Nurses – let’s do it!

I even have to confess that when our office had discussions about nurses on the forums, I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. Nurses provide care to patients – that is what we learn, that is our job, and for a lot of, it’s our passion. When I heard the term “nurses in management,” I immediately considered managers and administrators. Serving on a board wasn’t something any nurse should consider, was it?

According to 2014 American Hospital Association management data. Nurses serve on the boards of health-related organizations and corporations. Shouldn’t we be involved in decisions that impact our health care system, our organizations, our occupation, our patients, and ourselves? One of the important thing messages report reads: “Nurses should be full partners of physicians and other health care professionals in redesigning health care in the United States.” As a results of our minimal representation on boards and the recommendations of the Future of Nursing report The way forward for nursing: A campaign for motion has set a goal of getting an extra 10,000 nurses on its boards by 2020.
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Earlier this month, Susan Reinhard, MD, FAAN, chief strategist on the Center to Champion Nursing in America and senior vice chairman and director of the AARP Public Policy Institute, wrote a superb article: Getting nurses on board, for the magazine. In his article, Reinhard raises the problem of gender differences and other barriers hindering the work of nurses on management boards. She also shares her path to the boardroom and real stories from other nurses serving on boards and the impact their service has made. For example:

Can you imagine working in a spot where the hospital pharmacy is closed on weekends? That’s why nurses play a key role in serving on the committees, commissions, and boards where health care decisions are made. This example illustrates our unique experience and the necessity for our presence where decisions are made on the organizational level and beyond.

As nurses, we all know the best way to overcome barriers. In our each day practice, we encounter obstacles that force us to talk up and support those in our care. In 2009, Prybil identified three barriers to nurses serving on boards:

1. Gender – 90% of US board members are women, and girls are underrepresented on boards
2. The belief that nurses are unable to influence safety and quality issues
3. Potential conflict of interest related to granting an worker voting rights

How can we remove barriers and foster collaboration? Let’s concentrate on what we find out about ourselves and our occupation. First, nurses constitute the biggest portion of the medical workforce; There are 3.6 million of us within the United States. We are a female-dominated occupation and this mustn’t impact our representation amongst decision-makers. We must work hard to make our voices heard and keep in mind that we will communicate and solve problems.

We also know the issues, especially with regards to safety and quality of care. We face these problems on daily basis. We use the nursing process repeatedly in clinical settings to evaluate, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate. This framework could be applied to strategically address any hospital-wide, local, national or global issue. Nurses are competent and expert and want to have a “seat at the table.”
Besides, people trust us – that is the way it was proven time and again. We are on the front lines not only in hospitals, clinics and offices, but in addition in schools, communities and lots of other places. And keep in mind that we’re all leaders, no matter where or the role of our work.

The Nurses on Boards Coalition was formed to assist achieve the goal of achieving at the least 10,000 nurses on boards by 2020. It is a national partnership of organizations committed to this effort.

Visit NOBC website be included should you already serve on the board, or to learn more about this initiative and board membership.
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Look at this video chief nurse, Dr. Anne Dabrow Woods, to learn the best way to improve care in communities in order that we will improve care and outcomes for people. Nurses will need to have a voice in health care decisions; our unique perspective is crucial to achieving the optimal well-being of our patients.

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Coalition of Nurses on Management Boards
The way forward for nursing: A campaign for motion
American Nurses Foundation: Nurses and Board Leadership
American Nurses Association: Policy and Advocacy

Houston, C. (2008). Preparing nurse leaders for 2020. 16(8).
Prybil, L. (2009). Engaging nurses within the management of hospitals and health systems. 24 section 1.

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