Position Statements

Please read NYSNA's Nursing and Education Practice's Position Statements below.

 

The intent of this updated position statement is to emphasize that the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) supports the recommendation that everyone be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in a just, fair, and equitable manner.

The intent of this position statement is to assert that since hospital, nursing home, and care giver immunity provisions for the care of patients with COVID-19 have been repealed as of April 6, 2021, and since the usual and customary standard of care for patients has now been restored, hospitals and nursing homes must reinstate all pre-pandemic and contractual standards of orientation, staff development training, floating, and RN competency assessment level criterion and practices that are required to care for all patients, including COVID-19 patients.

In the face of the declaration of a global pandemic and the declaration of a state of emergency in the U.S. and New York to fight the current COVID-19 outbreak, it is imperative that we maintain and expand the health care infrastructure necessary to diagnose and treat the millions of Americans who are likely to be infected and the hundreds of thousands who will require hospitalization and other treatment.

The intent of this position statement is to describe the impact of gun violence on society and to declare nurses’ role as advocates to minimize the adverse effects. Due to the tremendous rise in the incidence of active shooter incidents, NYSNA has a separate position statement on active shooter incidents specifically.

The intent of this position statement is to condemn sexual harassment in the workplace and to inform nurses of their rights and ethical obligations in relation to sexual harassment complaints.

The intent of this position statement is to promote violence prevention in the health care setting using consolidated approaches from employers, victims, and the political system.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that, on average, approximately 36,000 people die in the U.S. each year from influenza. Most at risk are the very young, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) supports the CDC’s recommendation that everyone over the age of six months be immunized against seasonal influenza. NYSNA also supports recommendations that nurses and other health care providers should be immunized for seasonal influenza to protect themselves and vulnerable members of the community. However, NYSNA does not support mandatory immunization as a condition of employment.

It is the position of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) that there are inalienable rights afforded to all nurses that ensure their right to equality in interdisciplinary practice, right of self-determination, right to advocacy, and to respect from interdisciplinary colleagues and employers. As a statement of professional rights, these privileges offer nurses support while navigating workplace issues.

The intent of this position statement is to promote self-care activities for the Registered Professional nurse and to emphasize the Nurses Code of Ethics provision five (5) that states “The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve . . [personal] safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth” (ANA, 2015).

The intent of this position statement is to reaffirm the nursing profession’s responsibility to monitor staffing effectiveness for the protection of the public from unsafe and ineffective nursing practice, especially when floating is used by management as a means to effectuate staffing levels.

The intent of this position statement is to acknowledge the role of nurses in advocating for patient access to marijuana for medical purposes and in facilitating the legislation that legalizes medical marijuana for symptoms that are uncontrolled by conventional therapies.

The intent for the development in 1988 of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) Position Statement on Abortion was in response to the increasing legislative activity concerning abortion law, as well as requests from the professional nursing community with regard to their rights and responsibilities and the rights of their patients pertaining to the issue of abortion. NYSNA has, through the Council on Ethics and Human Rights and its Nursing Education and Practice Department, continued to study and research the issues surrounding abortion and reaffirms the position of the rights of women as patients and nurses.