Abstract
Introduction
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (2010) has recommended that there be an infrastructure for data collection related to the nursing workforce. Organizations responsible for the accreditation and certification of Nursing Organizations, the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC) have asserted that nursing organizations need to conduct periodic needs assessments and to better define their membership in terms of demographics, role, and skill mix. These data need to be standardized and transferrable to a larger national data set.
Purpose
The American Pediatric Surgical Nurses Association (APSNA) is a specialty nursing organization with a mission to promote excellence in pediatric surgical nursing through educational offerings, nursing research, professional collaboration, and peer support. The primary purpose was to identify the current professional practice environment of the APSNA member base in their various employment settings. The second purpose of the survey was to explore the activities of APSNA members to provide information on priorities from the APSNA membership for healthcare planning and strategic initiatives.
Methods
Survey methodology was used and made available online from April 2013 to April 2014. The data is descriptive in nature.
Results
The response rate of 13% was similar to that of other organizations when conducting a member survey. Demographic, professional characteristics and member preferences are described.
Conclusions
The results, together with the IOM report recommendations can guide strategic planning for APSNA and its members.
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