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What goes on in state legislatures concerns all nurses

"Please do what you can to call attention to the predicament of Massachusetts nurses." This urgent plea came recently in a letter from an AORN member, Ann Gough, RN, of West Newton, Mass.

"Recent proposed legislation in the State d Massachusetts should be of concern to all nurses. It i s not pleasant to hang our state's dirty linen in public, but action must be taken. Prompt opposition to H6120 is urgently needed."

Ms Gough is not alone. In many states, nurses are finding that legislation under consideration profoundly affects nursing practice. All over the country, nurses are voicing frustration that they are not being consulted, that they are not having any input into new laws and even more critical, they are losing control over their profession.

In Massachusetts, under a proposed plan to reorganize state government, the Board of Registration in Nursing will be abolished and i ts functions assumed by a Health Sys- tems Regulation Administration in the De- partment of Human Services. Nursing edu- cation and nurse licensure, with other health

manpower licensing functions, will be han- dled by the Health Systems Regulation Council of eight members. The membership of this council will not necessarily include any RNs. An advisory board to the council of 19 members will include only one RN. There is also an amendment under consid- eration which states that anyone employed in a licensed or approved health care fu- cility may provide nursing services so long as such services are provided "under the supervision of a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse." This amendment would permit anyone in a hospital, clinic, nursing home or other institutional setting to prac- tice nursing-without being licensed.

In Illinois, a bill to establish mandatory continuing education for all health care professions is under consideration. Nurses are working to make sure that they will be the ones who set the standards and con- trol their profession. California has already passed a mandatory continuing education requirement for relicensure.

Among other issues concerning nurses at the state level are institutional licensure,

AORN Journal, July 1973, Vol 18, N o 1 13

collective bargaining and nurse practice acts.

If nurses want to maintain control over their profession and preserve the distinct identity of nursing, they must be politically active. Some feel that political activism is only for the young, the long-haired, or radi- cal students. We have even heard nurses criticize those nurses who have lobbied for nursing interests as a little unladylike. But active citizen participation in government i s a cornerstone of American democracy.

"Nursing wcls not consulted when this bill was drafted," writes the nurse from Massa- chusetts. Many California nurses were sur- prised at their state's legislation, yet the bill was under consideration for a number of years.

If nurses wait until they are asked what they think, if they wait until information filters down through the public press, they will be too late. They must take on the responsibility of being informed, informing others, and devising appropriate action.

To be at all effective, nurses have to know what i s happening. Information i s available through state nursing associations. Members automatically get information about what i s happening in their state.

The Journal will print information that is submitted to it on state legislation and the letters column will be open to comments. We will also publish articles on the major issues.

To help members keep up-to-date, AORN chapters might want to consider appointing one member to be a legislative reporter. Chapter newsletters can be used effectively to communicate with all the members. A telethon could be used to contact nurses to organize group action.

A quick summary of action that may be effective: Legislators and others knowledge- able about political issues can be invited to speak at workshops, regional institutes and other meetings. Nurses should get to know legislators, especially those who are inter- ested in health care delivery. The tradi- tional ways of communicoting opinions to legislators are Ietters, postcards and tele- phone calls. A good way to get to know legislators is to help them campaign. YOU will find it easier to get the ear of an elected official if you can say that you have been stuffing envelopes or ringing doorbells for him or her.

Letters to the editors of the local news- papers help to bring issues to the attention 04 the general public.

To protect and preserve the identity of the nursing profession and to insure quality patient care, .operating room nurses should be knowledgeable about what is happening, not only in their own state, but in every state. And they must be willing to act. When it i s asked what happened to nursing in the 1970s, let it not be said that operating room nurses remained behind their masks.

Elinor S Schrader Editor

JCAH l isfs accredifed facilifies The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) has announced the publication of its 7973 Annual List of Accredited Facilities. This list combines the listing of all facilities accredited by JCAH.

The list will be updated quarterly. For additional information, contact the Publications Coordinator, JCAH, 875 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, 111 6061 1.

14 AORN Journal, Julg 1973, Vol 18, No 1