This year, the association is marking a special milestone. Eighty-five years of speaking out for health and speaking out for nursing. Be part of the celebration. Come to RNAO’s Annual General Meeting. This year’s event is being held at the Hilton in downtown Toronto from Thurs. April 15th – Sat. April 17th.

Hear about the association’s achievements and speeches from provincial politicians. Meet President Wendy Fucile and David McNeil, RNAO’s president-elect. Take time to mingle with nursing colleagues.

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2010 also marks the International Year of the Nurse (IYN).

The purpose of this celebration is to recognize the contribution of nurses around the world and to engage nurses in the promotion of world health.

The year also marks a formal honoring of the legacy of Florence Nightingale.

The founders of this initiative include Sigma Theta Tau, Nightingale Initiative for Global Health and the Florence Nightingale Museum.

RNAO is part of the International Advisory board for IYN.

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Nurses and other health-care professionals will gather in Toronto this fall to shine a spotlight on evidence-based clinical excellence in nursing.

The conference is expected to draw health experts from at home and abroad who are passionate and dedicated to using the best evidence possible, derived from science, statistics and research in everyday nursing practice.

For more details, visit the Knowledge, the Power of Nursing Conference.

The worst earthquake to hit Chile in more than 50 years struck the region on February 27. The quake measured 8.8 on the Richter scale. The pacific city of Concepcion was hardest hit. RNAO members and the public can help in the re-building efforts.

ChileGlobal, an NGO that has ties with Chilean leaders who live abroad, says the most urgent need is money to build emergency shelter.

For more information: STANDARD CHARTERED BANK, One Madison Avenue City New York, New York 10010 – 3603 Account number /3544033485001 Beneficiary’s bank BANCO BICE, Santiago Chile Swift code BICECLRM Beneficiary’s name FUNDACION IMAGEN DE CHILE Beneficiary’s account number 01-30045-8 Address Monjitas 392, Of. 1502

RNAO is speaking out against actions being taken in some hospitals across Ontario. The association is gravely concerned about proposed nursing staffing models that – disguised under other names – take us back to “team nursing.”

In our correspondence and meetings with health-care organizations, we have been sharing the importance of nursing staffing models that secure continuity of care and continuity of caregiver, using RNs for the total nursing care of unstable patients with unpredictable outcomes, and RPNs for the total nursing care of stable patients with predictable outcomes.

Read RNAO’s materials on this issue including letters to the hospitals. RNAO is also looking for your stories. Is your workplace being affected by staffing model changes? Tell us about your experience.