Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1518244
NATIONAL NURSE,™ (USPS publication permit number 0807-560/ISSN 2153- 0386 print/ISSN 2153-0394 online) The Voice of National Nurses United, January-February-March 2024 (Volume 120/1) is published by National Nurses United, 155 Grand Avenue, Oak- land, 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 Rachel Berger, Lucy Diavolo, Amelia Dornbush, Michelle Morris, Chuleenan Svetvilas, Martha Wallner PHOTOGRAPHY Jaclyn Higgs, Tad Keyes, Choppy Oshiro for the 22nd consecutive year, we registered nurses have topped the Gallup poll as the nation's most honest and ethical profession. The Gallup organization in its explanation of the results this year even pointed out that many health care pro- fessions rose in ranking since the pandemic, but only nurses have consistently remained high. Let's stop to ponder that for a moment. It's a huge honor to hold this place of trust in the public's heart. Patients know that we are there to help advocate for, heal, and support them without judgment or other ulterior motives—unlike our profit-seeking employers. But we know that this sacrosanct role we play is con- stantly under threat in our money-driven, corporate health care system. The best way that we nurses can effectively challenge the system in order to practice nurs- ing the way we envision, for the health of our patients and the public, is to organize and fight collectively as unionized nurses. And that is exactly what we do. This issue of the maga- zine is filled with stories and examples of NNU nurses' collective action. Whether it's voting to go union for the first time, bargaining new contracts, going out on strike to flex our power in front of recalcitrant employers, working together to systematically prevent workplace violence in our facilities, or even lobbying federal agencies for science- based infection control guidance that protects health care workers and the public. We know it can feel like a never ending battle. And we get tired. But we have one another and our solidarity to lean on. And the alternative is unacceptable. We must fight on and build our movement. Every little win counts, and we also learn from the little losses and failures, too. So in these pages, we celebrate our work. Please share and take inspiration from your fellow NNU nurses. And together we will transform the health care system into the one that the most trusted and ethical profession knows it can be, one in which health care is a guaranteed human right and not delivered for anyone's profit. 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