National Nurse Act of 2006
Teri Mills RN sees her op ed in The New York Times turned into a bil
Sep 6, 2006
Teri Mills RN MSN ANP, a nurse educator from Oregon, is leading the National Nurse Team on their trek to Washington D.C. this week (September 6-8) to address Congress on HR4903 the National Nurse Act of 2006.
HR4903 The National Nurse Act of 2006
California Congresswoman, Lois Capps, introduced the bill in March of 2006 to establish and fund an Office of the National Nurse. It now has 26 cosponsors. The idea for the bill was first introduced in May of 2005 when Teri Mills wrote an op ed for the New York Times suggesting a National Nurse be appointed. Ms. Mills hopes to be actively involved with a National Nurse Corps in her community, but is not seeking the National Nurse position herself.
National Nurse Corps
The Office of the National Nurse would establish a National Nurse Corps to help address such issues as the nursing shortage, and recruiting and managing a volunteer crew of nurses to be sent to help in the event of an emergency or disaster such as that presented last year by Hurricane Katrina.
Patient Education
With a goal to involve all Americans in preventative health care, the National Nurse Corps would develop and implement programs for patient education as a primary function of their office.
By demonstrating the level of professionalism of nurses, it is hoped that the Office of the National Nurse would be able to encourage more men and women to enter the nursing field.
More Information
Read the text of HR4903. You can also sign the petition to encourage Congress to pass the bill. To find out more about the National Nurse Team and campaign, see their blog.
Read more about What is a Nurse?
