TOUGH TIMES CALL FOR A TOUGH ASSOCIATION

William T. Briggs, RN, MSN, CEN, FAEN,Boston, MA

Iam sure you are all feeling the pressures of the currentsevere recession. At the same time, both emergencynurses and our patients are feeling the strain. With ris-

ing unemployment, the nation’s emergency departmentswill likely be seeing more uninsured patients, adding furtherto dangerous and stressful overcrowding situations at work.

Throughout the country, hospitals are cutting back onexpenses; travel and education are usually the first to go. Inreducing staff costs, hospitals tend to lay off managers andeducators before they lay off staff nurses.

Although nurses can usually find a job, the reality isthat many emergency nurses are the breadwinners in theirhomes or, if they live in two-income homes, have spousesfacing the prospect of layoffs or reduced income. The eco-nomic crisis has hit retired nurses hard as well, with invest-ment incomes plummeting. With less disposable income,many emergency nurses who are members of the Emer-gency Nurses Association (ENA) will have to tighten theirbelts. That means that the decision to attend conferencesand courses or to pay association membership dues is amore difficult one.

As ENA President, I am committed to standing withour membership in these tough times, and I have asked ourvolunteer and staff leadership to join me in this mission.We will be sensitive to members’ plights and do everythingthat we can to provide support. At this point, the Boardand senior staff are just beginning to plan what forms that

support will take. To ensure that we are able to continuethe level of services we provide, and perhaps to provide in-creased or different services and support in light of the crisis,we are asking everyone at ENA, both staff and volunteers, tohelp us tighten our own belts by cutting our expenses with-out decreasing member services.

In March, I will meet with our ENA state leadershipand discuss the ways that we reach out to members and helpthem endure the difficult times.

I am optimistic that this recession will be short-livedand we will see better times. I am even more confident thatthe energetic and talented ENA staff and volunteers will helpour members weather the storm and achieve new heights.

I urge each and every one of you to stay involved inyour local chapter and state council. Speak up and advocatefor the issues we believe in: patient safety, access to care,parity for mental health patients, and staff safety. As dis-heartening as it is to see millions of Americans unem-ployed, the crisis presents some opportunities for theprofession. Nursing positions are in the greatest demand,with a current 8.1% vacancy rate, according to AmericanHospital Association.

Funding for nurse training will lead to real jobs be-cause a very real need exists. We must continue to supportfunding that will meaningfully contribute to the reductionin the vacancy rate. ENA’s active government affairs divi-sion educates Congress about the need for this funding, aswell as funding for hospitals, the care of psychiatric pa-tients, and much more. In fact, with the support that theycan offer, professional associations couldn’t be more impor-tant than they are now. The ENA network is a very sup-portive one. A nurse educator in my state recently sharedwith colleagues at a local ENA chapter meeting that shehad just been laid off. Within days, she had more leadsto jobs than she could handle. Many colleagues find thevarious ENA listserves (e.g., for nurse educators, nurse man-agers, clinical nurses) receive quick help from other colleagueswho offer policies, management strategy, or clinical insightsthat save significant time and money.

I am very proud of our association and especiallyproud of the work we do to support emergency nurses inthis country, and around the world. Our members standready everyday to help those most in need, and it is theprivilege to be able to stand by and support ENA membersduring these difficult economic times. Tough times call fora tough association. We will rise to that challenge.

William T. Briggs is President of the Emergency Nurses Association andTrauma Program Manager, Tufts Medical Center, Boston MA.

For correspondence, write: William T. Briggs, RN, MSN, CEN, FAEN,Trauma Service, Tufts Medical Center, 800 Washington St, Boston, MA02111; E-mail: bbriggs@tuftsmedicalcenter.org.

J Emerg Nurs 2009;35:85.

0099-1767/$36.00

Copyright © 2009 published by Elsevier on behalf of the Emergency NursesAssociation.

doi: 10.1016/j.jen.2009.02.010

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March 2009 35:2 JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING 85