Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation™ - Champion Spotlight Series - Virginia Nurses Association
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Discover how the Virginia Nurses Association engages their members with HNHN through conferences, social media, continuing education and their own unique wellness initiative: Take Five.
The Virginia Nurses Association (VNA) is a statewide, membership-based professional association for registered nurses. VNA represents the interests of over 108,000 registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Virginia, inclusive of all areas of specialization, clinical settings, and work environments.
The mission of VNA is to promote advocacy and education to advance professional practice and influence the delivery of quality care. Given VNA’s focus on professional growth, HNHN is a natural fit with the association’s mission. VNA is proud to be a Champion partner of HNHN.
How VNA shares HNHN with Virginia nurses
VNA’S Take Five initiative connects both VNA members and nurses around the commonwealth with HNHN. VNA knows that sometimes caregivers do not always make time for self-care, so last year, the association developed a program aimed at helping nurses squeeze it into their schedules. Take Five is a partnership with HNHN and encourages nurses to take five minutes each day for 21 days to improve their health in one of HNHN’s five focus areas: physical activity, nutrition, rest, quality of life, and safety.
Nurses have been taking small steps to improve their health, such as developing a weekly healthy meal plan, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, not texting while driving, or even spending five minutes reading a good book. The goal of Take Five is that after 21 days, taking five minutes a day for self-care becomes a habit, and a relatively short-term commitment reaps big long-term benefits. VNA promotes Take Five through semi-regular #FitNurseFriday posts.
Other ways VNA engages members with HNHN
- In partnership with the Virginia Nurses Foundation, VNA centered their 2016 fall conference around community well-being. In addition to focusing on health disparities in local communities, attendees learned about the importance of wellness for nurses. Throughout the two-day conference, sessions on healthy eating, stress reduction, burnout avoidance, and physical fitness were offered. Attendees were also treated to an early morning yoga session led by VNA president Richardean Benjamin.
- VNA promotes ANA’s #FitNurseFriday and #HealthyNurse content on their social media pages, and frequently shares news articles on the importance of self-care and wellness for nurses. VNA also encourages members to take the HNHN Health Assessment via the association’s weekly e-newsletter.
- In response to member feedback about the need for continuing education on self-care and wellness, VNA held a statewide education event called “Mindfulness and Mindful-us” in March 2018. Hosted in Northern Virginia, the program was livestreamed to satellite locations across the commonwealth. Attendees received one contact hour.
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Champion Spotlight
05/23/2018 2:47pm CDT
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