Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Resolutions Masterlist 2020 2021
Resolutions Masterlist 2020 2021
AUTHORS: Brittany FitzGerald, Lily Coble, Muna Abdulrahim, Bryan Garland, Hazel Go
WHEREAS, “the leading cause of death in children under 19 years old is motor vehicle
crashes” (Smola, et. al, 2020); and
WHEREAS, looking at patterns of injury for children in a head on collision suggest that front- facing
car seats expose children to a greater risk of spinal injuries and death when compared to
rear-facing car seats (Gan, et. al, 2019); and
WHEREAS, children up to 23 months old have a 75% reduced chance of dying or sustaining
a serious injury in a rear-facing car seat than a forward-facing one. Rear-facing car seats
spread the force of the crash more evenly throughout the back of the car seat and the
child’s body. While also, limiting the motion of the head which reduces the risk of neck
injury (Thomas, 2016); and
WHEREAS, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the best practice for all
children is to remain in a rear-facing car safety seat until the age of 2 years or until they
reach the maximum weight or height allowed by their car seat
Manufacturer (Durbin, 2011, p. 789); and
WHEREAS, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends children ages
1-3 to remain rear-facing for as long as possible (Car Seats and Booster Seats 2020) ; and
WHEREAS, despite AAP and NHTSA recommendations, up to 75% of children are
transported in forward-facing car seats earlier than recommended due to the lack of
communication between public health researchers, advocates, citizens, and legislators
(Huang, 2019, p. 9-10); therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Florida Nursing Student Association (FNSA) encourages its constituent
chapters and members to advocate and raise awareness about the need to
increase child motor vehicle safety by mandating rear-facing car seat usage per
RESOLVED, that the FNSA and its constituents contact government representatives at the
local and state level in order to lead a call to action to increase awareness of the
importance of creating legislation that supports rear-facing car seats usage for
as long as possible and/or until the child has reached the maximum height or
weight per car seat manufacturer; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the FNSA publish an article in the FNSA Hotline on this topic; and be it
further
RESOLVED, that the FNSA send a copy of this resolution to the Florida Nurses Association,
of Directors.
TOPIC: IN SUPPORT OF INCREASING AWARENESS ON THE LACK OF PAIN
ASSESSMENTS ON PATIENTS OF COLOR.
RESOLVED, that the Florida Student Nurses Association (FNSA) encourages its constituent
and be it further
RESOLVED, that the FSNA encourages its constituents to educate nursing students, health care
certification and implement policies that diversify the minority population; and be it
further
RESOLVED, that the FNSA publish an article in Hotline on this topic, if feasible; and be it
further
RESOLVED, that the FNSA send a copy of this resolution to the Florida Nurses Association,
Florida Public Health Association, and any others deemed appropriate by the
RESOLVED, that the FNSA send a copy of this resolution to the National Student Nurses'
WHEREAS, Chronic pain is a leading cause of disability in the United States. National Health
Interview Survey’s (NHIS) 2016 data shows that an estimated 50 million U.S.
adults (20.4%) experienced chronic pain. It is associated with impaired physical
mobility, opioid dependence, anxiety, depression, and poor perceived quality of
life (Dahlhamer et al., 2018, pg. 1-2). Chronic pain has profound negative
repercussions on the individual’s wellbeing. It can lead to increased morbidity
and mortality, absenteeism, unemployment, and reduced productive capacity
(Gudin et al., 2017, pg. 2); and
WHEREAS, In 2017, approximately 192 million opioid prescriptions were written in the U.S.
for pain management ("U.S. opioid prescribing rate maps”, 2020, pg. 2). Opioid
misuse and abuse is a grave national public health crisis. More than 47,000
people in the U.S. died from opioid overdose and another 1.7 million suffered
from substance use disorder related to opioid dependence. Of those patients
with opioid prescriptions for chronic pain, approximately 21-29% misuse them.
In the U.S. alone, this misuse incurs an estimated economic burden of $78.5
billion annually including the cost of healthcare, productivity loss, rehabilitation,
and criminal justice involvement ("Opioid overdose crisis", 2020, pg. 1); and
WHEREAS, One of the five major priorities designated by the U.S. Department of Health
(HHS) to help solve the opioid crisis is the promotion of better pain
management practices ("Opioid overdose crisis", 2020, pg. 2); and
WHEREAS, Topical analgesic treatment has been shown to be an effective adjunct or
alternative therapy in pain management. Topical analgesic treatment is a safe
and efficacious opioid-sparing alternative treatment approach for chronic pain
which attenuates the risk of misuse, overuse, abuse, addiction, and death
associated with opioids and other controlled substances (Gudin et al., 2017, pg.
11-12); and
WHEREAS, Use of topical analgesics in chronic pain management resulted in complete
discontinuation of opioid use in 49% of participants after 3 months and 56% of
participants after 6 months. Moreover, use of other concurrent pain
medications were reduced by 65% after 3 months and 74% after 6 months
(Gudin et al., 2018, p. 2); and
WHEREAS, Among patients who used opioids and topical analgesics concurrently, a
statistically significant reduction in overall pain severity was reported at both 3
and 6-months post-intervention, with a mean decrease of 1.9 (numeric pain
scale of 0-10) in the treatment group as opposed to an increase of 0.2 in the
control group (placebo) at 6 months. At 6-months follow-up, participants who
used topical analgesics (intervention group) also reported a decrease in the pain
interference score of 2.2 versus a reported increase of 1.4 in the pain
interference score of the control group (Gudin et al., 2017, pg. 6).
WHEREAS, Compounded topical analgesic therapy resulted in a majority clinician report of
no adverse effects; less than 1% of participants within the intervention groups
reported a minor skin rash as the only experienced adverse effect. In
comparison, although effectual for pain relief, opioids and other pain
medications regularly cause adverse effects, including life-threatening
respiratory depression, hypotension, addiction, pruritus, nausea, constipation,
and altered level of consciousness (Gudin et al., 2017, pg. 11); and
WHEREAS, Topical analgesics are applied directly to the skin, thereby increasing local
effects and mitigating the risk of systemic adverse events (SAEs) due to lower
systemic drug concentrations (Derry et al., 2015, pg. 8); and
WHEREAS, The efficacy of topical analgesics is evidence-based. Use of topical NSAIDs to
treat acute musculoskeletal conditions has become accepted since they can
lessen pain with minimal risk of systemic adverse events. One week of topical
analgesic use in patients with acute pain (strains/sprains) yielded at least 50%
less pain in 20-50% of the participants. For those with chronic pain
(osteoarthritis), 1 in 5 to 1 in 10 participants reported pain reduction of at least
50% with topical analgesic use over 6-12 weeks. (Derry et al., 2017, pg. 5);
therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Florida Nursing Student Association (FNSA) encourage its constituents
and members to increase awareness and advocate for the education and
topical analgesics when caring for patients experiencing acute and chronic pain;
and be it further
RESOLVED, in support of increasing funding for further research into the efficacy, safety,
further
RESOLVED, advocating for grants to subsidize the cost of topical pain relieving creams in lieu
of oral opioids, given their efficacy, better side effect profile, and fewer systemic
adverse effects; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the FNSA publish an article in the FNSA Hotline on this topic; and be it
further
RESOLVED, that the FNSA send a copy of this resolution to Florida Nurses Association, the
American Society for Pain Management Nursing, National Institute for Nursing
Research, and all others deemed appropriate by the FNSA Board of Directors.
TOPIC: IN SUPPORT OF THE USE OF PERSON-FIRST LANGUAGE WHEN IN REFERENCE
TO A DISABILITY OR ILLNESS ACROSS ALL SETTINGS
RESOLVED, that the Florida Nurses Student Association encourage its constituents to
advocate and raise awareness for the use of person-first language when
RESOLVED, that the Florida Nurses Student Association and its constituents contact their
local hospitals to lead a call for action regarding the regular use of person first
propose the use of person-first language when referring to people with Covid-
RESOLVED, that the FNSA send a copy of this resolution to the Florida Nurses Association,
the Florida Medical Association, Florida League for Nursing, Florida Office of
Minority Health and Equity, and all others deemed appropriate by the FNSA
Board of Directors.