NEW YORK NURSE: January 2008
The NYSNA Board of Directors has approved five Practice Focus Groups (PFGs) that will provide the Association with expertise on nursing practice issues related to certain patient populations.
The groups are Adult Health, Behavioral Health, Family/Maternal Child, Gerontological Health, and Public Health. Each will have an executive committee consisting of a chairperson, vice chairperson, and three members at large. Members of the committee will represent sub-specialties within each group. For example, the Adult Health PFG might include representatives from acute care, long term care, academia, administration, and advanced practice.
Executive committee members will be elected during annual business meetings and all five individuals will serve on the Council of Nursing Practice (CNP).
The Board also created a Retired Nurses Advisory Committee that will serve as advisors and mentors.
The new PFGs are the culmination of three years of work by the CNP. The council set up a demonstration project back in 2004 to determine whether the new structure would be more efficient than having independent clinical and functional practice units.
The 2007 Voting Body approved bylaws changes that replaced the practice units with PFGs. The Board of Directors then determined the number and titles of PFGs after receiving suggestions collected at a Convention forum. The Board can add or delete PFGs as future needs arise.
The new PFGs will meet for the first time at the Annual Meeting in September 2008, where they will elect a chairperson, a vice chair, and three members at large. The chairperson and one member at large will serve three-year terms for their first terms only. The vice chairperson and the two remaining members at large will serve two-year terms. After the first two years, these elections will alternate.
In addition to the PFG representatives, the board will continue to appoint five CNP members, including the chairperson.
NYSNA members will have the opportunity to choose which PFG best matches their expertise and practice, regardless of their work settings, roles, or clinical specialties. Each group will provide a framework to encourage diverse representation from all parts of the nursing community.
More information on how to join a PFG will be provided prior to the Annual Meeting.