Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/117858
Key Issues at Stake for Minnesota RNs this November T MINNESOTA his november, Minnesota nurses have the ability to determine who will make key decisions about their union, their practice, and their patients. Every seat���House and Senate���in the Minnesota Legislature is up for election. Federally, voters will also choose a new president, senators, and congresspersons. ���It���s really about what type of state Legislature we want to have,��� said MNA President Linda Hamilton, RN. ���For instance, we can have a Legislature that takes a real look at the challenge of unsafe staffing inside our state���s hospitals. Or, we can have a Legislature that is more interested in divisive social issues and protecting corporate interests ahead of everyday people.��� Along with the legislative issues that directly impact Minnesota nurses, this fall���s election is an opportunity to help working families prosper through education, job creation, and investment in our communities, according to Andrea Ledger, MNA���s director of political and legislative action. ���This election is going to shape our state and our country���s immediate and long-term future,��� she said. ���Of particular concern to our membership, politicians play a huge role in shaping healthcare in general and the nursing profession in particular. For example, there will be a large push by Minnesota nurses this fall urging state leaders to pass legislation aimed at curbing unsafe staffing levels inside our state���s hospitals. We also anticipate bills moving in the state legislature that could negatively impact state-employed registered nurses (RNs). ���There are also expectations of legislation being introduced regarding national nurse licensure, which would erode Minnesota���s nursing standards and increase the risk to our patients,��� Ledger added. ���Finally, we���re expecting to see efforts to amend the Nurse Practice Act by expanding the scope of practice for licensed practical nurses (LPNs). Our nurses feel this action would not only put nurse and patient safety at risk, but that it���s also a corporate healthSEPTEMBER 2012 care maneuver to get more work for less money while pitting LPNs and RNs against one another in the workplace.��� Julia Donnelly, one of MNA���s political and community organizers, notes that as an organization with 20,000 members, MNA���s nurse leaders don���t expect every single member to see eye-to-eye on political issues. ���But when our nurse leaders approach the political process and decide which candidates MNA should officially endorse, there���s a clear-cut process and a defined goal in place,��� she said. ���We want to endorse legislators and politicians who are pronurse, and who are champions for the issues that are most important to our membership.��� Ledger adds that MNA typically returns a very bipartisan list of endorsed candidates during each election cycle. ���We���ve never shied away from endorsing candidates on both sides of the aisle,��� she said. ���Again in 2012, we have a truly bipartisan list of candidates that our organization is endorsing.��� There is an in-depth, detailed explanation of the candidate screening and endorsement W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G process on the MNA website, but the short version is this: MNA nurse leaders��look closely��at a candidate���s position on issues that directly affect nursing, healthcare, and working families. Questionnaires are sent to prospective candidates as part of the screening process. After those forms are filled out and returned, a group of MNA nurse leaders evaluates each one before meeting with individual candidates for face-to-face interviews. ���We realize and respect everyone���s right to vote for whomever they���d like,��� Donnelly said. ���At MNA, our nurse leaders use the Code of Ethics for Nurses as a guiding principle. It directs nurses to advance the profession through active involvement in nursing and healthcare policy, and to participate in social reform through political action.��� Since its founding 1905, the Minnesota Nurses Association has earned a reputation of respect inside the state Capitol. In 1907, for instance, its members helped secure the first law for state registration and licensing of nurses. In 1959, efforts by MNA members stamped the Nurse Practice Act with an indelible mark, changing the licensure requirement from permissive to mandatory. As a result, Minnesota patients became assured that it was illegal to practice as a registered nurse without meeting standards and passing a licensing exam. During the past 100-plus years, MNA members have also campaigned effectively for important statutes regarding safe needles, prescribing authority for nurse practitioners, mandatory overtime prevention, and MinnesotaCare, to name just a few legislative landmarks. ���This is an extremely important election season for so many different reasons,��� Hamilton said. ���And our nurse leaders realize that. We���ve set up phone banks, and our goal is to talk to every single MNA member about the important issues facing nurses, their profession, and their patients. We���re hoping more nurses will volunteer their time to help us reach out and make sure everyone is informed.��� If you���re interested in learning more about MNA and its role in the legislative process, or if you���d like to volunteer for the phone banks, please visit the MNA website at http://mnnurses.org/policy-and-advocacy. ���John Nemo N AT I O N A L N U R S E 9