National Nurses United

NATIONAL NURSE,™ (USPS publication permit number 0807-560/ISSN 2153- 0386 print/ISSN 2153-0394 online) The Voice of National Nurses United, April-May-June 2023 (Volume 119/2) is published by National Nurses United, 155 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. It provides news of or ganizational activities and reports on developments of concern to all regis- tered nurses across the nation. It also carries general coverage and commen tary on matters of nursing practice, community and public health, and health care policy. It is published quarterly, with combined issues in January-February-March (win- ter), April-May-June (spring), July-August- September (summer), and October- November-December (fall). Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: send address changes to National Nurse, ™ 155 Grand Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. To send a media release or announce- ment, 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. Please contact us with your story ideas They can be about practice or manage- ment 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 Bonnie Castillo, RN EDITOR Lucia Hwang GRAPHIC DESIGN Jonathan Wieder COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Sarah Cecile CONTRIBUTORS Kristi Barnes, Rachel Berger, Lucy Diavolo, Amelia Dornbush, Lauren Nielsen, Chuleenan Svetvilas, Martha Wallner PHOTOGRAPHY Jaclyn Higgs, Tad Keyes, Choppy Oshiro one thing registered nurses are masters of is see- ing through smoke and mirrors for what is real and what is not. Our feature story in this issue focuses on Magnet certification for hospitals, an imprimatur granted by the American Nurses Credentialing Cen- ter (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association, that is supposed to signal a facility where nurs- ing care is superior and nurses are valued. We bet your lie detector antennae are already going crazy. Of course, nurses who actually work at these Magnet hospitals give us the real scoop: The certification is really just for marketing pur- poses and to help the hospitals increase profits. Nurses are not more empowered at Magnet facilities, and in fact often turn to unionization as a way of enacting real improve- ments in their professional practice and working terms and conditions. While Magnet has been in existence since the mid 1990s, there are still hospital chains today making a push to gain magnet status and the concept may even be spreading internationally. What is not smoke and mirrors is the hard and continu- ous work of collective organizing, bargaining, and advocacy at all levels that the nurses of National Nurses United (NNU) undertake day in and day out in addition to their regular nursing jobs. We are happy to announce new union- izing victories in this issue, plenty of newly ratified contracts, and serious legislative efforts to improve the health and safety of nurses across the country so that we can provide the best patient care possible for our communi- ties. At the federal level, NNU has sponsored both a safe staffing standards bill and a workplace violence prevention bill. The news media is dominated right now by reports of the so-called "nursing shortage." But we nurses know there is no such thing. Yes, there is a staffing crisis that the hospi- tal industry created itself with its money-driven short staffing practices. But there is not a true shortage of nurses, only nurses unwilling to work under abysmal conditions and potentially endanger patients. It's up to us to cut through the lies and continue to edu- cate, agitate, and organize for ourselves and for our patients. Deborah Burger, RN; Nancy Hagans, RN; Jean Ross, RN; Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN National Nurses United Presidents Letter from the NNU presidents Stay connected FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/NationalNurses TWITTER: @NationalNurses FLICKR: www.flickr.com/nationalnursesunited VIMEO: www.vimeo.com/NationalNursesUnited DIGITAL MAGAZINE: NationalNurseMagazine.org

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