February 13, 2026
Around the state, more than 800 qualified nursing school applicants are turned away each year. The primary reason? Vacant faculty positions mean there are not enough nurse educators to teach the courses, even though programs have available student slots.
February 4, 2020
To activate nurses, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and Health Care Without Harm launched the Nurses Climate Challenge in May 2018, a national campaign to educate health professionals on climate and health. We are aiming to educate 50,000 health professionals by 2022.
January 31, 2020
Professional activism is the engagement of skilled and competent professionals utilizing strategic campaigning to achieve a goal. In nursing, it is nurses coming together to assess a need and identify the problem, design and implement a plan to address the issue, evaluate that plan, and repeat until the problem is solved.
January 30, 2020
As the investigation into 2019 novel coronavirus continues, the Washington State Department of Health is sharing important data points to help the public understand and track the progress and the work being done statewide.
January 27, 2020
It was a busy week of hearings in Olympia, with WSNA weighing in on many bills. We continued meeting with legislators about our priority issues, including funding for the School Nurse Corps. This week we are highlighting movement on our policy priority related to the need for a more uniform, but also community-based, response system…
January 24, 2020
If you have questions about what is happening in Washington state, how the virus is spread, what to do if you have symptoms, and need a phone number or website for additional information, read more.
January 22, 2020
2020 Legislative Session Week 1 update The 2020 legislative session kicked off on Monday. It’s the second year of the biennium which means that it is a “short” 60-day session. New House Speaker Laurie Jinkins was sworn in on Monday – she is the first woman and first out lesbian Speaker of House. She is a strong advocate for access…
January 21, 2020
Some say you must earn accolades for your accomplishments, be highly educated or hold a formal title. I disagree with all the above being a requirement to call yourself a leader. I say it matters more what you do.ws
January 2, 2020
The Future of Nursing report in 2010 gave states a set of goals to aim for as they developed their nursing workforce. Now, almost a decade later, how is the state of Washington measuring up?
December 16, 2019
It was June 1944, the country was at war, and Marge Batey was graduating from St. Patrick’s Academy in Sidney, Nebraska. The boys from her high school class were heading into the military, off to the battlefields of World War II. Batey was heading to the Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Spokane.
November 27, 2019
A friendly reminder from the WSNA-PAC Board that today, Tuesday, November 5, is Election Day – no postage is required to mail your ballot!
November 5, 2019
Vaping products present a serious public health risk, and we commend the Governor for taking immediate action and a multi-pronged approach.
September 27, 2019
Attend an event in our Fall Leadership Series. Learn what you can do as a nurse to ensure successful implementation of new laws aimed at preventing workplace violence and protecting overtime and breaks for healthcare professionals.
September 16, 2019
Naloxone, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose, will be available at pharmacies throughout Washington after Dr. Kathy Lofy, state health officer, signed a statewide standing order on Aug. 28.
September 5, 2019
The Department of Health and the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission are working with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to help spread the word about impaired driving from prescription and nonprescription drugs.
August 21, 2019
A friendly reminder from the WSNA-PAC Board that Washington state’s Primary Election is Tuesday, August 6 – no postage is required to mail your ballot! The WSNA-PAC has endorsed candidates in two special election legislative races.
August 5, 2019
Presenteeism is when someone is physically at work, but not fully engaged or performing. As nurses, we have a lot going on both at work and outside of work, and these things (like our work environment and our own health and well-being) can affect our ability to be fully present at work.
June 13, 2019
Nurse delegation, unlike general delegation, is a specific process within nursing under the Washington Administrative Codes. It is focused on assigning care tasks to be performed by long-term care workers within certain settings, under the management of a registered nurse, called a nurse delegator.
June 10, 2019
The Washington Center for Nursing, the state’s nursing workforce center, has released several new reports that give insight into the changing nursing workforce in the state.
June 6, 2019
Incident reporting is a powerful source of information. When used effectively, it provides a factual description of an adverse event or near miss that supports learning, safety and improved care quality. Most health care entities utilize an electronic incident reporting system to identify opportunities for improvement.
June 4, 2019
What is incrementalism? Merriam-Webster defines it as a policy or advocacy of a policy of political or social change by degrees: gradualism. Why do we as nurses need to be aware of incrementalism? Because it’s a double-edged sword and it can cut deep.
June 3, 2019
Minnesota nurses, 4 years after passing a comprehensive workplace violence law and 3 years after obtaining security guards in the ED, are on the picket lines at Children’s, United, Methodist, North Memorial, Healtheast, Fairview, and Abbott-Northwestern hospitals. They’re asking their employers for paid time off after incidents of…
May 31, 2019
As a general matter, the law does not afford employees the right to walk off the job because of unsafe conditions in the workplace. However, a situation may arise in which a nurse is confronted with an immediate choice between not performing an assignment or being subjected to a real risk of serious injury or death arising from a…
May 30, 2019
Each employer has a duty to provide a workplace that is free of known dangers that may harm employees. Like all workers, you have the right to working conditions that are free of known health and safety hazards.
May 28, 2019
