“I like to tell people—if you want to make impact on your profession, you can’t sit there and complain about it. You have to get yourself a seat at the table at some point. No one’s voice is unimportant.” Amanda Oliver is a registered nurse who’s been getting a seat at the table since her…

ANA-Illinois is launching our newest program – Nurses Running for Elected Office (NREO) Training Academy. The inaugural six-month training academy provides training and resources for nurses interested in running for elected office at the local, state, and federal levels. In 2023, we will welcome a diverse group of nurses from around the state into the…

According to WebCE, professional development “refers to continuing education and career training after a person has entered the workforce in order to help them develop new skills, stay up-to-date on current trends, and advance their career.” While professional development is critical for all career paths, for nurses, it is especially important. Nursing Professional Development Importance…

Proposed Update to Legislative Platform The Legislative Platform is a series of statements that serves as ANA-Illinois’ official record of positions on legislative issues and is the guide for the association’s advocacy efforts.  It contains seven sections: Access to Quality Care Funding Nursing Education and Research Financing Health Care Advance the Profession of Nursing Public…

5 Tips for New RNs   1. Ask for Help No matter what you decide to do — whether it be jumping into the workforce, changing your specialty area or returning to school for a higher nursing degree — never be afraid to ask for help from those who have done it before. One option…

Beth Phelps, APRN, DNP, CNP, began her term as the ANA-Illinois Board Secretary in 2021. “The timing was right. It just fit exactly with what I’d been wanting to do. It was perfect,” says Beth. Current Work in Urgent Care, Teaching Beth is an acute care nurse practitioner at Springfield Clinic in Springfield, Illinois. She’s…

The Illinois Nurses Foundation is proud to announce the 2022 40 under 40 Emerging Nurse Leaders Award winners. This award was established in 2015 by the Illinois Nurses Foundation to highlight and celebrate young nurse leaders. It celebrates those who are impacting health care and the nursing profession today and who will undoubtedly shape the…

Sarah Ailey, PhD RN FAAN, is a professor in the College of Nursing at Rush University Medical Center, which “has a history of being on the forefront of healthcare for people with disabilities.” “I’m a mother of a 46-year-old son with intellectual disabilities, so there’s that aspect of it. I have that family advocate role.…

As we recapped here, in late March, ANA-Illinois Executive Director Susan Swart, EdD, MS, RN, CAE, addressed the nursing shortage with the Illinois Senate Health Committee. During her meeting with the committee, she ran through the projected shortage of nurses in Illinois and also provided them with ideas on how to combat it. Illinois is,…

After two quick victories with the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, President Biden’s legislative agenda is now stalled in the Senate. Because of the Democrats’ narrow majority in the upper chamber (a 50/50 split with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast tie-breaking votes), they originally planned to pass much of their…