National Nurses United

LET TER FROM THE COUNCIL OF PRESIDENTS we did it. It's done! In early December at the founding convention in Phoenix, Ariz., we successfully launched National Nurses United, the biggest and boldest registered nurse union in the history of the nation, together with United American Nurses and the Massachusetts Nurses Association. It's hard to believe now that it was less than a year ago when we started discussing in earnest an affiliation under NNU. We've had to navigate around many roadblocks along the way, but are so proud to announce that everybody kept their eyes on the prize: building a real national staff RN union that can lead a national RN movement to improve working conditions for all nurses through unionization, raise patient care standards across the board, and have a real influence on how to fix healthcare in this country. We got so excited looking around the room at the convention. Suddenly, our RN family got a whole lot bigger and more powerful! We now represent nurses across Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, in Veterans Administration facilities across the country—all in addition to the strong membership bases CNA/NNOC has established in California, Illinois, Maine, and Pennsylvania. As RN Karen Higgins, one of our new NNU copresidents from Massachusetts, said at the convention, "We have a big agenda ahead of us. But we are right and we will win. So let's get started." One of the changes up ahead will include this magazine. In the year ahead, look for a new name, a new look, and an expanded lineup of content to include more news about what NNU is up to around the country. REGISTERED NURSE,™ (ISSN 1932-8966) The Journal of Patient Advocacy, November/December 2009 Volume 105/9 is published by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, 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 commen tary on matters of nursing practice, community and public health, and healthcare policy. It is published monthly except for combined issues in January and February, and July and August. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Registered Nurse, 2000 ™ Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612-2908. To send a media release or announcement, fax (510) 6630629. Registered Nurse™ is carried on the CNA/NNOC website at www.calnurses.org. To end this year, however, we've got a fun feature on the irreverent, smart, and progressive RNs who host Nurse Talk, a weekly radio show CNA/NNOC is sponsoring that airs on Sundays. You can hear them via Internet radio or on the AM dial if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, and all their past episodes on their website at www.nursetalksite.com. The RN hosts, Maggie McDermott and Casey Hobbs, are known for being roll-on-the-floor funny, but also take the time to interview nurse leaders and discuss tough issues such as healthcare reform, technology in the workplace, and the H1N1 pandemic. We promise you'll laugh at their particular brand of nurse humor. It's been an incredible but tough 2009, and we have big plans for 2010. We wish you and yours the best of health for the coming year. But as RNs, let's not just sit around and hope for the best. Let's go out and advocate for our patients to make a healthy future a reality for everyone. Deborah Burger, RN | Geri Jenkins, RN Malinda Markowitz, RN | Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN CNA/NNOC Council of Presidents For permission to reprint articles, write to Editorial Office. To subscribe, send $40 ($45 foreign) to Subscription Department. California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee also produces California Nurse, which it will ™ continue to publish periodically. 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. Our contact information is in the masthead. executive editor Rose Ann DeMoro editor Lucia Hwang graphic design Jonathan Wieder communications director Charles Idelson contributors Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD Donna Smith photography Jaclyn Higgs Lauren Reid

• Cover