As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, many uncertainties remain for APRNs as well as consumers. The news is rife with articles depicting the struggles of a future healthcare system in the throes of the growing physician shortage.
The impact on our profession
How will this affect your practice? Will your workplace be overwhelmed by new patients? How will your salary/reimbursement be affected? Will you be able to find a job and a collaborator?
OAAPN is here to help you, your professional development, and our profession. We do this through our commitment to continually provide the value you and your fellow members seek from OAAPN, such as:
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Working on your behalf on initiatives that will lead to our ability to practice to the fullest extent of our education, training and certification.
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Sending timely news and legislative updates so you can stay on top of state and national news, trends and ongoing legislative activity that you need to know.
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Giving you access to continuing education opportunities to maintain certifications and licensure; and to regional and statewide meetings and conferences on nursing and healthcare-related issues.
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Offering networking and engagement opportunities to connect and network with fellow APRNs. We also have Political Action (PAC) and Advocacy Committees that allow our members to become actively engaged in the political process and advocate for our profession.
The growing physician shortage is creating an environment wherein advanced practice registered nurses are more relevant and important to consumers when it comes to their healthcare options, and OAAPN will continue to serve not only its members, but the Ohio healthcare consumer.
Helping Ohioans understand their healthcare options
The anticipation of provider shortages has people worried: “Will I be able to get coverage?” “Where will I go when I’m sick?” “Will I be able to get in?” “Will there be long waits?” “Who will take care of me?” and “Will I receive the same quality care I received before?”
Awareness of these concerns has driven OAAPN to launch a new public-facing education campaign called My Health Care Ohio. The mission of this campaign is to help Ohioans understand their healthcare options.
A central component of the campaign is a user-friendly, informative website to help Ohioans make informed decisions about their health care. The site, MyHealthCareOhio.com, aims to address topics ranging from accessibility to quality to affordability, and will also feature wellness and prevention blogs and posts. We will announce the launch of the website on January 29th through a series of radio interviews, a press release, video, Facebook page and blog posts.
Be on the alert and watch our website and Facebook page for ways you can help share the message about this new and helpful resource directed toward Ohio’s healthcare consumers. In addition, we need your expertise, insight and help to truly impact the profession and to inform Ohioans regarding their healthcare options.
An opportunity to get involved with OAAPN
We continue to need volunteers who have writing and communications skills and are willing to serve on a “rapid response team,” as well as research and contribute blogs and posts. If you’re interested, please contact our Executive Director at execdirector@oaapn.org.
We look forward to a year of tremendous forward movement with STRENGTH in our numbers, AUTHORITY in our voice, and INFLUENCE in our action—your OAAPN.
Sincerely,
Diann
Diann L. Nelson-Houser, 2014 OAAPN President