Scrubs Magazine Connects with Hispanic Nurse Community at NAHN Conference

What do today’s Hispanic nurses want? Representation on boards. A nationwide expansion of practice authority. And white Heartsoul tote bags.

This July, Scrubs Magazine attended the 44^th Annual National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) Conference to take a pulse on the Hispanic nurse community, listen to their stories, and ask them about the topics they care most about.

We didn’t intend it to be a referendum on our swag; branded tote bags from our sponsors Cherokee Medical Uniforms, Dickies Medical, and Heartsoul Scrubs. But like many of the things discussed at NAHN, they inspired strong opinions.

The Scrubs Magazine team was joined by Martha Salmon, a NAHN member and founder of the Latina, RN movement encouraging young Hispanics to pursue careers in healthcare. Cherokee Uniforms CEO Mike Singer also stopped by to attend the keynote, and lend a hand putting together our booth.

In support of our Shop Local initiative, we invited a local uniforms retailer who brought scrubs samples and a good supply of tote bags. But though we gave away plenty of the blue Cherokee and black Dickies bags, the pink-and-white Heartsoul totes were the overwhelming favorite. There was such a demand, in fact, that we ended up holding a raffle for the last one.

But we didn’t come to hand out bags. Our goal for the conference: to hear what these nurses had to say, and what they want to see covered in our magazine.

Our team arrived Tuesday afternoon to scout out stories and potential Scrubs Magazine contributors. We attended Susan B. Hassmiller’s stirring keynote speech, where the Senior Nursing Advisor to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation discussed its landmark Future of Nursing Report and the goals of its Campaign for Action.

But we also met and spoke to many other fascinating NAHN members from all over the country. Hot button topics included nurse health and wellness, incivility in the workplace, and the growing numbers of Hispanic men choosing nursing as a career.

See our article “Voices from NAHN 2019” to hear a few of these stories, and mark your calendar for the 45^th Annual NAHN conference in Miami next July.

This post is sponsored by Cherokee Uniforms.