Describe, in 1 or 2 sentences each, 3 activities with which RNAO has been actively involved in the past 12 months. Identify why you think each one is important and how each fits (or doesn’t fit) with the RNAO mission statement. Provide URLs for sources of information that support your answers:
Activity One
Campaign to pressure party leaders to include health in their federal election agenda. Canada held its elections last year, and RNOA took an active role in trying to push the health policy agenda. RNOA understands the crucial role played by the federal government in the health care of Canadians through funding health care delivery. RNOA, therefore, engaged in a campaign that aimed at encouraging its members to pressure party leaders to include health into the election agenda. It released a set of recommendations that were aimed at ensuring that health care and health were at the forefront of the election campaign. This action resonates very well with the organization’s mission statement and values which include advancing public health policy to improve health. By urging members to pressure party leaders to include health policy in their campaign, the organization sought to create a better health policy for all Canadians. Another element of the organization’s mission is the promotion of nurses’ participation in the improvement of health and the shaping of health care delivery services. Through this election initiative, RNOA encouraged the participation of nurses in the improvement of health through the potential health policies promoted by party leaders as they campaigned to be elected.
Retrieved from (http://rnao.ca/policy/action-alerts/tell-party-leaders-health-must-be-federal-election-agenda).
Activity two
Campaign to unfreeze nurse practitioners’ compensation and benefits. The RNOA established that there exists inequities in the compensation of primary care nurse practitioners and those who work in the CCACs and the hospital sector. The compensation of the NPs in the primary car sector has been frozen for close to 8 years, something that has created continuous and consistent discrepancy. This has acted as a discouragement to NPs in this field, and there are many current vacant positions which interfere with access to quality and timely care. The RNAO, therefore, started a campaign to encourage its members to write to Canada’s Premier Wynne and the health minister, Hoskins as well as other members of the government including the Treasury Board President, the minister of finance among others to intervene in making sure that all nursing practitioners receive compensation and benefits that are equitable. This action is in line with the RNOA’s mission to promote quality work environments (which includes good pay) and delivery of excellence in professional development which includes proper compensation and benefits for NPs.
Retrieved from (http://rnao.ca/policy/action-alerts/unfreeze-nurse-practitioner-compensation-and-benefits)
Activity three
Sounding an alarm on changing models of nursing care. The organization spoke out against proposed nursing staffing models that it deems to be working against its values. This includes fragmentation which the organization believes to lead to medical errors. The organization encourages a higher number of RNs since evidence suggests that the use of RNs results not only in improved clinical outcomes but also financial outcomes. This is a very important activity by RNOA, and that abides by its mission which includes promoting quality work environments and involving nurses in the improvement of health. By encouraging proper staffing models, the organization aims not only to improve the quality of nurses’ work environment, but also promote better health outcomes for patients.
Retrieved from (http://rnao.ca/policy/political-action/rnao-continues-sound-alarm-changing-models-care-nursing).
Identify the 3 benefits RNAO membership offers its members (may include student members) that are most important to you either now or as you anticipate entering the RN workforce. (Include how you expect to use the benefit.) Provide URLs for sources of information that support your answers.
Benefit 1: Learning and career advancement
The nursing profession is one that necessitates constant growth, learning, and self-improvement. RNOA offers an excellent platform for these through countless nursing learning events that it organizes, and that educate and equip members with crucial skills that they can use for career advancement
Retrieved from (http://rnao.ca/connect/benefits)
Benefit 2: Professional Community
In every field and not just nursing, one needs to interact with others in the field for purposes of learning and improvement. Through institutes, conferences, online communities, interest groups and chapter activities offered by RNOA, one gets knowledge-rich and networking opportunities where rewarding professional and personal relationships can be cultivated.
Retrieved from (http://rnao.ca/connect/benefits)
Benefit 3: Free services
RNOA offers a host of free services that contribute to one’s career growth, and that helps one to be updated on key nursing trends and activities. These services include subscription to the famous Registered Nurse Journal, medical consultation, media assistance, and webinars.
Retrieved from (http://rnao.ca/connect/benefits)
Describe at least 3 ways in which RNAO can support you to be a more effective leader, providing rationale and support for each and providing the URLs from which you obtained information to answer this question.
All answers Retrieved from (http://rnao.ca/bpg/guidelines/developing-and-sustaining-nursing-leadership)
First: Enhancing clinical expertise
RNOA has a set of best practice procedures that equips nurses with tools that are evidence based and that help them to improve their practice, particularly their clinical expertise. Nurses, as well as nursing students, can transform this clinical expertise learnt from the best practice procedures of the RNAO into the field of leadership where they will use the art of sustaining high competence in the various leadership positions that they may be assigned.
Second: Promoting administrative and policy action skills
RNAO is very active in promoting its members’ interests, and it constantly involves nurses in most of its policy and administrative actions. These actions, in the same way, teach individual nurses like myself how to be effective leaders. Just like how RNAO keeps close contact with useful organization and individuals as well as its members in order to achieve its objectives, individual nurses like myself also learn how to work in collaboration with other professionals in trying to achieve organizational objectives.
Third: Communication
RNAO communicates to its members through various channels including through social media, through nursing journals and periodicals and so on. These communications are tailored for different functions and roles. The tailored communication modes to members helps nursing students and nurses to learn about difference channels of communication that people can use while in leadership positions. This can, therefore, assist in developing more effective leaders. Also, it also teaches nurses and nursing students about the importance of communication, especially the fact that it should be embraced by all in leadership positions seeing that RNOA is always communicating with its members and it never leaves them out of any crucial decisions.
