Mission and Activities of The Truth About Nursing Chapters

Chapter members may choose activities that best suit them. Please see below for some ideas:

• Sign all the petitions at the Truth's petition headquarters on Change.org;
   
• Monitor and identify local media pieces and send notes of thanks or encouragement for improvement to members of the media and/or write letters to the editor;
   
• As a group, Identify and train suitable local nurses to launch a health radio talk show like "HealthCetera" and/or doing health minutes much like Nancy King Reame does for iVillage and other news stations;
   
• Work to get the findings of local nurse researchers into the local lay media;
   
• Work to get a public relations professional at hospitals who only focuses on promoting nurses, much as is the case with Fox Chase Cancer Center and Mass General (See the Boston Globe series the PR person at Mass General generated);
   
• Work on local hospital uniform policies to improve professional appearance and increase visibility of nurses;
   
• Develop web pages to feature local leading lights, summarizing the nurses' accomplishments into powerful paragraphs available to the media complete with compelling photos. (e.g. Why does this nurse's work matter? How has it saved lives or improved outcomes?) Also develop video news web programs and biographies where nurses give a summary to the media and the public the value of your work much like this one by Kristine Gebbie at Columbia University’s School of Nursing;
   
• Start a nurse shadowing program like the program at Dartmouth for medical students, physicians and the media;
   
• Reach out to the media --Invite local journalists and media figures to a roundtable luncheon where they can hear about the work of local nursing leaders and learn nursing's value;
   
• Create databases of local media figures and another database of local nurse experts to facilitate a better interface between the media and nursing;
   
• Give presentations to local groups about nursing's media image;
   
• Catalog stories featuring the interesting dramas that nurses live every day.
  

Teach medical students about the value of nursing

June 2012 -- Megan LeClair, RN, BSN, of the University of Wisconsin's Trauma and Life Support Center, recently performed a study based on a program from Dartmouth University in which medical students follow nurses at work to learn about the life-saving skills that nurses have. Her study was effective and we urge you to design your own! See the original Dartmouth program designed and led by Ellen Ceppetelli, RN, PhD. See Megan's abstract and results.

Encourage nurses who speak publicly to identify themselves as nurses!

August 2012 -- Elizabeth Winslow, RN, PhD, FAAN, wrote a great opinion piece in the August issue of the American Journal of Nursing entitled "We Silence Our Profession When We Fail to Identify Ourselves as Nurses." Winslow encourages nurses who speak publicly to weave into the message that the speaker is a nurse. We are reminded of a similarly great piece, "Pick Up That RN Flag and Wave It" by Pam Meredith, RN, NP, which appeared in Nursing Spectrum in December 2002. Get up, stand up, nurses!

We have many more ideas on the Truth's Action page. Thank you!

If you would like to start a chapter in your local area, please email the Truth's executive director Sandy Summers. Thank you!