Background
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) is one of the earliest established nursing organizations. The ENA board is committed to redefining the state of emergency nursing via advocating, educating, researching, innovating, and leading. The institution was established in 1970 and has demonstrated to be an indispensable aspect to the global emergency clinical society (Ĺženyuva, 2018). Currently, the association has around 43,000 members throughout the world.
Main Agenda
- The organization campaigns for patient’s welfare
- It establishes clinical ethics for practice
- Involved in medical public policy formulation
- Ensure nurses have required and adequate skills
- Promotes ethical practices and patient-centered service delivery
The primary purposes of Emergency Nurses Association include, firstly, the campaigning for patients’ welfare and the establishment of clinical ethics for the nursing practice. Secondly, the association is involved in medical public policy formulation. Thirdly, reducing death rates and trauma among children and the adolescents (Carman, 2020). The association members are skilled in intake, patient care, tragedy readiness, and all elements of emergency service response.
Strategy to Push their Agenda
- Advocates for federal legislation on matters nursing
- Meeting frequently with State administrators for health
- Tracks national laws influencing emergency workers
- Involved in regulating policies that impact ENA
- Leads community sensitization through the EN411 Action Network
The ENA members pushes their agenda by ensuring that they are involved in policy formulation. More specifically, the ENA representatives are interested in State laws that affect the performance and the execution of emergency nursing mandates. It also follows up with the state officials by holding a physical meeting to discuss pressing issues (Milbrath & Snyder, 2021). In addition, it involves the community in all its operations.
Key Obstacles
- Patient acuity and numbers are increasing.
- Older workforce, newer nurses and new technologies
- High patient-to-nurse ratios
- Nurses turnover leading to less experienced staff
- The burden of training new nurses regularly
The significant issues that have been affecting the emergency nursing association have to do with the employees. The sector is involved in emotionally and physically draining work. The latter increases the rates of employee turnover. Emergency nursing is constantly receiving new employees while older ones leave. It makes it challenging to manage the patient-nurse ratio (McDermid et al., 2020). The high number of patients overwhelms the available nurses.
Spending
The State funds the Emergency Nursing services. The ENA in 2016 applauded Congress for passing the financing bill that provided complete funds for the EMSC. The nursing emergency department used a lot of money annually to cover their expense. For instance, in 2019, H.R. 6157 allotted $22.3 million for the EMSC (Carman, 2020). The primary reason for increased funding is to reduce children and adolescent mortality and trauma.
Position Statement
In August 2019, the ENA Board of Directors accepted the amendment of the institution’s position statement. The revision intended to include APRNs in the Emergency service functions. The statement helps better outline the function of advanced practice emergency employees, support and guides on elements like educational routines and capital needed (Carman, 2020). The position statement also showed the development of APRN practice to be declared as part of emergency providers across the U.S. and in other nations globally.
Testimony
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) provides testimony in support of S.B. 25, prohibiting using a mobile telephone while driving in danger declared zones and by individuals less than 18 years of age. Daily, emergency nurses observe the disturbing impacts of motor vehicle crashes as they care for the survivors. These injuries are preventable, and the ENA support measures such as S.B. 25 to enhance the safety of Kansans and other States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report attribute 94 per cent of severe crashes to driver factors rather than environmental or vehicle factors. To save lives and decrease severe injuries of Kansans on the roadways, the drivers must remain attentive to the task of driving (Milbrath & Snyder, 2021). The ENA supports the enactment and enforcement of laws that decrease phones while driving.
Lobbying Efforts
ENA represents over 200 state councils and chapters that offer leadership and programming at the local level. Many of these councils and chapters help amend local policies that impact nursing in the E.D. ENA’s General Assembly represents all states and established regulations and guideline recommendations supporting the ENA Mission and Vision (Milbrath & Snyder, 2021). The association is ready to go any length to ensure that patients receive quality emergency services that reduce overall mortality rates.
References
Carman, M. J. (2020). Commentary on emergency nurses association’s 2019 “Position statement: Advanced practice registered nurses in the emergency care setting”. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 46(2), Web.
McDermid, F., Mannix, J., & Peters, K. (2020). Factors contributing to high turnover rates of emergency nurses: A review of the literature. Australian Critical Care, 33(4), 390-396.
Milbrath, G., & Snyder, A. (2021). The emergency nurses association: 50 years of advocacy and advancement. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 224-238.
Ĺženyuva, E. (2018). Intergenerational differences in the personal and professional values of nurses. Nursing Ethics, 25(7), 939-950. Web.