Now is the season when many new nurses are graduating nursing school and getting their first nursing job.

You may be one of them.

Congratulataions — and welcome to NYSNA!

I know there are a lot of people trying to give you advice right now. So I’m not going to do that.

Instead, I’m going to ask you to do something for yourself — and the future of our profession.

Chances are, you’re going to find yourself facing huge challenges every day on your new job.

We have to do more and more with less and less. And it’s no accident. Administrators at many hospitals are short staffing units – even though our patient acuity is going up.

It’s hard on us as nurses. And it’s worse for our patients.

If you don’t stick together with other nurses, you’re going to burn out.

That’s why we have NYSNA. NYSNA is all of us — working together to protect one another, and to advocate for our patients.

You probably heard a lot about patient advocacy in your classes. You know being an advocate goes beyond the bedside. In NYSNA, we take that duty to advocate extremely seriously — and we put into action at the bedside, at rallies, talking to the press, and in Albany.

Take the first step today. Go to facebook.com/nynurses and LIKE NYSNA. You’ll get updates about our union and find out what you can do to win safe staffing and defend our patients and our profession.

Together, we are strong. And together, we are winning incredible victories. Join us!

In solidarity, 
Patricia DiLillo, RN