Organization
The organization at which the meeting was attended is the Florida Nurses Association. It is a professional nursing organization, a state constituent of the American Nurses Association, which incorporates nurses of all specialties and practice areas in one professional group for developing leadership, administrative, legislative, and public health policy change opportunities (Florida Nurses Association [FNA], n. d.). The association has been functioning for decades empowering numerous nurses to improve their skills, scholarly and research opportunities within the nursing advocacy program. It allows for representing the needs and requirements of contemporary Florida-based nursing before regulatory bodies at the state and federal levels.
Mission, Goal, Focus
The organization has a clearly formulated mission, which is closely intertwined with the goal and focus. As stated on the association’s official website, its mission statement is “to serve and support all registered nurses through professional development, advocacy and the promotion of excellence in every area of professional nursing practice” (FNA, n. d., para. 7). This professional nursing organization pursues the goal of advancing professional and highly-competent nursing and promoting health in the state of Florida. The focus of the organization is all registered nurses across Florida regardless of their field of expertise or practice niche.
Membership
Any registered nurse can join the association and become a member to obtain an opportunity to participate in the events, improve qualifications, get a certification, and advocate particular issues in the field of nursing. FNA offers several membership options for different fees to its prospective members. Overall, two main membership types are available, including full membership with access to the American Nurses Association resources and limited FNA membership that does not include access to the American Nurses Association. Also, reduced costs of membership fees are allocated to students, unemployed nurses, and retired nurses. Among the benefits available to the members of FNA, there are opportunities to improve practice, advance one’s career, access to publications and new legal documents, network, develop mentorship and leadership, as well as advocate for nursing issues. Within the organization, members have an opportunity to gather in special interest groups, namely Clinical Nurse Specialists, Ethics, Health Policy, New Graduates, Nursing Entrepreneurship, and Nursing Research (FNA, n. d.). Joining these interest groups, any nurse might facilitate one’s growth and advocacy opportunities in specialty areas.
Florida Nurses Association Meeting Critique
Upon attending a meeting at the professional nursing organization, I realized that despite the generally available opportunities for professional growth and practice improvement, there are special interest groups and particular roles that allow for pursuing specific goals. I would feel most comfortable in a position of a regional director to be in charge of the nursing issues related to the particular geographical region in Florida. I think that having access to a leadership position at such an influential organization would allow me to advocate for nurses in the region by clearly representing their interests and needs inside the organization and before state and federal regulatory bodies.
Among the advantages of being a member of FNA, an opportunity to expand my developmental autonomy and obtain a positive professional image outside the hospital are some very important ones. According to Roshanzadeh et al. (2018), “to achieve positive professional identity and development of autonomy, nurses need to … gain a stronger position in healthcare organizations by participating in scientific and professional assemblies and specialized nursing organizations.” In addition, the study by Safari et al. (2020) identified that commonly nurses do not have enough empowerment in their hospitals to advocate for public health improvements due to numerous barriers. In my practice, I would like to broaden my chances of making a change in public health policies by integrating my experience, skills, networking opportunities, and professional support inside the organization into my leadership and influencing role.
The estimated percentage of certified members is approximately 70 percent because the professional group incorporates registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, and new graduates, providing them with opportunities to become certified. Given multiple benefits for professional, leadership, research, and community work opportunities provided by FNA, I think I would consider joining this organization and becoming an active member. I understand that I might lack sufficient expertise and experience in leadership competencies and organizational participation. However, as the review of the association’s performance and the attendance of its meeting have demonstrated, the vast opportunities for growth can contribute to the scope of skills and developmental opportunities of a young professional in the field of nursing.
In my opinion, my active participation in the life and performance of the association in a leadership position would allow me to pursue a two-fold goal. Firstly, I would grow as a professional nurse, and secondly, I would contribute to the profession of nursing by advocating for nurses’ tentative problems, as well as resolving essential issues in public health. Access to legal and regulatory bodies would enhance the level of representativeness of my colleagues at the state and federal levels for qualitative changes in nursing.
References
Florida Nurses Association. (n. d.). About us. Web.
Roshanzadeh, M., Aghaei, M., Kashani, E., Pasaeimehr, Z., & Tajabadi, A. (2018). Strategies of Professional Nursing Autonomy. Scientific Journal of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedical Faculty, 4(1), 1-5.
Safari, M. B., Bahadori, M., & Alimohammadzadeh, K. (2020). The related factors of nurses’ participation and perceived benefits and barriers in health policy making. Journal of Nursing Research, 28(4), e103. Web.