a coordinator for the National Nurse Team and a nursing faculty member at Portland Community College. “What I have seen is this grassroots effort coming from nurses and other health service providers who are saying, ‘We want something better. We’re not going to sit and wait for the nation to develop some new health reform agenda,’” she says. Although the bill could take several years to pass and there is no guarantee of success, she notes that “with this mobilization of nurses behind something they really feel passionate about, I’ve already seen a renewal of energy within the nursing community.”Other perspectivesIn a statement issued to NurseWeek, the American Organization of Nurses Executives (AONE) wrote, “At this point in time the board of AONE has not taken a position on HR 4903. AONE has worked with Representative Capps in the past and applauds her work as a champion of nursing in the House, especially her work to increase nursing appropriations and to promote the profession.”The American Nurses Association referred NurseWeek to a statement written in January, which ANA spokesperson Catherine Sebold says still reflects the opinion of the organization. According to that statement, the ANA contends that although the backers of the ONN have good intentions, “The question is not whether this is a good or bad idea, but whether it is the best way to effect the change we all so desperately want, both within nursing and in our nation’s health care system.”The ANA acknowledges in the document that the ONN may be one forum to highlight challenges to nursing and health care. But nurses already account for more than 75 elected officials on the state and federal level. So nurses already have a voice in government to address issues such as enhanced funding for nursing education, safe staffing levels, and the removal of barriers to practice for advanced practice registered nurses, ANA states.In addition, ANA writes, “While nurses may benefit by having an ambassador in a National Nurse, ANA believes that this single person could never be as powerful as the millions of registered nurses, who comprise the largest group of health care professionals in the country.”On that point, Mills concurs. “The Office isn’t just about one person being the National Nurse,” she says. Each state would have a public health nurse coordinator working for the ONN, and nurses across the country would have the opportunity to serve on a National Nurse team. She stresses that the ONN is not intended to duplicate efforts by other agencies, but rather, to take efforts a step further by using nurses as credible sources to educate the public directly.“The component that really makes this work is the state-level nurse teams.” Schneider explains. Citing the trust that the American public already has in the profession, she asks, “Who better to deliver this message of prevention and health promotion than the nurse?”Anne Federwisch is a freelance writer for NurseWeek. To comment on this story, send e-mail to [email protected]For more information about the Office of the National Nurse, go to http://www.nationalnurse.blogspot.com/.Features Home |
