Executive director's update

Celebrating our Achievements

THE magnitude of the work and progress achieved by registered nurses in Alberta was readily apparent during the AARN Awards gala banquet. During dinner, amid the congratulatory messages and friendly conversation, a series of images highlighting milestones of our profession was projected on a giant screen.

The images showed the steady and extraordinary progress of registered nurses in Alberta. In 1916, 12 founding members from the Alberta Association of Graduate Nurses (AAGN), later known as the AARN, set the standards for professional nursing by establishing practice and educational standards. The Registered Nurses Act was proclaimed and in October of that year, the AAGN held its first council meeting with 91 names on the register. Two years later, the first RN exams were held in Calgary consisting of written, oral, and practical components. The era of self-regulation of nursing had begun. Fast forward to 2003 and the AARN regulates more than 25,000 members and is poised for the proclamation of our proposed regulations under the Health Professions Act. These regulations represent a consensus among registered nurses of how the profession should be regulated including educational requirements, registration renewal criteria and our disciplinary processes.

Within the time frame of these two eras, registered nurses in Alberta have spearheaded many advances in nursing, often very controversial or unpopular, but always with the same ideal: to ensure quality nursing practice and provide safe nursing care. The awards dinner provided an opportunity to not only honour the achievements of this year's nominees and recipients but also to acknowledge the education, skills, commitment and compassion of all RNs in a variety of settings across the province, yesterday, today and in the future.

Nurses are often reluctant to be acknowledged as outstanding practitioners who make a difference in the lives of many people. Of course, not all our contributions are recorded in photos or honoured with awards. However, RNs demonstrate outstanding practice every day across the province, and most likely, in your practice setting. I encourage you to take a moment to observe your colleagues, take the opportunity to praise them and tell others about their achievements.

Although RNs still struggle for recognition and respect, we can nonetheless look back on our achievements with pride and look forward to a promising future. Every day, registered nurses continue to build on the high regard and trust we have earned from the public and other professionals by our ongoing commitment to the profession and to our patients.

DONNA HUTTON RN, MEd

E-mail: dhutton@nurses.ab.ca

Phone: 1.800.252.9392 ext 509

Copyright Alberta Association of Registered Nurses Jun 2003
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