Direct Care Nurse

You are the center of each patient's care in the State of Texas.  You are also at the center of the work of the Texas Nurses Association.  We believe our role is to supply you with the tools you need to advocate for your patient's well being as well as your own.

TNA is an organizational member of the Center for American Nurses -- a national nursing organization focused on workplace advocacy efforts for nurses. TNA members have full membership benefits to the site. Check it out for information on financial security for nurses, healthy work environments, and other timely issues!

TNA gathers information from nurses regarding their practice environment:

• We survey nurses throughout the state
• We conduct nursing focus groups on major topics
• We appoint nursing committees from all over Texas to gather and discuss problems and solutions for the nursing profession
• The TNA House of Delegates, made up of elected nurses throughout the State of Texas, meets each spring to make ultimate policy decisions for the organization.

Direct care nurses are often at the hub of difficult work situations.  TNA has identified the following work problems from your input.  We have also prepared short term guidance sheets that may be of assistance in your problem solving.

1. Staffing in my facility is inadequate to deliver safe patient care.
2. My peers and colleagues act so weird at time I almost feel verbally "beat up".
3. How do I survive shift work, are there some tips to help this personal life change?

As the voice of professional nursing in Texas, TNA actively promotes knowledge and use of all workplace advocacy tools. They're in place legally for all of nursing. For simplicity, TNA makes available through the TNA Store, the Annotated Guide to the Texas Nursing Practice Act. It's a reference every nurse should have providing clear information about the Texas Nursing Practice Act — the rights of nurses to act for their patients.  

Texas Nurses Association knows it takes commitment, dedication and hard work to earn the right to be a registered nurse. So that every RN can practice safely and protect their license, TNA promotes workplace advocacy. Workplace advocacy is a nurse-to-nurse strategy that can give RNs a meaningful voice in their workplace. As a result of TNA workplace advocacy efforts in the past, Texas now has one of the strongest Nursing Practice Acts in the country.