The policy council members discussed with AFT president Sandra Feldman the tremendous success of a series of radio ads she recently recorded highlighting a Peter Hart Associates poll commissioned by the division. That national survey, the results of which have been highly publicized and picked up by media outlets around the country, showed that half of current nurses between the ages of 18 and 39 have thought about leaving the profession. More alarmingly, the survey found that fully one-fifth of the nation's nurses plan on leaving within the next few years because they're fed up with horrendous working conditions and the lack of support and training they receive. The terrible working conditions, which are leading to a shortage of nurses, will have a direct impact on AFT members, policy council chair and vice president Candice Owley told the AFT executive council in her report on the division. Hospitals have been changing staffing ratios, and nurses have taken this up as an issue.
Patients are, in fact, dying.
Beyond that, the important role that school nurses play as a link for parents, teachers, children and community services is one that should be made more widely known, said Darby. The PPC, meeting May 23-24 in Washington, D.C., also considered the work of its Taxation Task Force. Council members received the task force's draft report, which made a number of recommendations. During an update on AFT's ongoing efforts to improve low-performing schools, several council members expressed concern about the limited involvement of PSRPs in such efforts, especially at the local level, even though their jobs can be affected just as much as teachers. Another ongoing AFT initiative focuses on improving professional development for its members.