Nurse
of the Day Program Welcome
to the NCNA Nurse of the Day Program! NCNA supplies
the Nurse of the Day (NOD) while the North Carolina General
Assembly is in session.
Email
to NCNA.
Members
have first choice of dates. Once members have signed up,
this will be opened
up to non-members to complete the
rosters. Below, see a sample
message to copy and paste into your email
(dates/times are examples
only, insert your own).
My
name is [full name as we have it in database]. Mailing
address is
[mailing
address]. I
am a member of NCNA and
would like to sign up to serve as Nurse
of
the
Day at the General
Assembly. The
3 best dates/times, in
order of preference, are: 1st (00/00/07, 8:30 am-4:30
pm);
2nd
(00/00/07,
4:00-9:00 pm); 3rd
(00/00/07, 8:30 am-4:30 pm). Or, the best month for me
is [May?, June?, July?]. I understand someone will be in
touch with me as soon as possible to
confirm a date.
Nurse
of the Day Information Packet
Print to review and take with you. This
is a PDF doc. If Adobe Reader is needed, see link
below.
Contact
Your Legislators through the General
Assembly Website
We encourage you to contact
your legislators to notify them that you will be serving
as Nurse of the Day. Go to GA website; pull
up schedule/agenda for your date to
be NOD;
identify
your
legislators and
send them an email. Below is a sample message to copy and
paste.
Dear [Senator/Representative Name], As a member of the
North Carolina Nurses Association, I will be serving as
Nurse of the Day at the General Assembly on [date]. As
one of your constituents, I look forward to talking with
you when I am in Raleigh. I would also like to serve as
a contact for you on health care issues coming before the
legislature. I have been a registered nurse for [#] years
and work at/in [employer]. One of my special interests
is [ nursing area]. Sincerely, [name], RN.
Email NCNA
Read
below:
When serving as Nurse
of the Day, the role of the nurse:
Is
just that, a
nurse.
This
is
a valuable
service to members of the General Assembly and the
legislative staff. Many of our members who have already
served as Nurse
of the Day have expressed that the experience has
validated their choice of the nursing profession. These
nurses
have certainly enhanced the positive image of nursing.
A FAQ, should
the Nurse of the Day serve in a lobbyist's role?
The
answer MUST be NO. By all means, if asked, give an honest
response
to any questions asked by legislators. But remember, while
you are serving in this role, you are representing nursing
as a whole. If you find yourself in a situation where you
need to answer a debatable question, make it known that
the response is your personal opinion. If for some reason
you are asked to speak at a Committee hearing, it is appropriate
to simply state that you are not prepared to speak on the
issue.
Nurse of the Day possible interactions:
[Most of the time there will be a Doctor of the Day
recruited by the NC Medical Society.] Your role as Nurse of the
Day might include obtaining patient
information,
taking vital signs, assisting the doctor as
needed, and recording required information. You may see
legislators, legislative staff members and/or visitors
to check blood pressures, dispense OTC drugs for headache,
upset stomach, allergies; or occasionally something more
serious such as stroke or heart attack victims. Rarely,
is there neither a doctor nor a nurse practitioner present.
If that happens, the nurse then functions within his/her
own scope of practice.
When the Nurse of the Day is NOT
treating patients:
You are free to attend committee meetings, sit in on the
deliberations
in the
House of Representatives
and the Senate and/or go to the cafeteria. In fact, one
of the highlights of the day is when the Nurse and Doctor
of the Day are introduced on the floor of each house. Legislators
rise to acknowledge these health care professionals who
are voluntarily serving members of the General Assembly.
You will then be able to remain on the floor and watch
the legislature in action.
General schedule for Nurse of the
Day:
The legislative week begins
at 4:00 p.m. on Monday and runs through Thursday afternoon.
Therefore,
a nurse
is
needed from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Monday evenings and
from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. You
should arrive fifteen minutes early and go to the lobby
of the Legislative Building to be escorted to the Health
Room (1417) by Security personnel.
This is an exciting opportunity for NCNA members. Please
plan to experience this member benefit. Dates are reserved
on a first-come, first-served basis.
NEED
ADOBE READER?
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® is
free software that lets you view and print Adobe Portable
Document Format (PDF) files. You will need this software
to view/print the Nurse of the Day packet of information.
Once you have the reader, to save the .pdf document, right
click link/choose save.
