Running Head: PROFESSIONAL MEETING PAPER 1

Professional Meeting Paper

Savannah Turnage

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

April 2, 2016

Honor Code “I pledge..”

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The meeting attended was the Central Virginia Emergency Nurses Association at

Memorial Regional Medical Center on March 28, 2017. The overall purpose of this meeting was

to see what the nurses knew about strokes and STEMIs, and to better educate them. When the

meeting first started, they called everyone to order and did introductions. The president then

talked about her report, which went over various scholarships that were available and how

association was updating their website. After that, the treasurer talked about her report and how

much money the association had in their checking account. Then came the committee reports,

which consisted of education, injury prevention, fundraising, and membership. About an hour

into the meeting a man from the American Heart Association came in and talked about how to

treat STEMI and stroke patients when they come into the Emergency Department.

Application of Course Material

This meeting related to the first module because it provided a great example of structure

and they talked about budgets. The organizational structure of the meeting was both formal and

informal. It was formal in the way that there were designated leaders, but the atmosphere was

very laid back. People were allowed to speak up when ever they wanted and could voice their

own opinions freely. There was also a discussion of the budget, which consisted of $20,108 in

the association’s checking account. This was their own personal budget and an annual statement

of expenses and revenue. It appeared that there was shared governance at the meeting. All of the

members had specific jobs and they all had an equal say in choices made during the meeting.

They all also seemed to be stakeholders in the organization. They each pay their own dues to be

members and if the EMA of Central Virginia disbanded, then they would all lose their

investments in the association and the benefits that come with being a member.
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The meeting also related to module two on advocacy. During the meeting the members

discussed the new healthcare plan that had been voted on by President Trump and a new bill that

is coming to surface, regarding abuse to nurses. The president of the association told the

members that the bill trying to be passed was going to make it a misdemeanor to physically harm

and emergency department nurse. All of the members seemed to be excited about this new bill

and supportive. The president informed them on how they could make their support known and

vote. This meeting showed that the members examined legislative and regulatory processes

relevant to the provision of healthcare. It is the responsibility of nurses to be active in knowing

what bills are going through legislation that regard healthcare and vote on them. Nurses have a

vast amount of knowledge regarding healthcare and need to use that to participate in helping

create these bills and policies.

This meeting additionally coincided with the third module by discussing education. Not

only were they conversing about education for healthcare professionals, but also the general

public. The vice president informed the members about upcoming classes that they could take in

order to further their knowledge and become certified in a specific field. The educational classes

were highly recommended and they were even able to get scholarships if they attended them. At

the end of the meeting they discussed educating the general public about children wearing bike

helmets. They were going to have a booth at the Hanover Tomato Festival and measure

children’s heads for helmets. While they were doing this, they were going to educate the

community about the importance of wearing the helmet. A huge part of being a nurse is also

being a teacher. It is extremely important that nurses be prevalent in their community in order to

best protect the general public.

Application to Profession of Nursing

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Professional organizations and associations in nursing are critical for generating the

energy, flow of ideas, and proactive work needed to maintain a healthy profession that advocates

for the needs of its clients and nurses, and the trust of society (Role of Professional

Organizations, n.d.). Some advantages of joining a professional nurses organization are

education, annual conventions, networking, safeguarding your profession, certification, targeted

products and resources, career advancement, career assistance, and web sites (The Importance of

Joining, n.d.).

The shows how important it is for nurses to join organizations and the advantages that

come with attending meetings. The core values of the nursing profession are caring, integrity,

diversity, and excellence (Core Values, n.d.). Nurses would be able to uphold these values

through the help of their professional organization. Being apart of an organization keeps nurses

together and up to date on what changes are happening in the field. Nurses need to stay bonded

in order to help each other keep nursing professional and continue to help educate their

communities.

Reflection

I think that nurses should definitely be involved within their workplace and community. I

think that nurses need to be more prevalent in both. At the meeting I attended, only about five

nurses were there. I think that is very disappointing and shows low morale. At the same time,

people are very busy and have things going on in their lives. Nurses should really try to attend

these meetings because they give out so much information. Nurses are supposed to be educators

and patient advocates, but how can they do this if they aren’t out in the community?

The meeting definitely showed me that being a professional nurse is important. While I

might have things going on in my life, I still need to try and go to as many meetings as possible.
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It furthers the nurses’ education and they even give out scholarships for nurses to further their

education. Nursing is a job where you have to continue to be educated because technology and

medication is always changing. The meeting made me want to be a professional nurse and be out

in the community to help educate people.

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References

Core Values. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2017, from http://www.nln.org/about/core-values

Role of Professional Organizations in Advocating for the Nursing Profession. (n.d.). Retrieved

April 02, 2017, from

http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/T

ableofContents/Vol-17-2012/No1-Jan-2012/Professional-Organizations-and-

Advocating.html

The Importance of Joining a Professional Nurses Association. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2017,

from http://www.ionl.org/