Protect Yourself, Protect Your Patients – Get Vaccinated!

by Judith A. Huntington

Registered nurses are on the frontlines of our health care system and will play a critical role in preventing and treating the spread of influenza this flu season. As nurses, we spend a lot of time with patients who are sick and at increased risk for severe disease complications. When you get the flu, you expose your family, patients and coworkers to infection.

The role that you and other health care workers play in helping prevent influenza-related illness and death

Leading Change, Advancing Health

by Seanna Ruvkun

Keynote speaker Linda Burnes Bolton

I attended a portion of the recent conference on the IOM recommendations for nursing “Charting the Course” featuring Keynote Speaker Linda Burnes Bolton.  The keynote provided great national perspective and was followed by a Gallery Walk that presented key facts related to the state of nursing in Washington State.  For someone in workforce development, looking to stay informed 

NWONE Fall Program – This Magic Moment

by Gladys Campbell

The annual NWONE fall program and meeting of the membership was held on September 21 – 23, 2011, at the Vancouver Hilton Hotel in Vancouver, Washington.  This event, a highlight of the year for many NWONE members, is an opportunity for nursing leaders at all levels and from every practice arena, to come together in fellowship and support while learning from world class speakers on health care topics of current concern.

This year’s fall program theme, “This Magic Moment: Nursing’s Strategic Leadership in Transforming Health Care Delivery”, capitalized on the tremendous current transitions in health care, as reform is implemented, and also referenced the opportunity for nursing to play a mighty leadership role in the design of a reformed delivery system.  

Nursing Students of Washington State Meet the New Academic Year

by Amber Anderson

NSWS Board 2011-12

Hello, my name is Amber Anderson and I am the President for Nursing Students of Washington State (NSWS), the only statewide student nursing association in Washington. Being a member of NSWS provides students many ways to grow and improve their opportunities as a future nurse. One of the greatest benefits of being active in NSWS is that you have the chance to learn how to be a leader.

As the new academic year starts, we are looking forward to serving more nursing students in Washington State.

Public Health Nursing: One Way to Boost Your Case Load

by Hilary Gillette-Walch

Lower Columbia School Garden’s entry into the Go Fourth Parade (7/4/11), Longview, WA

In the spring of 1993, I found my passion: public health nursing. I was a senior at USF and starting my last semester and my student nurse placement was community health nursing. It was one of the two student nursing courses where I was not required to be in scrubs or my lovely white dress uniform. I was extremely fortunate; I was placed at a great health department in the San Francisco Bay Area and able to try a little of everything. After I made my first solo home visit to a pregnant teen, I was hooked.

So exactly what is public health and what do nurses do there? Most days, public health is

Moving Forward on the IOM Recommendations for Nursing in the Yakima Valley

by Michelle Bartholet

Last month, Heritage University and the Washington Center for Nursing collaborated to present a Summer Symposium titled the “Institute of Medicine Recommendations on Nursing: The Yakima Valley Responds.”

Over 45 people, nurses, CNO’s, CEO, directors, nurse educators, and administrators attended (in rural Toppenish, Washington in the middle of summer!).  Feedback on the event

More “Sexy Nurses”, Really?

by Diane Sosne

Did you happen to watch last week’s episode of “Hot in Cleveland” (8/17/2011) or see the preview clip to NBC’s new sitcom “Whitney”?

Despite 91 years of progress since women gained the right to vote and years of struggle to gain wage parity and equal rights, why is the media still stooping to images of “sexy” or “naughty” nurses

Working as a Nurse in a Rural Community

by Zena Kinne

The Washington Center for Nursing’s mission is to “contribute to the health and wellness of Washington State by ensuring that there is an adequate nursing workforce to meet the current and the future healthcare needs of our population.”

Many Registered Nurses (RNs) live and work in rural communities. I would like to share with you the story of a rural health nurse, Debbie Perrault, RN, CCP, who works for a Community Health Center with clinics in Yakima, Naches, and Ellensburg, Washington. In her own words, Debbie describes her role and access challenges to continue her education.

Diversity in Nursing: Finding Best Practices

by Grace Yang

I am an ICU nurse at a large metropolitan hospital here in the Seattle area. Before I go into work, I try to prepare myself for the demanding shift that lies ahead. This may include caring for a child that has a head injury and doing neuro checks every hour, doing wound care and making sure the patient is as comfortable as possible, supporting the family by explaining what I am doing and what care I am providing to their family member, explaining the different procedures that the patient may have to go through and the reason why, and possibly mentoring a new nurse in the process. The level of complexity increases

Taking the Washington Nursing Action Coalition to the “Other” Washington

by Greg Vigdor

Recently, my co-lead for the implementation in Washington of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Recommendations to transform nursing, Linda Tieman and I spent several days with Action Coalitions from 14 other states in Washington, D.C.