Gander, NL – The Registered Nurses’ Union of Newfoundland & Labrador (RNU) brought its 25th Biennial Convention to a close today. Over the past four days, 170 registered nurses and nursing students from across the province gathered in Gander for learning, decision-making, and discussion on the future of health care and nursing in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Under the theme ‘Registered Nurses: Vital To Your Health’, registered nurses held a very productive convention that focused on improvements to the system,” said Debbie Forward, President of RNU. “It touched on Professional Practice, PTSD in nursing, and ensuring RNs have the tools they need to deliver safe, high quality health care.”
Convention included addresses by Barb Fry and Meg Soper, both registered nurses and insightful speakers on adapting to challenging workplace environments. RNU was also joined by CFNU President Linda Silas to discuss the work happening at a national level to support nursing.
On Wednesday, RNs sent a strong message to government that it is time for real strategies to address issues in health and nursing care including overtime, working short, and workplace violence.
Convention delegates held education sessions, and passed a number of important resolutions, including a resolution to compel the provincial government to conduct a core staffing review in health care. A core staffing review would ensure that staffing of health care professionals has kept up with growing demand on the health care system. Another key resolution commits RNU to raising awareness about the prevalence of PTSD in nursing.
“RNU and its members come away from this convention feeling energized, with a clear sense of what we must do to protect registered nurses and those who rely on their care,” said Forward. “We are ready to challenge the barriers to safe, quality care that RNs face and we are committed to fighting any decisions that would force registered nurses to do more with less, for less.”
The Registered Nurses’ Union represents more than 5,500 registered nurses working in acute care, long-term care, community, education and research.
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For more information please contact:
Kristian Styles
Communications Specialist
709-699-3676
kstyles@rnunl.ca