ONS Connect - September 2008 - (Page 31)

wOrKiNGfOrYOu Get a Glimpse Into ONS’s Invisible Work [By Brenda nevidjon, RN, MSN, FAAN, ONS President] Y Brenda Nevidjon, RN, MSN, FAAN ou can hardly open a healthcare journal or magazine without seeing mention of the healthcare workforce shortages. Typically, the articles have focused on nursing but are increasingly mentioning physician and other healthcare worker shortages. At an American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer meeting earlier this summer, I participated in a panel discussion on healthcare workforce shortages. Physicians presented trend data on medical and surgical oncologists and the outlook for the future as we experience an aging society. I I want you to have a look at one example of the invisible work done on your behalf and also how issues identified by members generate action. presented information on the nursing workforce and how ONS is working on this need. The fourth presenter represented the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA). She spoke about the belief that there was a shortage of cancer registrars in 2002, but no one could say how many there were or how many were needed. Identifying those numbers became a priority for NCRA. When they looked to the Department of Labor’s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), they found that a category for tumor registrars did not exist; they were invisible, included in a broader category. Today, NCRA has good data on cancer registrars and continues its advocacy to change the SOC categories. I share this because ONS and other nursing organizations learned this summer how anonymity can be created by SOC categories. We were alerted by members that in the 2010 SOC proposal, separate classification exists for nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and nurse midwives but not for clinical nurse specialists (CNSs). They would remain in the broad RN classification. In response to an invitation to submit comments, ONS and other nursing organizations replied to the Office of Management and Budget, recommending that CNSs have their own classification and why. One statement from our letter noted, “Distinguishing CNSs from RNs, and other types of APRNs would allow government agencies, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to collect more specific data on the field of nursing; this, in turn, would support more accurate research on nursing employment levels and wages.” As I prepared this article, the open period for responses had not closed, so we do not know the outcome. As ONS members, you see the visible work of volunteers and staff, such as the journals, books, and conferences the Society provides. I wanted you to have a look at one example of the invisible work done on your behalf and also how issues identified by members generate action. I can’t promise that every issue a member raises will lead to action by the Board, but we need to know what the issues are so they can be evaluated. Thank you to Rose Mary Carroll-Johnson, MN, RN, and Linda Person, RN, MSN, AOCN®, who raised an early alert on this. ✱ September 2008 ONS CONNECT 31

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ONS Connect - September 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Advances in Prostate Cancer Treatment A Year in the Life - Month Nine Web Connect Capitol Connection Manage Infusion Reactions From Cetuximab Notice Nursing Now Caregiver Care Oropharyngeal Cancer in Men Associated with HPV Working for You Calendar of Events Staying on Top

ONS Connect - September 2008

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