Posted: 3/7/2011
Students and faculty from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) joined more than 200 nurses from across Maryland at the annual “Nurses Night” event at the Annapolis State House on February 21. The event, sponsored by the Maryland Nurses Association (MNA), affords a unique opportunity for nurses, nursing students, and nursing faculty to witness the legislative process and discuss issues related to nursing and healthcare with their elected delegates.
“Healthcare is a hot topic at the local, state, and federal levels and nursing is significantly impacted by healthcare reform,” said JHUSON instructor and MNA immediate past president Rosemary Mortimer, MS, MSEd, RN, CCBE. “It’s important for our students to see how the legislative process works, and how crucial nursing legislation really is.”
Mortimer and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Pamela Jeffries, DNS, RN, FAAN, ANEF, teach an online politics course to students from the Traditional 2011 and 2012 classes, Accelerated 2011 class, and the RN to BS program: Alexandra Bratschie, Courtney Clemmens, Matthew Doty, Lindsay Harrelson, Carol Thelen, Quynh Amy Tran (Trad. 11); Erin Miksic and Roge Nelson (Accel. 11); Kari Hatfield, Emmanuella Jean-Ulysse, and Felicia Rockko (Trad. 12); and Lindsay Ashby (RN to BS). Samuel Hoffman, and Bethany Roth (Trad. 11) took the class last year, and some graduate students were also in attendance.
According to its website, the MNA “supports an integrated legislative approach that focuses on nurses, advanced practice nurses, healthcare consumers, and the healthcare system.” For 2011, the MNA is focusing on initiatives that will:
Promote quality nursing care through education and licensure
Address nursing diversity, recruitment, and retention
Address the long-term workforce shortage including faculty shortage
Ensure and protect the rights of nurses to provide quality care within their scope of nursing practice
Promote healthcare consumer safety, access to care, education, and self-determination
Promote safety in the workplace
The Maryland Nurses Association promotes excellence in the nursing profession with a culture of camaraderie, mentoring, diversity, and respect for colleagues. It provides programs and educational development for continued personal and career growth. As the voice for nursing in Maryland, it advocates for policy supporting the highest quality healthcare.