TONL Monthly
March 2019

Creating a San Antonio Nursing Consortium: Rethinking and Reshaping Professional Organizations

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By Nelson Tuazon, DNP, DBA, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, CPHQ, FNAP, FACHE
Vice president and associate chief nursing officer, University Health System
President, South Central Texas Organization of Nurse Executives

Nurses have the professional duty and obligation to belong to a professional organization (DeLeskey, 2003; Echevarria, 2018; Greggs-McQuilkin, 2005; Schroeder, 2013; Sullivan & Stevenson, 2009). As members of nursing organizations, nurses are able to generate energy, promote the exchange of ideas and contribute to the advancement of nursing through involvement with other nurses. Collectively and synergistically, nurses are able to advocate for the needs of patients and clients through the organized work of the members and leaders of their professional associations. Ultimately, nurses gain the trust of the society through the social, civic and professional activities, programs and initiatives of professional organizations (Matthews, 2012).

What’s in it for me?
There are many benefits of membership to a professional organization. To the nurse, belonging to a professional organization provides opportunities for career growth through continuing education, mentoring opportunities, networking and social support, particularly for new nurses (Echevarria, 2018; Greggs-McQuilkin, 2005; Matthews, 2012; Schroeder, 2013). To nursing leaders, joining professional organizations serves as a training ground for leadership competencies (Dickinson, 2003), advocacy roles (Georges, 2005) and pathways to other leadership roles in civic and political organizations (Kim-Godwin, Baek, & Wynd, 2010; McCroskey & O’Neil, 2010). To the nursing profession, organized nursing groups improve the image of the profession and the disciplines or specialties they represent, advocate for healthy workplace environment, and contribute to the body of knowledge in nursing (Dickinson, 2013; Schroeder, 2013; Sullivan & Stevenson, 2009; Weber, 2011). Finally, the benefits of professional organizations extend to the society. Organized nursing groups improve the health of the community, contribute to the advancement of care practices, and promote public welfare and public safety through education and awareness and population health programs (Georges, 2005; Matthews, 2018).

By the numbers
The reported number of nursing organizations varies based on source, and these figures may not include all nursing organizations that exist (Matthews, 2018). It is estimated that there are between 100 to 150 organizations related to nursing (Jarrett, 2017). Nurses from clinical practice, academia, research, administration and executive leadership roles belong to these national and state nursing organizations. According to the Agape Center (theagapecenter.com, 2016), there are approximately 230 national and international nursing organizations. Nurse.org (2019) reports that there are approximately 180 nursing organizations that represent nurses from various specialties, educational background and practice areas. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2019) reports that there are 10 specialty nursing organizations representing diverse groups of nurses. In Texas, the reported number of nursing organizations is around 15 (minoritynurse.com, 2019; nurse.org, 2019; theagapecenter.com, 2016). It is not clear or known how many nursing organizations exist because these lists do not include all national organizations that have chapters in Texas. In terms of the number of nurses in Texas, there are 320,017 nurses licensed to practice and 22,392 are in Bexar County, the second largest group of nurses in Texas (Texas Board of Nursing, 2018).

Challenges and growing pains
Leaders of professional organizations continue to face issues, barriers and challenges. Professional associations struggle with declining membership, the perceived value of cost of dues by the members, the perceived values of the services offered by the organization, competition among professional organizations, and time and commitment from members (O’Neil & Willis, 2005). Membership to professional organizations has also been a challenge among the members of the nursing faculty (Blais & Frock, 1987). Leaders of professional organizations continue to confront dwindling membership through attrition or competition among the various specialties and competing demands from work, school, family and personal responsibilities.

As a nursing leader, and having been an officer of several organizations, the author of this article has experienced the particular challenges of leading emerging professional associations and forming chapter organizations from the ground up. Nurses who have the desire, drive and determination to form chapter associations must have the competencies, skills and stamina to manage operational issues. These include:

  • Raising funds to support start-up costs
  • Identifying and influencing interested members who are willing to serve as officers
  • Generating resources to support the activities of the organization.

Too often, the stumbling blocks to successful chapter formation include the lack of interest among prospective members, the perceived value of membership and the lack of time to participate and attend meetings. Some of the strategies to tackle these issues include:

  • Communicating a robust, clear and unified message on the purpose, mission and vision of the organization to the current and prospective members
  • Gaining support from nurse executives and nurse leaders to promote the involvement of their nurses in professional organizations
  • Promoting the visibility of the organizations through grassroots activities and on-site, local events
  • Leveraging the best available technology for remote meetings through conference call and web-based meetings.

The existence of multiple professional organizations for nurses to join creates a dilemma to nursing as a profession. Specialty organizations tend to address the specific issues germane to their field and share ideas to resolve these particular issues. The nursing profession faces risks related to exclusivity of purpose and restrictedness of knowledge-sharing among specialty organizations (Campbell, 1985). Leaders of professional organizations should focus on the relevance and the meaning of the voice of nurses in the current healthcare environment (Jarrett, 2017). The potential duplication of activities and overlap in the mission of nursing organizations require an immediate call to action (Jarrett, 2018).

Strength in numbers: The birth of a nursing consortium
Based on the number of licensed nurses in Texas, particularly in Bexar County, it is prudent and sensible to presuppose that professional organizations have both an opportunity and obligation to offer the opportunities to the thousands of nurses to reap the benefits of belonging to their professional associations. The South Central Texas Organization of Nurse Executives paved the way for the formation of a group of the local chapters of nursing associations through the San Antonio Nursing Consortium. Consortiums, or consortia, have been ubiquitous in academia and education (Ferrell, Mazanec, Malloy, & Virani, 2018; Hendricks et al., 2012; Jeffries et al., 2013; Tse et al, 2014). Consortiums have numerous benefits and advantages, including the pooling of experience, expertise, resources and manpower, enhancing effectiveness and efficiency, unifying a clear voice for a specific purpose and agenda, and strengthening the power of the members and stakeholders.

On Jan. 26, six professional organizations signed on as founding members of the San Antonio Nursing Consortium. These include the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses of San Antonio (AMSN), the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN) of South Texas, the Central Texas Vascular Access Network (CenTexVAN), the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN), the Philippine Nurses Association of San Antonio (PNASA) and the South Central Texas Organization of Nurse Executives (SCTONE). Members and representatives from other local nursing chapters, including the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Texas Nurses Association District 8, Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society, the Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses, and Oncology Nurse Society, were in attendance. It is hoped that these organizations will also join and support the San Antonio Consortium.

Not another organization
Jarrett (2017) has cautioned that less, not more, professional organizations are needed to have a strong, collective voice for nursing. During the first meeting held on Jan. 26, the author of this paper, who is serving as the current president of the South Central Texas Organization of Nurse Executives, presided over the assembly. The presidents of the founding member organizations — Jennifer Ramos, MSN, RN, CMSRN, president, AMSN San Antonio Chapter; Kalena Gutierrez, BSN, RN (represented by Geninne Yahya), president, AANN, San Antonio Chapter; Rose Caballero, BSN, MSN, RN, CCM, president, NAHN, San Antonio; Golda Manalili, MSN, RN,C, president-elect, PNASA; and Nelson Tuazon, DNP, DBA, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, CPHQ, FACHE, president, SCTONE — agreed that the San Antonio Nursing Consortium is a nonfee association, membership is voluntary, and membership is open to other professional nursing associations. It is expected that bylaws will be established and approved in one of the future meetings.

The San Antonio Nursing Consortium has identified three key agenda items:

  1. Create a database of the officers of the various founding organizations.
  2. Organize a joint educational event in the fall to be co-sponsored by the San Antonio Nursing Consortium
  3. Plan for the San Antonio Nursing Consortium to host the “Best 25 (maybe 50 or 100) Nurses of South Texas” in 2019 or 2020.

The founding officers are committed to protecting the privacy of the members by not sharing the membership list with other individuals or organizations. The two possible topics for the fall convention include “Healthy Workplace and Prevention of Workplace Violence” and “Research Translation and Evidence-Based Practice,” relevant to the members of the founding organizations and to nurses in general. Each member organization of the San Antonio Nursing Consortium will identify and sponsor an expert speaker. The proceeds from the convention will be equally shared among the member organizations.

The mood during the meeting was positive and optimistic. The collegial atmosphere and the cordial dialogue promoted the genial exchange of ideas. The prospect of sharing resources, talent and expertise invigorated the participants. Each founding organization is committed to supporting each other through dissemination of information, sponsorship of events, sharing of expert speakers and working together on programs and projects. Each member association committed to helping in the membership drives of the founding organizations by promoting the appropriate professional organization to its respective general members or colleagues. The group agreed that collaboration, cooperation and coordination rather than competition will be the key to rethinking and reframing the professional associations in San Antonio!

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2019). Specialty nursing organizations and related
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Blais, K.K., & Frock, T. (1987). Nursing faculty participation in professional organizations. Retrieved from http://vlib.excelsior.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED308735&site=eds-live&scope=site

Campbell, D. (1985). “Splinters are hurting the profession. Nursing profession plagued by small interest groups.” Nursing Mirrors, 160(16), 28

DeLeskey, K. (2003). “Factors affecting nurses’ decisions to join and maintain membership in professional associations." Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 18, 8–17. https://doi-org.vlib.excelsior.edu/10.1053/jpan.2003.18030008

Dickinson, T. (2003). “Are professional nursing organizations important?” Urologic Nursing, 23(1), 8. Retrieved from http://vlib.excelsior.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9186810&site=eds-live&scope=site

Echevarria, I. M. (2018). “Make connections by joining a professional nursing organization.” Nursing, 48(12), 35–38. https://doi-org.vlib.excelsior.edu/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000547721.84857.cb

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Sullivan, D., & Stevenson, D. (2009). “Promoting professional organization involvement.” AORN Journal, 90(4), 575. Retrieved from http://vlib.excelsior.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&d     b=edo&AN=87593801&site=eds-live&scope=site

Texas Board of Nursing. (2018). Texas nursing statistics. Retrieved from https://www.bon.texas.gov/reports_and_data_nursing_statistics.asp

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Tse, A.M., Niederhauser, V., Steffen, J.J., Magnussen, L., Morrisette, N., Polokoff, R., & Chock, J. (2014). “A statewide consortium’s adoption of a unified nursing curriculum: Evaluation of the first two years.” Nursing Education Perspectives (National League for Nursing), 35(5), 315–323. https://doi-org.vlib.excelsior.edu/10.5480/14-1387

Weber, B. (2011). “The role of professional nursing organizations in maintaining a healthy workplace.” Plastic Surgical Nursing, 31(3), 92–94. https://doi-org.vlib.excelsior.edu/dx.doi.org/

 

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