Running Head: EMERGENCY NURSES ASSOCIATION 1

Emergency Nurses Association

Jasmine Wrenn

4/23/2017

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

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Emergency Nurses Association

The meeting was held at Memorial Regional Medical Center. At this professional

meeting the Emergency Nurses Association conducted their monthly gathering to discuss topics

centered on the Richmond Central Virginia area and National events. The goal of this

professional committee is to further the education and knowledge of emergency nurses, also to

discuss what improvements or initiatives have began within the community of nurses. The

purpose of Emergency Nurses Association is to advocate for patient safety and excellence in

emergency nursing practice (About ENA). This meeting focused on treasurer's report, committee

reports, presentation from American Heart Association, fundraising, social media campaigning,

and educational training.

Application of Course Material

Business of Healthcare is the first course objective in the module. It is important that a

nursing organization demonstrates an awareness of complex organizational systems and evaluate

organizational structure, process and effectiveness as it relates to the scope of nursing practice.

During the meeting Emergency Nurses Association met this by having a guest speaker. The

guest was from American Heart Association to present Mission Life Program, which promotes

stroke preparedness. The goal of the presentation was to analyze how hospitals manage strokes

and the outcomes of patients. The idea is to learn from other hospitals that have better scores.

The second objective of Professional Role Development is Quality and Safety. The idea

of Quality and Safety is to promote factors that create a culture of safety and caring. ENA

incorporates this into their agenda by offering classes for Injury Prevention and Pediatrics Safety.

Also while the American Heart Association was present, during the meeting they also suggested
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courses hosted by them, Mid-Atlantic Heart and Stroke Quality Summit. Participation in a

nursing organization allows opportunities to hear about options for knowledge expansion and

discounts on course credits.

Professional Role Development’s last objective is Advocacy. Nursing organizations

should hold some stake in the political process by offering the nursing expertise when making

new policies and reevaluating old ones in order to improve health care. “Registered nurses have

long served as healthcare consumer advocates and used grassroots networking to influence social

and political leaders and other advocates” (American Nurses Association, 2010, p. 40). The

Emergency Nurses Association participates in political process by writing to local senators and

congressmen. During the meeting it was announced that assaulting a nurse in a hospital will now

be charged a higher class misdemeanor. The nurses hope that one day it will be raised to a felony

charge.

Application of Profession of Nursing

“ENA values the inclusion and contributions of nursing in collaboration with healthcare

partners to explore solutions to the challenges of emergency care delivery” (ENA.org). The goal

is to improve emergency care for the public, in order to do this there must be an evaluation of the

system and its effectiveness. It is strongly advised that nurses participate in decision making to

include the perspective of an important caregiver. Without nurses there would be a gap between

new process and procedures and the healthcare provider that implements it to test its

effectiveness. When something is not effective, usually a nurse involved can comment on how

changes improved or impeded the care provided to the patient. Gathering solutions require

multiple professions but cannot be holistic without the advice of nurses.

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Reflection

My life is centered on community engagement, which is what nursing professional

meetings represent, specifically Emergency Nurses Association. Nurses who participate in

organizations are able to meet new people, learn about new objectives, and brainstorm new ideas

to contribute to the health community. It is a lot easier for nurses to do their job and go home but

some nurses like myself choose to be socially responsible for what happens to our community

and world.

From this meeting I have become interested in joining a professional nurse’s

organization. Like the Emergency Nurses Association the organization I join would put on

fundraising events to help give out scholarships to nursing students. The community I am most

interested in is the African American community. Often time resources and opportunities are

lacking in this area. I think I would mostly be interested in joining National Black Nurses

Association. Regardless of which organization a person selects it is just important to give back.
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References

Abood, S. (January 31, 2007). "Influencing Health Care in the Legislative Arena". OJIN: The

Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 12 No. 1, Manuscript 2.

About ENA. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ena.org/about/Pages/Default.aspx

American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver

Springs, MD: Author

IOM Future of Nursing Report. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNursing/w

orkforce/IOM-Future-of-Nursing-Report-1

Marquis, B.L. & Huston, C.J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing:

Theory and application (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.

Mission:Lifeline Stroke. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Professional/MissionLifelineHomePage/Mission-

Lifeline-Stroke_UCM_491623_SubHomePage.jsp#mainContent