The MNA Division of Public Communications raises public awareness of and support for nursing issues by making nurses and nursing front-page news throughout the state and the nation. The Division trains nurses to talk to the media, organizes letters-to-the-editor campaigns, and designs and places advertisements to support nursing and union issues.

The Division is responsible for producing the Massachusetts Nurse, a monthly publication that is the oldest news publication covering nursing issues in the state. The Division also operates and updates the MNA web site, www.massnurses.org and works with local MNA bargaining units to produce local newsletters, flyers, posters and any other communications tool MNA members might need to improve or defend their practice and workplace rights.

Highlights from the Division of Public Communications

• Every year MNA members appear in hundreds of news stories in print, radio and on television talking about issues related to patient safety, professional practice, nurses' working conditions, health care reform and bedside nurses' solutions to these problems.
• Provides educational opportunities for members and others related to all issues that affect health and safety at work in health care settings.
• MNA members make the national news, participating in major stories on networks such as CNN, ABC, CBS and NPR.
• The MNA has expanded its ability to get its message out by creating an in-house print shop, with the capability of producing high quality printed products to deliver nursing's message to target audiences.
• As a result of these efforts, public opinion polls for the last several years show that the MNA organization is ranked as the most trusted source of information on health care in Massachusetts.