National Nurse Newsletter-January 2006

Welcome to the National Nurse Newsletter!

We would like to begin 2006 by welcoming those of you who may be receiving our newsletter for the very first time. We are pleased to introduce to you our newly formatted website. www.nationalnurse.org

The National Nurse Team has written a brief mission statement about what we expect the Office of the National Nurse will accomplish:

* the involvement of all Americans in preventive health practices;
* the augmentation of health services that are already in place;
* the establishment of volunteer national nurse teams to deliver nursing assistance and education to communities in crisis; and
* the national recognition of the nursing profession to help solve the shortage of nurses.

Alisa and Teri have submitted several applications to speak at national and state conventions this year. Please contact teri@nationalnurse.info if you or someone you know would be interested in scheduling a speaking engagement about the National Nurse.

Portland Community College has recently awarded Alisa and Teri a grant to speak at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) national convention in Long Beach, CA in April. We will find out later this month if our proposal has been accepted by the AACC. Portland Community College also generously funded a videotape of a “mock broadcast” on Healthy Living so that Alisa and Teri could demonstrate what the Office of the National Nurse might produce in a weekly public service announcement.

Tom Engle, the Oregon State Community Liaison to Public Health, stated that an Office of the National Nurse would not duplicate services already in place. Although our mission is comparable to that of the U.S. Public Health System, our plan of execution is what makes our proposal unique and a tremendous boost to our nation’s health.

RN Magazine is publishing an editorial in support of a National Nurse in their January issue. The Center for Nursing Advocacy and the American Journal of Nursing voted America’s Nurse number four in the best media depiction of nursing section of the Golden Lamp Awards for 2005. Teri was interviewed for the third time on the Thom Hartmann show. You can hear the interview through a link at our website, www.nationalnurse.org A writer from Nevada has written articles for several state nursing associations about the Office of the National Nurse, and we will keep you posted once they are published.

The California Nurses Association has put the National Nurse proposal on the agenda for their next Regulatory and Policy Board Meeting.

Terri P. wrote an article for Nursing Spectrum about the Nurses Running for Congress in 2006 and you can find a synopsis of the article at our website.

We are in contact with Congresswoman Lois Capps’ office and hope to have great news to report early this year. We appreciate the hard work and support we have received from Congresswoman Capps’ staff.

In order to help us make the goal of a National Nurse a reality, please forward this newsletter on to folks on your own email list that might be interested in hearing our news, and please encourage them to sign the National Nurse petition, and to submit their email to receive our newsletter. We also have an 8 ½ by 11 PDF flyer about the National Nurse that you can distribute and post. Please send an email to teri@nationalnurse.info if you are interested in receiving this file.

We wish you a happy and healthy 2006 and extend our gratitude for your support.

Teri Mills, RN, MS, ANP
Alisa Schneider, RN, MSN, CNE
Terri Polick, RN
National Nurse Team