Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/119584
NEWS BRIEFS Nationally, hospitals are working together to pass legislation and create policies that will ensure they can pay people less money to do more work. The attempts to pass a National Nurse Licensure Compact and right-to-work laws are part of a very intentional manipulation. Now add to this the specter of mergers and acquisitions leading to conglomerate healthcare run by the numbers. At MNA, Member Action Teams are designed to connect nurses in purpose, message, and strategies. MATs are meant to foster two-way communication, keep everyone aware and engaged, and provide a consistent network of trusted individuals and information. ���You don���t want people on high alert at all times, but you do want to keep everyone informed of what���s going on statewide,��� Tronnes said. ���We want to let nurses know that this negative employer behavior that is going on inside your bargaining unit isn���t isolated. That it���s a statewide, or even nationwide issue.��� Against the boatloads of money floated by their employers, Minnesota RNs have already done some amazing things via the Member Action Team model. For instance, the network helped organize and initiate hundreds of e-mails, phone calls, and face-to-face visits from MNA RNs to state legislators during the 2012 session, helping prevent an onerous and unsafe National Nurse Licensure bill from passing. Make no mistake, however. The money will keep coming, and it is essential that nurses build on their successes for the sake of their patients and their profession. Through Member Action Teams, MNA nurses will be nimble and responsive. The two-way communication helps them share information faster and learn quickly about issues at the bedside. As MNA increases member awareness, nurse leaders can count on more powerful member engagement throughout the year and throughout each facility. ���I have to say, the MAT training really got me moving,��� Blissenbach said. ���I left there thinking, ���I���ve got to get my facility moving on this.��� Because I think once you see what it can do, you realize just how important it is.��� Member Action Teams Keep Minnesota RNs Ready for Anything MINNESOTA W hom can nurses trust to advocate for them so that they can advocate for their patients? The answer is simple: one another. By creating Member Action Teams (MAT), groups of RNs trained and ready to take action on an issue, nurses have a foundation of connection, resources, and trust to push back against a well-funded and highly coordinated onslaught of corporate interests determined to deskill and demoralize the nursing profession. The Minnesota Nurses Association is using the MAT model to equip its RNs with the tools and tactics they need to rely on one another. ���We need something like this in place all the time,��� said MNA RN Eric Tronnes. ���This type of training and engagement doesn���t need to be 6 N AT I O N A L N U R S E something that only pops up every three years when we have to negotiate a new contract.��� By connecting with one another through Member Action Teams, MNA RNs are breaking through the isolation, talking with each other and building trust among themselves in order to neutralize corporate attacks on nursing values. ���Going through the Member Action Team training here at MNA, you realize how important it is to have a plan in place,��� said MNA RN Margaret Blissenbach. ���It���s more people involved, and it���s not asking too much of each individual nurse. MAT is a good deal for RNs because it is definite��� ���This is your responsibility, and that���s it.��� You���re not being asked to call a million people. Instead, you���re a part of this organization and this is your little piece of what we need you to contribute. And if you are willing to do your small part, it ends up being incredibly valuable for the rest of us.��� 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 ���John Nemo and Jan Rabbers JUNE 2012