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UNA and CARNA join forces on awareness campaign

By United Nurses of Alberta September 10, 2015 08:45 (Last updated September 24, 2015 14:15)
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“We see great value in building public awareness and member engagement around the huge contribution RNs and nurses of all types make as highly educated professionals trained in observation and critical thinking." - Heather Smith, President, UNA
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After a meeting on Aug. 27 in Edmonton, leaders of United Nurses of Alberta and the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta have begun formal discussions about a co-operative awareness campaign that would emphasize the unique contributions made to health care by registered nurses.

As a union and regulatory college respectively, UNA and CARNA have different missions, but both organizations have a similar perspective on the essential role that must be played by RNs as key members of the professional health care team, said UNA President Heather Smith.

“We see great value in building public awareness and member engagement around the huge contribution RNs and nurses of all types make as highly educated professionals trained in observation and critical thinking,” said Smith, who attended the Aug. 27 meeting along with UNA First Vice-President Jane Sustrik.

CARNA CEO Mary-Anne Robinson was unable to attend the meeting but supports working with UNA on this important initiative. “We hope we can find ways to build understanding in the health care system and among the public of the unique contributions of Alberta’s RNs,” said Robinson.

“We need to make the invisible visible,” observed CARNA Policy and Practice Director Carolyn Trumper.  “The Uniquely RN project CARNA undertook this spring showed that RNs currently feel invisible and under-appreciated in the workplace. 

Among the initial steps planned by the UNA-CARNA working group will be a collaborative look for messages and images that work for both organizations, the use of that messaging in a future structured awareness campaign and the use of focus groups to test the reception of proposed messages among nurses and the public.

UNA members are encouraged to offer their thoughts on messages and strategies for raising awareness about the unique qualifications and contributions of Registered Nurses.

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