The public trusts nurses. In 2016, for the 15th consecutive year, the Gallup Poll reported that nurses ranked highest among 22 other professions for their honesty and ethical standards (Norman, 2016). The credibility and public confidence nurses enjoy are not surprising. Collectively, this has been earned by countless acts of advocacy and compassion practiced daily on behalf of patients and families. These good works are important and give our professional lives meaning and perhaps even help us cope on the very saddest of days. It is a message we know by heart and one we hear repeated to us by grateful families. However, is this perception of the profession the whole story? Hopefully, it is not. In their book, From Silence to Voice, Buresh and Gordon (2013) write about the public's lack of awareness about the "breadth and complexity of nursing work." For so long, we have acknowledged the caring aspect of our work yet minimized the technical skills, clinical knowledge, and judgment required each and every day to be successful. It is time for us to recognize this on behalf of our profession and understand that the stories we tell about our work lives require balance. With this awareness, we can take advantage of opportunities and conversations to update our message and proudly tell others why nursing is a challenging and gratifying profession and why it requires more than compassion to be a competent nurse. Buresh and Gordon (2013) encourage nursing organizations to define nursing standards that improve the quality and safety of patient care. Please consider how you too can contribute to public understanding of the value of nursing beyond caring and kindness.
One of APSNA's primary responsibilities is to fulfill our mission to promote excellence in pediatric surgical nursing. This is accomplished in the following ways:
* The Founder's Spotlight and Innovation awards each shine a bright light on individuals who are experts and role models for professional surgical nursing.
* APSNA offers grants in education, research, and wound care to invest and partner with nurses as they pursue their professional goals to better themselves and improve patient care.
* APSNA's newly released Nurse Practitioner Competency Framework aligns with the American Nurses Association's position that the public has a right to expect nurses to show standardized core competencies throughout their careers. APSNA is defining these competencies on behalf of surgical nurses nationwide.
APSNA nominations open in September. Please consider becoming involved and adding your voice to ours in setting standards for pediatric surgical nursing.
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