The purpose and mission of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) is to promote nursing within the Hispanic community as a method of increasing the health of that sector of the population, and by extension of America as a whole. Specifically, the organization works to provide a forum in which Hispanic nurses can communicate and formulate plans concerning the needs of their communities. It is concerned with locating and overcoming barriers to the proper delivery of healthcare, as well as the development of research and effective methods of healthcare intervention.
The organization is also concerned with the exploration of the plethora of research material now available, as well as the dissemination of the relevant information gained through these data. It seeks to promote widespread awareness in the Hispanic community of these new ideas and current trends in clinical nursing practice (NAHN, 2006). NAHN is also concerned with the tracking of the Hispanic nursing population in order to promote and ensure the healthy growth of this community within the United States.
It functions as the premiere organization representing this Hispanic demographic, and is therefore involved with the planning and development of educational facilities and curricula to meet the needs of prospective Hispanic nurses. It also functions as the major body promoting bi-lingual nursing within the United States (NAHN, 2006). NAHN organizes a wide variety of activities each year. Many of them are locally hosted by its 41 chapters in 22 states, but others are convened on a national level.
These meetings include the NAHN-NY Fifth Annual Latino Health Conference and monthly meetings at the chapter level, such as in Broward Country, South Florida. At the national level, conferences include the NAHN’s Annual Conference held this year for the 32nd consecutive time. At this conference, papers are presented on clinical and theoretical nursing topics, abstracts are written and presented in order to promote other research being conducted, and issues are raised and discussed concerning Hispanic nursing practice in the United States and around the world (NAHN, 2006).
Membership to the National Association of Hispanic Nurses can be gained through application to the organization. Full membership with voting privileges is open only to persons of Hispanic origin. These persons must be registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, or licensed practical nurses. These persons must be in residence in the United States and its territories, in Puerto Rico, or the Commonwealth. Retired members (over 62 years) of the association are also accorded voting rights.
Non-voting membership is available to members of the nursing profession who are not of Hispanic origin. Other participants who do not have voting privileges include students, international members, corporate bodies, and health professionals who are not nurses. Membership fees are charged according to the category of membership required by the candidate. Full membership costs $75 per year, while associate, affiliate, and international membership costs $60 per year. Membership fees for retired members are $50 per year, while students pay only $25 per year.
Corporate membership, accorded to business owners who are interested in supporting the organization, costs $5,000 per year. In addition to these fees charged at the national level, chapter fees are also required. These fees vary depending on the chapter to which a member belongs, but range from $5 to $25 (NAHN Membership, 2006). The organization publishes newsletters and journals several times throughout the year. The NAHN newsletter features such information as changes to bylaws and current legislation affecting the nursing profession.
It also runs feature stories on its different chapters. The newsletter is published on a monthly basis. The NAHN also publishes a peer-reviewed journal of research that focuses on the issues faced by Hispanic nurses within the clinical and theoretical nursing areas. This journal is called the Hispanic Health Care International. A major goal of this journal is to “promote culturally competent models of intervention that provide effective health care to eliminate health disparities for Hispanic/Latino communities” (Springer, 2005).Published tri-annually, the journal makes its research available in both English and Spanish (NAHN, 2005;).
References
NAHN. (2005). “Hispanic Health Care International. ” National Association of Hispanic Nurses. Retrieved on April 29, 2007 from http://thehispanicnurses. org/index. php? option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid =717 NAHN. (2006). “NAHN at a glance. ” National Association of Hispanic Nurses. Retrieved on April 29, 2007 from http://thehispanicnurses. org/index. php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=166&Itemid =842 NAHN. (2006). “NAHN membership. ” National Association of Hispanic Nurses. Retrieved on April 29, 2007 from http://thehispanicnurses. org/index. php? option=com_content&task=view&id=171&Itemid =723 Springer Publishing Company. (2005). Hispanic Health Care International: the official journal of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. New York: Springer. Retrieved on April 29, 2007 from http://www. springerpub. com/journal. aspx? jid=1540-4153