Strong Together. I know I have used that phrase — from CNA’s Mission Statement— in previous ED Corners, but the happenings of the past few months has significantly increased the meaning behind it. Together can mean a professional association like CNA, a group of like-minded nurses working to change their community or their hospital, or a unionized group of nurses. What matters most are examples of working together and getting things done.
In this quarter’s journal, you can read an article by Deputy Director Margaret Bishop on CNA’s proposed (hopefully approved by the time you read this) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Position Statement. With the federal government and a number of corporations back pedaling on the importance of diversity, leadership at CNA felt it was important to reaffirm our position that diversity leads to better decisions and better outcomes for our patients and nurses. “Together” came into the process when we were fortunate to work with other nurses and nursing organizations to develop that position and work toward greater collaboration, including two CNA representatives joining the most recent Colorado Council of Black Nurses meeting in Denver alongside an invitation that they join more of CNA’s activities and meetings. Moving forward, we hope to develop “organizational affiliations” with other nursing groups as we advance with a unified voice.
CNA works with several group of not just nurses, but healthcare leaders from FQHCs, hospitals, physician groups, and long-term care. We don’t always agree, but we have thoughtful discussions about how various policies impact each segment of the healthcare system. Such diversity of thought leads to healthcare professionals identifying solutions. These collaborations have led to improvements in APRN rules and the recent Workplace Violence Prevention bill of 2025.
CNA works closely with other state associations. We met in D.C. in August for a lobbyist meeting at which we were reminded that all states have similar problems — nursing shortage, safe staffing concerns, advanced practice restrictions, workplace violence, and of course concerns over the apparent move away from evidence-based healthcare. We shared different strategies that have or might be successful in resolving these issues at the state level. The Washington State Nurses Association recently announced a successful lawsuit against the federal government to stop the deletion of “vital public health and science data from websites maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” While many states, including WSNA, have more power than CNA due to their organization as a union, we do sign on to many letters from ANA, WSNA, and other entities with the intent of being strong together. According to ANA, the federal legislators pay attention when most or all the states sign on. When we send out calls to action, we are looking for the same effect — most nurses signing on.
The research tells us there are three significant reasons nurses are not active in advocacy. 1. Lack of time. 2. Lack of knowledge. 3. Belief it won’t make a difference. CNA is hoping to fix #2 through advocacy training we will be piloting soon (likely by the time you read this). I hope you feel a little better about #3 after reading about the success of WSNA as well as CNA’s legislative wins over the past year. As for #1, I hope that you will see the difference we can make together and set aside some time for advocacy and activism. The legislative session starts back up in January and we need your knowledge and voice.
