Running Head: PROFESSIONAL MEETING PAPER 1

Professional Meeting Paper

Noelle Hinson

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

L. Michelle Hence, MSN, RN-OB

NUR 3142

November 19, 2019

Honor Code: “I pledge”

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Professional Meeting Paper

This assignment entailed one to be in attendance of a professional meeting for a nursing

organization that sparked our interest. This month a meeting was conducted of the Central

Virginia Emergency Nurses Association (CVENA). This meeting took place at Parham Doctors’

Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. The overall purpose of this organization is to “function as the

specialty nursing organization for professional nurses committed to the advancement of

emergency nursing, and to provide visionary leadership for emergency nursing and emergency

care” (CVENA, 2019). The meeting attended covered many topics in only a short amount of

time. They talked about topics such as what the meaning and purpose of the Emergency Nurses

Association, their ideas for educating the community, and even their plans for their Christmas

party. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Emergency Department nurses are becoming

involved and how they are creating change in the healthcare environment.

B. Leadership

As discussed in class “leaders influence direction, opinions, and course of action”

(Mikelaites, 2019). At this meeting, there were plenty of examples of leadership shown.

However, the one that stood out the most was the President of the CVENA. She took charge of

the meeting and kept everything on tract. One can relate this back to the content we learned in

the first module of this class—Leadership. She possessed the characteristics of a democratic

leader. While she had control over the meeting she was open to the other officers pitching in to

help run the meeting and answer questions posed by the students.
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This example of leadership from the President of the CVENA aligns seamlessly with the

ANA Standards of Professional Performance of leadership. The ANA Nursing and Standards of

Practice book clearly defines this particular standard of performance as “the registered nurse

leads within the professional practice setting and the profession” (ANA, p. 5, 2015). It was

obvious that she was a leader not only at her place of work but also in the ENA. She was

committed to advancing the nursing profession for not only emergency department nurses but the

entire nursing profession.

C. Business of Healthcare

During the meeting it was clear that shared governance was the structure of the entire

organization. The ENA is made up strictly of practicing nurses and they have a direct role in the

decision making structure of the whole organization (Mikelaites, 2019). Furthermore, the ENA

is a non-profit organization which means the entire organization does not receive a profit. This

encompasses the ENA’s overall mission. The ENA goes out of their way to improve quality and

overall patient satisfaction without receiving profit for what they are doing. In the meeting, it

was made clear that 100% of the money made out to the organization through donation and

fundraising was given directly to the ENA. This money is then used for educational purposes in

resolving issues surrounding emergency care nursing and achieving an overall higher patient

satisfaction.

The ANA Standard of Practice this best correlates with is ethics. Ethics embodies doing

what is right and venturing away from what is wrong. The ENA does just that, the members of

the organization see what is going wrong within emergency care nursing and come to the

meetings and voice for a change for their patients and their staff.

D. Advocacy
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Throughout this meeting this topic was the most paramount. All in all, the purpose of the

Emergency Nurses Association is to advocate for the nursing profession and specifically for

emergency department nurses. It was clear that this organization is totally focused on

transforming the culture of nursing and the communities that we serve. The ENA participates in

A Day on the Hill. This is day in which a group of representatives from the organization go to

Washington D.C. to lobby for change within the profession. By doing this, these nurses are

advocating to make emergency nursing safer for patients and staff. As discussed in class this

semester about how we as nurses are great advocates for our patient’s but not necessarily great

advocates for ourselves, or for the profession (Mikelaities, 2019). However, it’s specialty

organizations like this one that give a voice to the nursing profession.

The way in which the organization advocates for the profession of emergency nursing

coincides with the principles of resource utilization. This particular standard of practice states

“the registered nurse utilizes appropriate resources to plan, provide, and sustain evidence-based

nursing services that are safe, effective, and fiscally responsible” (ANA, p.6, 2015). With the

ENA going to Washington D.C. they are advocating for nurses to have the resources and

materials they need to perform their jobs at the safest and best of their ability.

E. Quality and Safety

One thing that the nurses at the meeting stressed was that the purpose of the Emergency

Nursing Association was to make emergency nursing safer for patients and staff. This topic

makes everything come full circle. The reason that these nurses are making it their mission to

advocate is for increase in safety and quality of care. This can be related back to the content we

learned in module 4 of this class—Quality and Safety. In this lecture we learned how important it

is for health care leaders to take initiative to change how healthcare is being managed
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(Mikelaites, 2019). This is why it’s so important for us to have an Emergency Nurses

Association because they are the first line when people come to the hospital—their experience in

the emergency department needs to be great.

This can be related back to the ANA’s Scope of Practice standard of Quality of Practice.

ANA states, “the registered nurse contributes to quality nursing practice” (ANA, p. 6, 2015).

Nurses through this organization are taking initiative to make a change for safer care for patients

and for the staff. By doing so patient’s experiences and overall outcomes are improving.

F. Reflection (this is the only paragraph to be first person)

Overall, I learned so much about this professional organization by attending this meeting.

I was able to listen in on something that directly impacts the profession of nursing whether it be

emergency department nursing or not. One thing that really stuck me was how important it is to

have these professional nursing organizations. They truly are the voices for us as a whole. I was

also impressed with the amount of education they offer to help nurses continue to grow within

the field. Lastly, I found it really interesting that joining these organizations can help you climb

the clinical ladder.

G. Conclusion

All in all, the Emergency Nurses Association hits all these points. They embody every

aspect of what it means to be a professional organization. It was a privilege to have been able to

sit in on this meeting and really learn the importance of having these specialty organizations.

They truly better the nursing profession.

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References

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: scope and standards of practice. Silver Spring,

MD.

Mikelaities, Catherine. (2019). Softchalk.