Professional nursing associations are considered to be the backbone of development amongst nursing specialists. According to Catallo Spalding & VIjeh (2014), health practitioners get the chance to interact with peers and develop in the careers, creating a strong voice of advocacy at every level of their profession. Nurses have the chance of obtaining education, certifications, and proficiencies within a dynamic healthcare sector, guaranteeing they are in pole position in embracing and integrating modifications recommended in diverse specialties. To be an affiliate of an association geared towards one’s field is hence of paramount significance. The National Association of Neonatal Nursing is an essential association for neonatal health practitioners to be enrolled in as they offer training, exploration, activism, and networking openings.
National Association of Neonatal Nurses
Established in 1984 by six of principal board members, the National Association of Neonatal Nurses is an organization of registered nurses born with various health complications, for instance, birth deficiencies, cardiac failure, and prematurity. According to Goolsby and DuBois (2017), the association supports its members by offering openings for the affiliates to effect care for neonates and their households, collaborating with leaders and colleagues within their specialty, obtain information to advance their day to day practices. The association was initiated to facilitate the development and delivery of tools required to discharge nurses’ mandates effectively.
In support of these activities, the association is instituted upon a mission, sets of values, and particular objectives. The association’s mission involves “being the expert voice that structures neonatal nursing through practice quality, training, exploration, and professional growth” (NANN, 2020). The organizational principles that support the accomplishment of the mission comprise morals and competence, quality in practice, and activism for the superior patient and family care. The association’s vision is to create an inclusive, diverse community of registered nursing experts in every phase of their career. Through its objectives and values, the association seeks to enhance neonatal care in the subsequent goal segments: training, research, activism, and membership commitment.
With an explicit emphasis on membership commitment and career advancement, registered neonatal nurses are apt to particular profits. Members will have access to a wide range of resources that include interactions, staffing, and training. This is achieved by obtaining bi-monthly newsletters, reduced rates for meetings and conferences, and discounted publications. Being a member also provides an opportunity for nurses to take part in local chapters within the community. The chapters provide a forum for nurses to deliberate on the apprehensions and latest practices regarding policies.
Importance of Networking
One of the fundamental goals of being a member of a professional association is to network. The association provides members with different networking modes with other members, including virtual forums, group involvement, and leadership in informative groups, symposiums, and business meetings. Neonates are similarly an extremely vulnerable populace that necessitates superior hands-on care. Neonatal nurses should be cognizant of the conventions that oversee the care of neonates and their households, and at the same time, embrace the best possible practices to guarantee that the susceptible patients have access to quality care (Catallo Spalding& VIjeh, 2014). Through networking, fresh concepts are introduced, improved standards of practice and training may be established, and reasonable practices may be well-defined. Ultimately, networking within the neonatal nursing profession leads to expert support and growth for registered nursing specialists. The association has offered openings for the members to network by advancing the institution of special interest groups, proliferating member recommendations, and local chapters. The local chapters deliberate concerns pertinent to the community along with the creation of volunteer prospects. The association likewise facilitates a conference on an annual basis for every member and has developed a partnership program for emergent leaders in the industry. Meeting individuals in person allows nurses to demonstrate different personalities to prospective employers besides intellectual capacity. All the networking channels benefit neonatal health practitioners to study, promote and locate career positions.
Updating Members on HealthCare Changes
The association contains numerous methods of keeping members up to date on changes in healthcare and neonatal practices. Resources used by the nursing association include e-newsletters, journal magazines, seminars, and other communication forums. The Newsletter is disseminated every month to every member through email, which includes editorials, case studies, and linkages to data associated with the neonatal specialty. However, non-members are not guaranteed access to the resources. The association similarly grants members access to journals based on their research and their medical practice editorials based on specific subjects (NANN, 2020). For instance, management of pain, rare disorders, amongst others. Finally, members can communicate on healthcare change topics and state-by-state alterations through the seminars and seminars convened by the organization. Moreover, word of mouth is an extremely common method to obtain information and initiating research.
Education and Professional Development.
While it has been extremely fruitful in reaching out to listed nurses in the neonatal industry, the association may expand its education and professional growth activities through partnerships with various nursing education institutes and medical facilities to advance standard neonatal nursing training to provide superior quality neonatal practice. Similar to other numerous expert nursing associations, the national association of neonatal Nurses grants access to members access to ongoing education seminars and webinars. The bimonthly magazine likewise has Continuing Education Units (CEU) in each issue, along with the prospect of purchasing additional CEU’s. This lets nurses finish CEU’s in their area of nursing.
The association also presents mentorship programs to assist newly enrolled nurses to be superior nurses. The organization has a toolbox meant for the education of patients and families regarding various ailments. An additional common educational chance is educational grants. The NANN offers grants to assist nurses in enlisting in graduate courses and placements. Currently, the association is providing an all-expenses-paid placement to the Nurse in Washington Internship (NIWI), which is an intensive training course based on legislative guidelines of the healthcare structure (NANN, 2020). To aid in professional growth, the National Association of Neonatal nursing likewise assists with accreditation as a neonatal health practitioner, nurse instructor, nurse administrator, among many others. The association has a career center to aid in securing the employment of NICU nurses.
Conclusion
The National Association of Neonatal Nurses is a nursing body meant for the development of neonatal nursing. The association’s fundamental objective, mission, and vision involve improving neonatal health practitioners and progressing the career to the greatest standards. The association continues to meet that objective by guaranteeing that nurses have the opportunity of adequately networking with other nurses in their field. Networking is dynamic to the nursing profession to assist the spread of actual information. National Association on Neonatal Nursing likewise assists in updating nurses on healthcare changes by publishing bi-monthly newsletters and evidence-based practice magazines. Finally, members get assistance with professional and educational growth with its prospects for CEU’s, mentorship programs, and career management programs. Based on all the prospects the association offers for its members, nurses will gain management and critical thinking abilities vital in the nursing sector.
