Between February and May of this year, the ARNBC travelled around British Columbia and met with registered nurses in small towns, community health centres, urban areas and hospitals. The resulting focus groups and conversations provided the Association with a wealth of information about the challenges nurses face, the pride they have in their profession and the belief we all share in the need for a strong policy voice for nursing in British Columbia.
The consultations revealed how B.C. nurses are feeling about their practice, their profession and the health care system. In all sessions, nurses shared insights in honest and respectful conversations that point to concerns about directions in the profession and the health system along with hope that the voice of the profession can make a difference to their experience of nursing and the health and safety of the public they serve.
ARNBC is proud to share the outcomes of these consultations in the report now posted on our website ARNBC 2012 Consultations Report(http://www.arnbc.ca/images/pdfs/publications/arnbc-2012-consultations-report.pdf). The consultations showed us what matters to nurses and gave us clear understanding of how to move forward. As a result, the elected Board of the ARNBC has defined the following three strategic directions as our focus for this year:
- Build an effective and affordable professional nursing association;
- Develop strong influential partnerships with government, nursing and professional organizations - provincially, nationally and internationally; and,
- Continue to engage nurses' active participation in professional issues.
The formal consultations may be over for now, but we know that the best conversation and the best sharing happens when nurses sit down and talk face-to-face. Our newly formed engagement committee will soon be launching a plan for connecting nurses and facilitating local and regional networks. We encourage RNs to continue to share their thoughts on the future of BC nursing by posting comments on this blog, joining our Facebook or Twitter conversations, emailing us at admin@www.nnpbc.com or coming to one of our events.
Many thanks to all nurses who have contributed to the ongoing dialogue about the future of the Association. Your voice really is our strength.
ABOUT DR. SUSAN DUNCAN
Dr. Susan Duncan is a faculty member at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. She has over 30 years of experience in nursing practice, education and leadership roles. Susan has represented nursing on regional health and hospital boards and completed a term on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing in 2011.
Thank you for this excellent report on the consultations held widely in BC, just posted on the website this week. I also commend and recommend reading the recent report on "Understanding the Implications of the Changing Regulatory Environment in Nursing: the BC Experience", and the PPP from the October 30 meeting of the Nursing Specialties network.
This is important information for all BC RN's and nursing students. I have recommended that all my Semester 8 students download and review these documents. I do enjoy the photo galleries as well, having attended a number of the events, and been an ARNBC voting delegate to the 2012 CNA AGM in Vancouver.
Regards,
Linda
Thank-you Linda for educating BC nursing students about ARNBC. They are the future of our profession. We appreciate your leadership and ongoing support of the the professional association, provincially and nationally.
Susan