National Nurses United

TOC_Layout 1 2/9/12 5:11 PM Page 2 Letter from the Council of Presidents the end of the year and beginning of the next one is a natural time for reflection. Looking back on 2011 and forward to 2012 fills us all with a sense of accomplishment, as well as excitement and anticipation, of all the progress we have made and all the work that we still have to do. We would say that the overarching theme of 2011 was "protest." From Madison, Wis. to Wall Street in New York City and then on to cities across all 50 states and around the world, people were mad and finally taking to the streets to demand justice, opportunity, and dignity. We are so proud that the registered nurses of National Nurses United have, from the beginning, been in the thick of it all. We were there in Madison in February, leading marches and shifting the debate to one of no concessions for public employees and working people. We were on Wall Street in June, one of the earliest groups in this country to be calling for a tax on the financial speculation that was largely responsible for this recession, or depression, of which no end appears to be in sight. We were there giving first aid in Zuccotti Park, when Occupy Wall Street captured the nation's imagination and energy. And we will continue to be there in 2012. This year will be the year that we translate all that anger and frustration into concrete solutions, solutions like a tax on Wall Street trades that could generate up to $350 billion a year to put people back to work, give people the healthcare they need, and begin to rebuild our nation's physical and social infrastructure. NATIONAL NURSE,™ (ISSN 2153-0386 print/ISSN 2153-0394 online) The Voice of National Nurses United, December 2011 Volume 107/10 is published by National Nurses United, 2000 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. It provides news of organizational activities and reports on developments of concern to all registered nurses across the nation. It also carries general coverage and commentary on matters of nursing practice, community and public health, and healthcare policy. It is published monthly except for For those of you who may be coming a little late to the party or are still unsure about what the Occupy movement means, you may enjoy reading the profile in this issue about one of our RN members, Doug Connor, and why he believes so deeply in the Occupy movement. Doug is an Iraq War veteran, an ICU nurse, a father, a husband, an Occupy volunteer, and an all-around good guy. And as a reminder that our fate is interconnected with those of people across the globe, we also have a feature in this issue about the health crisis in Greece. One of the European Union countries hit hardest by the bad global economy and now on the verge of defaulting on its debts, millions of people have been marching in the streets against austerity measures the government has imposed. Yet Greek police have tried to crush the demonstrations with unbelievable violence. Greek nurses, doctors, and other medical workers are literally putting their lives on the line by participating in the mass protests and also in providing first aid to injured protestors at these actions. Nurses, as patient advocates, are natural protesters and fighters—the nurses of NNU particularly so. People look to us and look up to us, and we will not let them down. Deborah Burger, RN | Karen Higgins, RN | Jean Ross, RN National Nurses United Council of Presidents combined issues in January and February, and July and August. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: send address changes to National Nurse, 2000 ™ Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. To send a media release or announcement, fax (510) 663-0629. National Nurse™ is carried on the NNU website at www.nationalnursesunited.org. For permission to reprint articles, write to Editorial Office. To subscribe, send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription Department. Stay connected www.facebook.com/NationalNurses www.flickr.com/nationalnursesunited TWITTER: @RNmagazine, @NationalNurses YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/NationalNursesUnited FACEBOOK: FLICKR: Please contact us with your story ideas They can be about practice or management trends you've observed, or simply something new you've encountered in the profession. They can be about one nurse, unit, or hospital, or about the wider landscape of healthcare policy from an RN's perspective. They can be humorous, or a matter of life and death. If you're a writer and would like to contribute an article, please let us know. You can reach us at nationalnurse@nationalnursesunited.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR RoseAnn DeMoro EDITOR Lucia Hwang GRAPHIC DESIGN Jonathan Wieder COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Charles Idelson CONTRIBUTORS Gerard Brogan, RN, Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD, Jan Rabbers, Donna Smith, David Schildmeier, Ann Kettering Sincox PHOTOGRAPHY Jaclyn Higgs, Tad Keyes

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