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Minnesota RNs Fight Weakening of State Nurse Practice Act MINNESOTA innesota nurses Association members shaped the state���s Nurse Practice Act in 1905 to protect the safety of patients and advance the health of their communities. Generations of nurses later, MNA members now find themselves fighting to defend the integrity of the statute that embodies Minnesota���s standards for nursing. The siege is being led by none other than the very body entrusted to safeguard those standards. Minnesota���s Board of Nursing (BON) is seeking to significantly change the Nurse Practice Act to alter the scope-of-practice language���and it is not a friendly change. The proposals reflect a corporate healthcare employer���s dream to muddy the lines of responsibility between RNs and LPNs��� allowing healthcare facilities to get more work for less money. It also pits the two practices in a fabricated fight that will only result in a risk to public safety. M Most onerous in the proposed language is a plan to include ���assessment��� and ���delegation��� into the description of an LPN���s duties. Knowing day-to-day realities, and the profit-minded mentality of hospital administrations, MNA members predict wholesale changes in hospitals and other care facilities that would burden lesser-prepared (and lesser-paid) personnel with tasks beyond their training. Given the overwhelming amount of evidence that correlates RN care with better patient outcomes, MNA has argued vehemently that this is a patient safety issue. BON operatives initially attempted to implement their scheme in 2008 by slipping changes in under the radar, labeling them ���rules interpretations.��� MNA staff, who monitor BON activity, alerted members and consulted with Attorney General Lori Swanson. Under pressure, the BON agreed to engage in a process to seek public input on the proposals. Earlier this year, the BON announced a series of ���listening sessions��� to be held across the state. It also offered a comment section on its website. When nurses reported back to MNA staff that the sessions were being conducted in a one-sided manner, MNA pushed back again and issued a strongly worded complaint to the BON. ���Despite being a public comment process, only certain questions are posed to be answered by those wishing to weigh in. We believe that these questions are very leading, geared towards specific answers being sought by the Board,��� stated MNA President Linda Hamilton, RN, in her written complaint. Hamilton further advised that ���listening to the concerns of direct-care nurses who feel this expansion may encourage the model of ���cost over quality and safety��� in healthcare will strengthen the objective collection and analysis of these data.��� The public comment period ended on Aug. 3, but MNA members and staff are continuing to monitor the actions of the BON and its committees. The BON has announced it hopes to form a recommendation for legislative consideration in time for the 2013 session. MNA is determined to influence any outcome to keep patients safe in Minnesota. ���Jan Rabbers MNA RN Lil Ortendahl Honored MINNESOTA L ongtime nurse activist Lil Ortendahl, RN received the Hubert Humphrey Award for her tireless volunteer work in politics at a recent gathering of the state���s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party. The event featured a high-powered roster of speakers, including former President Bill Clinton. In introductory remarks, Buck Humphrey, grandson of the late Hubert Humphrey, noted that Ortendahl ���epitomizes the greatness of the DFL.��� The 77-year-old Ortendahl schooled the room of more than 2,500 guests about dedicating their efforts to electing officials we can hold accountable to values we all hold dear. She got the biggest ovation of the night with her self-assessment: ���Some drink, some screw around. I do politics.��� ���Jan Rabbers J U LY | A U G U S T 2 0 1 2 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 N AT I O N A L N U R S E 11