During the last week of June, I was honored to be invited to the American Nurse Association (ANA) Membership Assembly to represent NOVA. The Membership Assembly is the governing and official voting body of the ANA. The assembly consisted of nearly 400 nurses from state ANA chapters as well as organizational affiliates such as NOVA, all with the goal of determining the association’s positions on key issues for nurses and the nursing profession.
 Attending the assembly presented an opportunity for NOVA’s voice to be heard and to support NOVA's mission to educate, communicate, and advocate for the Veterans Administration nurse professionally, personally, and legislatively.

NOVA’s Director of Advocacy & Government Relations Teresa Morris and I were invited by the ANA Board to be a part of a panel that presented on improving veterans’ care. The proposal directs the ANA to improve nursing knowledge related to the unique health care needs of the Veteran population and their families. The proposal requested the ANA to work with educational institutions and credentialling bodies to incorporate the health care needs of Veterans within basic and graduate nursing educational curricula, and to coordinate with VHA to develop, implement and disseminate educational resources to prepare community nurses and other health care providers to meet the needs of the Veteran population.

Another aspect of the proposal was to reinforce the efforts to remove all restrictions and barriers to care for nursing practice within VHA – “allow all nurses to practice to the full extent of their education and training to meet the healthcare access needs of all Veterans and improve timeliness of care.” The proposal was passed by the voting members!

While summer is upon us, it is never too early to start thinking about the annual conference. This year the conference is in beautiful Virginia Beach at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront hotel October 9-10th. Registration is currently open. Hurry as early bird rates end September 5th!

Come and join in on the opportunity to hear from Office of Nursing Service leaders as well as other VA leaders. This year also promises to be an exciting time for announcements about the future of NOVA!