I encourage all of you to actually vote this year in the AVA election
If one organization owns a large voiting block for the upcoming AVA election what is the outcome hypothethetically. Can that change an election?
This is the year I want all of you to vote so that an elelction is not decided on the basis of one group
Having been the AVA past treasurer and knowing that only 10-20% of members vote. An election can be changed by an organization
Should manufacturers be allowed to vote an the AVA election? My answer NO! Including myself. But this year I will vote.
kathy
Kathy,
Thanks for the reminder.
The committee worked hard to bring you a ballot with choices, people who come from all areas of practice.
We have not had such good choice in years. Don't let our work be in vain.
It only takes a few minutes to vote. If you are commited to AVA and want a say in the direction of the organization - VOTE.
Get involved, join a committee, put your name up for the ballot for next year .....
Don't let our work be in vain.
Ann Marie (a dedicated member of the Nominating Committee)
Ann Marie Parry RN CRNI VA-BC
VITALine Infusion Pharmacy
Geisinger Health System
Danville, PA
Ann Marie Parry, RN, CRNI, VA-BC
[email protected]
Not being a member of AVA I can only observe their current BOD make-up in regards to the above comment by a member:
President works for Bard
Treasurer works for Bard
Two out three new Board members are in industry:
One is the owner of PSI Medical
One is the Global Strategic Marketing Manager for BD.
Marvin Siegel RN CRNI
Director of Clinical Services
Town Total Health
NY, NY
Marvin, I have to respectfully correct the misinformation you posted in your reply. The current President, Paul Blackburn, does not work for Bard. He has been employed by RyMed Technologies since the begining of 2012. In regards to who works for who, my question is why is this a problem?
AVA prides itself on being a multidisciplinary organization. Our past president and now Presidential Advisor, is an MD, who works full time in a hospital.
Often, it is those who work in industry who are afforded the time to work in orgnaizations such as AVA, and often it is considered part of their role. They receive support from thier companies to attend meetings and travel, whereas many hospitals, homecare agencies and other settings do not provide this support. If there were more staff RNs, or others not working in industry that could afford the time off to attend meetings, time to attend board meetings or committee meetings and wanted to get involved, then more people not in industry would be on the board.
AVA embraces our industry MEMBERS, thats right, they are members, and should and do have voting rights.
Has INS never had a self employed or industry employed nurse on their board?
Thank heavens for companies, industry, hospitals and other companies, that support AVA and other professional organizations by allowing members to take the time needed to volunteer for leadership positions in our professional organizations.
That is the beauty of a professional organization--we are all on the same playing field, anyone can run for office or volunteer to be on a committee, and everyone is able to vote for officers and board members.
I encourage everyone to get involved in your local and national professional organizations, you and the organization will be better for it.
Chris Cavanaugh, RN, BSN, CRNI, VA-BC
Chris I stand corrected about Paul. The information I posted was taken right from the AVA site on the day I posted it. If that information was not current I had no way of knowing. I was not making a comment on the BOD members who are from the industry but rather as I said, I was making an observation. This was in response to comments posted by an AVA member. Perhaps you should address her concerns as she has been a AVA advocate for a long time now and seems to have some issues with your organization. As I do not belong to AVA I do not feel it appropriate to comment on the makeup of their BOD. As regards the INS, in the time I have been on the BOD there has not been a member who was employed by industry as a full-time position. I am glad that you did make the clarification that AVA is not a nursing organization but rather a multidisciplinary one.
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my posting. Open dialogue is important between professionals.
Marvin Siegel RN CRNI
Director of Clinical Services
Town Total Health
NY, NY
Marvin:
I agree wth you. INS does a very good job of separating industry and clinical on their board. Industry is a big supporter of INS and educatoin but industry is not allowed to vote or hold board positions. If one reviews organizations such as SIR, APIC, SHEA, AARC, I think it would be discovered that they also follow the INS model. With Advamed volunteer rules of today and Sunshine Laws in place it is hard for me to see a future where industry will serve on boards of organizations and be full voting members. I personally have memberships in AARC, INS, APIC, SIR, IDSA and even as a clinician I may not vote in any of these organizations. The only organization I may vote in to date as an industry member is AVA which is industry dominated. I personally am not sure where the divide should be betwen industry and clinical but I am sure the topic will be debated for the rest of the decade.
Eliminating industry however does not solve the problems of bias. in every field there are a number of clinicians who work consult for indiustry thus providing the same issues due to conflict of monetary influence. Is there a real answer I doubt it. MD's however will now have their outside income reported to the public, whp are paid by industry for work. At some point maybe the same would be true of othe rmedical disciplines. Knowing how much money a clinician receives from each company can be a real eye opener in some cases it is alot of money. Even this bias INS cannot control ,nor can other organizations as clinicians who consult for industry are fully allowed to serve on industry boards. Such a fine line!
Kathy Kokot is - full time industry employee and past AVA board member
I would like to add that clinical can not survive without industry and industry can not survive with out clinical.
Both have worked hard to improve patient safety and outcomes.Isn’t that what we’re here for? It’s easy to point a finger instead of getting involved.
I have to interject a word of caution here. I have either been employed by a single manufacturer or contracted with multiple manufacturers since January 1989. I totally understand and appreciate the contribution made by manufacturing. But the AVA model for a professional organziation does create an unusual circumstance where conflict of interest has the potential for running rampant. During my term as AVA (NAVAN at that time) we wrote a comprehensive book of policies and procedures to prevent this from happening. Gail Egan spearheaded the process for writing a Code of Ethics. There have been some events in the past few months that demonstrates these policies and this code have not been followed. When asked, several board members did not even know about these documents. They can not be found on the AVA website either. When manufacturing representatives in AVA leadership positiones loose site of the patient and concentrate on their products (which they should do in their employed role), there can be problems. Being able to make this separation when in any role for a professional organization can be difficult but it is what is required. Promoting products is not what AVA was created to do. It was created to improve patient care. That should always be the bottom line, in my opinion. Without adherence to policies and codes of ethics, it is very easy to make decisions that favor or promote products, thus casting a negative impression of AVA. Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
If people do not like how AVA is being run, they are welcome to run for elected office, or fill out the Volunteer application and volunteer to run a committee and DO SOMETHING to change it. For example, there is only ONE volunteer on the EVAN newsletter committee--why don't you submit an article to EVAN or join the committee and voice your opinions on how things should be. We welcome the input and involement.
If you are not involved, then you are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Chris Cavanaugh, RN, BSN, CRNI, VA-BC
Been there, done that, bought that T-shirt multiple times. Not going to do it again, ever! Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861
I agree with Lynn
But I have also been there done that and got my t-shirt twice on the board
It is very hard to separate bias when industry intermixes on a board and industry members have the right to vote for elected members. Fox is in the chickn coop at times is my guess.
Kathy kokotis
Surprise - I can get to the discussion forum while in China. Disclosure - I am in China to give mutiple presentations to nurses on Flushing and Locking Intravascular Catheters and BD is paying my consulting fee and all travel expenses. As you all know, my business is built on working as a contracted consultant to numerous device manufacturers. Here is how I have done it for almost 17 years.
First - patients and patient care is always the bottom line - ALWAYS. The product is never my focus! Every presentation I provide is created using the now required separation of my client and myself who is creating the content. ACCME began this process several years ago and now American Nurses Credentialing Center has also added this separtion to their requirements. Content is always based on sound scientific evidence and is totally separated from the language and methods used to market and sell the product. My relationship to the company paying for my work is always disclosed.
Second - I never sign a contract that contains a non-compete clause. I work for competing companies constantly. I will always sign a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement, meaning I will not discuss what I am doing for each client and maintain their work and information in strictest confidence. But I never agree to a contract that prohibits me from working for all companies equally. In the beginning, many company lawyers had a problem with this business model, but now it is the reason that a lot of business comes my way.
Third, Fourth and all the rest - repeat the first priority of patients and patient care as the primary purpose of my work. I do not tell nurses what products to use. I provide the information based on evidence to allow each product decision-maker to choose what is best for their situation. What works for one healthcare facility and staff may not work the same for another setting. So my recommendation would be useless.
For those serving in any capacity for a professional organization, this method applies as well. Given the multiple ways that the message of an individual can be influenced by others, each person must be extremely careful about how their name, picture, and credentials are being used. For instance, I would never allow my name and picture to be used in a product advertisement. I do not think that this is ever appropriate. For all of those who read or see messages, videos, advertisements of all kinds from any organization (e.g., professional organization, product manufacturer, healthcare facility or agency, private education company, etc.), we must carefully evaluate that for its relevance and bias. Managers and directors for some product manufacturers may not allow this lattitude for their employees who serve on committees or boards of directors. Then add the influence of PR/marketing companies and the message can be distorted.
Then add the influence of FDA requirements for product labeling and how does one separate when their message is being spoken as a manufacturer employee or a representative of the professional organization This is a tough job for everyone and requires everyone to be careful in how we assess all information that comes our way.
Lynn
Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN, NPD-BC, CRNI
Lynn Hadaway Associates, Inc.
PO Box 10
Milner, GA 30257
Website http://www.hadawayassociates.com
Office Phone 770-358-7861