Should NPs Join Their 'Union'?
A couple weeks ago I attended a healthcare "listening" event with our new state senator. The meeting was hosted by my state's nursing association. Not much new was said, and by recent standards the meeting was pretty tame. In Minnesota the nursing association functions more like a union, so this meeting was their opportunity to have the undivided attention of our new senator.
As is typical of a union, there are specifics issues and causes they tend to rally around. Concerns such as safe staffing, patient handling, layoffs, mandatory overtime and on-the-job injuries. These issues are high priority mainly for RNs, but not so much (at least not directly) for NPs.
I confess I am no longer a member of the state nursing association; in fact, most of the advanced practice nurses in the state do not belong. This is by choice, as I mentioned earlier the association is really a union and therefore its members are primarily employed in hospital settings or government facilities. Since the majority of NPs work in ambulatory and private practices, not many of us see much merit in joining.
The state association, of course, would beg to differ. They are quick to point out that it was THEIR efforts and THEIR lobbyists that ultimately won NPs in our state the right to independent practice. True enough, and while we don't wish to sound ungrateful, we argue that since we comprise such a small percentage of their membership it's not very often they take up NP causes. At least not often enough for us to fork over 40+ bucks a month.
The union also feels that we owe them a debt of gratitude for increasing our wages. They claim we benefit indirectly from their negotiation of RN wage contracts across the state. Sort of a rising tide lifts all boats scenario. Maybe. Personally I think it is the retail health phenomenon that helped to drive up NP wages.
So I pose this question to you: SHOULD we be more active in our state nursing associations? After all, their infrastructure is in place, and they already have the ear of the state legislature. If we joined in greater numbers we could demand a bigger share of lobbyist time. What if your state association is a union? Does that fit with who we are as NPs and what we want our image to be? What are the pros and cons?