by Susan Trossman, RN

Tune into any broadcast or open any newspaper and get ready to be bombarded with a litany of troubling news -- from the discovery of a terrorist cell in Spain to the successful creation of the polio virus in a New York university lab. And while some Americans might want to tune out potential threats, nurses and the nursing profession cannot afford to do the same.

Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, ANA, its constituent member associations (CMAs) and nurses across the nation have stepped up their ongoing efforts and begun new initiatives to help RNs respond more effectively to terrorist attacks and large scale disasters. While many nurses believe their colleagues are generally better prepared today than they were a year ago, they quickly acknowledge that health care professionals as a whole still have a lot of work ahead of them.

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New JCAHO report underscores nursing community concerns

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) this summer released its report on the nursing shortage, and many of the recommendations the group suggests reaffirm those outlined in a report issued by the nursing community earlier this year.

"ANA applauds the efforts put forth by JCAHO in developing this report," said ANA President Barbara A. Blakeney, MS, APRN,BC, ANP. "JCAHO has correctly determined that the nursing shortage can threaten patient safety and diminish the quality of health care, and that the underlying causes of the nursing shortage must be addressed.

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