NEW YORK NURSE: July/August 2007
by Nancy Webber
The most damaging phrase in the language is: “It’s always been done that way.” – Grace Hopper
It’s time for a change. Members of the NYSNA Council on Nursing Practice (CNP) agree on that. But they’ve found that change is not always easy.
“The 2006 Voting Body passed a motion that required us to recommend a new structure for the CNP that would best serve the needs of NYSNA members,” says Council Chair Bridget Maybury. “We discussed and struggled with the issue for more than six months. We finally came up with a proposal that we think accomplishes that goal.”
The core of the CNP proposal is to remove references to “clinical practice units” and “functional practice units” from the NYSNA bylaws. Newly created Practice Focus Groups (PFGs) would continue to serve as sources of consultation and expertise, provide forums for discussion, and develop positions and policies for recommendation to the Board of Directors.
Currently there are 13 clinical and functional practice units. Each of them sends one representative to CNP meetings and holds a business meeting at Convention. Council members believe that a smaller number of groups, each with a more general focus, would allow members to interact with nurses in different care settings but with similar areas of interest.
Amendments to association bylaws must be approved by the NYSNA Voting Body, which meets during the business sessions at Convention. This year’s Convention will be held Sept. 27-30 in Atlantic City, N.J.
The bylaws language removes references to clinical practice units or functional practice units. The amended bylaws specify Practice Focus Groups, each of which would have an executive committee with a chairperson, vice chairperson, and three members at large. Executive committee members would be elected during annual meetings at Convention and all five from each PFG would serve on the Council of Nursing Practice.
The exact language of the bylaws amendment is on page 19. CNP members hope that the members who vote on the issue will consider it a change for the better.
“Over the past 20 years, the practice of nursing has evolved into a multitude of specialty areas,” said CNP member William Donovan. “This makes it difficult for members to identify which CPU or FPU they should join.”
“Many nursing issues cross the boundaries of job titles and specialties,” said Maybury. “We want to encourage the examination of these issues from a variety of perspectives. That’s much harder to do when members are splintered into units defined by job function and clinical arenas.”
She added, “The CNP believes the new groups will allow all members to select one that best matches their expertise, regardless of their work settings, roles, or clinical specialties. They hope the groups also will provide a framework to encourage diverse representation within each group from all parts of the nursing community.”
“We hope this structure will help eliminate barriers within the nursing profession and still allow the PFGs to identify nursing practice issues that can be brought back to the Council for discussion and action,” Donovan said.
The NYSNA Board of Directors would have the power to create or dissolve PFGs in response to the needs of the association and trends in nursing practice, as it does now with CPUs and FPUs.
The bylaws change would create PFGs, but members will not be voting on the number or structure of PFGs at Convention. This decision will be made by the Board of Directors before the NYSNA annual meeting in 2008, based on input from members.
The Council on Nursing Practice has recommended four groups based on the patient populations nurses serve: Adult, Behavioral/Mental Health, Gerontology, and Family/Maternal-Child. The Board of Directors, however, wants to hear suggestions from as many NYSNA members as possible before determining how the PFGs will be structured.
NYSNA members who attend Convention can learn more about the bylaws proposal at a forum on Thursday, Sept. 27, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The forum also will provide an opportunity for members to express their opinions on how the PFGs should be structured.
Whether or not you plan to attend Convention, you are encouraged to provide feedback on the PFG proposal. Please send your comments to the NAI Program at practice@nysna.org or call 800-724-6967, ext. 282.