ONS Connect - October 2008 - (Page 23)

CapiTOlCONNECTiON Nurses Vote! The Power to Impact Decisions in Washington Is in Your Hands [By Leslie Greenberg, RN, MSN, OCN ®, ONS Health Policy Manager] N urses vote! I place that sign on my car during every election cycle. More than 2.5 million RNs reside in the United States. We represent the largest healthcare occupation. If every one of us exercised our right to vote, we would be an incredibly powerful group. Greetings. This is my first Capitol Connection column. ONS has a longstanding commitment to health policy, and many of you know our health policy associates in Washington, DC, including Ilisa Halpern Paul, who previously wrote this column. This year, ONS hired a full-time staff person (me) to oversee our health policy program. I work closely with ONS members and the health policy associates to focus our advocacy efforts and increase our voice on Capitol Hill. My first few days on the job were during the 33rd ONS Congress in Philadelphia, PA. I was amazed and impressed to see the incredible turnout for the presidential forum, where ONS state health policy liaisons explained the healthcare plans and other positions related to oncology nursing of the three competitive presidential candidates at the time: Senators Clinton, McCain, and Obama. As your presence indicated, you know that our elected officials make decisions that impact things very important to us. ONS is working hard to advocate on be- half of oncology nurses and our patients. Leslie Greenberg, ® You advocate RN, MSN, OCN on many levels as well, but remember to also exercise your right to vote. Learn about the candidates at the federal and local levels. Many nonpartisan resources are available to help you better understand the candidates, including the League of Women Voters at www.lwv .org. To learn more about registering to vote, visit www.onslac.org and click on “register to vote” on the left side of the Web page. Remember, the power is in your hands. ✱ That different societies perceive hand motions and nonverbal signs in distinctly different ways? That some cultures living in the United States do not allow traditional medical customs commonly practiced here? That pain is measured in different ways by various groups, and in some cases is an uncomfortable topic to discuss, even in the hospital setting? Do you want to become more culturally competent or join in projects that encourage and educate others to be? Become a diversity champion to help nurses discover cultural differences that affect patients and healthcare providers. Visit www.diversity.vc.ons.org or contact Kate Shaughnessy at kshaughnessy@ons.org or +1-412-859-6238 for more information. OctOber 2008 ONS CONNECT 23 http://www.lwv.org http://www.lwv.org http://www.onslac.org http://www.diversity.vc.ons.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ONS Connect - October 2008

ONS Connect- October 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Up Front You Tell Us Up Close &�Professional Web Connect Five-Minute In-Service Capitol Connection Caregiver Care Straight Talk New Treatments, New Hope Working for You Calendar of Events Staying on Top

ONS Connect - October 2008

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