Professional nurses associations

The American Nurses Association (ANA), the professional association for registered nurses is a federation of fifty states and three territories (Guam, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands). Each state is made up of districts for local action. The ANA speaks with one voice for nursing, promotes high standards of nursing practice and empowers nurses to define and influence the future of nursing practice and the role of nurses in health care.

The ANA and state associations make policy statements, which affect nurses politically, educationally and in the practice setting. Nurses through their professional association can become politically active through speaking out for passage of legislation, which influence the practice of nursing and the health care of citizens. The collective voice of nurses has been influential on many initiatives including reimbursement for nurse practitioners, the passage of state nurse practice acts, health care reform and hospital length of stay for maternity patients.

The breadth of issues facing nurses is addressed on the state and national level through congresses, committees, task forces and councils. These are issues that nurses face every day in practice, including quality and safety of patient care, adequate educational preparation to meet the needs of today's patients, delegation of nursing duties to non-nursing personnel, and the profession's response to downsizing and restructuring.

Membership in the state nurses association enables the nurse to meet with other nurses who share common concerns and interests. Membership provides contact with people and information from a variety of practice areas. Workshops, seminars and conferences for nurses are offered as continuing education programs.

Publications such as the American Nurse, the American Journal of Nursing and the state association newsletter keep members informed on issues vital to the health care community. One state association, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, has a Career Center designed to support the career advancement of registered nurses. It answers the need for timely, relevant information about professional training and opportunities in an increasingly changing work environment.

Some state nurses associations engage in collective bargaining. This is a union composed of registered nurses whose focus is exclusively on issues of nurses and health care professionals.

The right to organize is a protected activity under both state and federal laws. Through legally protected collective action and contract language, members have the power to secure benefits and working conditions, which foster professional growth and promote quality patient care.

The Professional Nurses Association offers each nurse the opportunity to be informed, empowered, and to have a voice in the future of nursing.

Qualities of the caring helper

The fundamental qualities of a helper include the ability to enter a patient's world, to understand him or her in a deep sense, and to see his or her problem as he or she sees it. It involves making every attempt to perceive the situation in an accurate way from the patient's viewpoint.

It is important that we are genuine with the patient, that we are open and honest. If we expect him or her to be honest, then we must be prepared to reciprocate^A. If we have feelings about the patient or the situation he or she is in, we must be prepared to disclose them, for they will undoubtedly influence our nonverbal communication. When the nurse is open and honest about her feelings, it will be easier for the patient to adopt similar behavior.

When we are describing difficult situations, it is easy to generalize and wander from the point^B. Sometimes we might say, «they say» or, «it is said» rather than speaking in the first person. We need to be specific rather than vague and vacillating. Being specific means staying with the situation. It is important for the nurse to be specific in what she says, so that the patient can get into that manner of speaking^C.

We should demonstrate that we care about the patient and have a genuine concern for his or her welfare. We must not hide behind professional aloofness, which keeps us distant or remote from the patient. It is not the possessive love which we have for those near and dear to us^D — we will not help by developing emotional bonds — but if we can make the patient feel valued and cared for, we are taking significant steps toward developing a therapeutic relationship^E.

Not only must we be warm and caring toward the patient, we must respect him or her as a unique individual. We must not judge the patient by the yardstick of our own values, for he or she is a different individual with his or her own feelings and morals. Nurse-researchers refer to «unconditional positive regard», meaning accepting the patient with a positive attitude, just as he or she is, with no preconditions.

Notes:

^A we must be prepared to reciprocate — мы должны быть готовы вести себя так же (букв.: отвечать взаимностью)

^в to wander from the point — отклониться от темы

^с so that the patient can get into that manner of speaking — зд.: чтобы больной научился понимать такой стиль общения

^D those near and dear to us — зд.: наши родные, близкие

^Е we are taking significant steps toward developing a therapeutic relationship — мы предпринимаем серьезные шаги для создания благоприятных для лечения взаимоотношений