DETROIT, June 4, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The National American Arab Nurses Association (NAANA) announces the unprecedented agreement with the National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) to provide joint membership in both organizations for the price of membership in one.
Rose Khalifa, founder and executive director of NAANA, and Dr. Nabil Khoury, president of NAAMA, made the announcement in conjunction with their announcement that NAAMA has agreed to co-sponsor NAANA's Inaugural Convention in Detroit, October 9-10, 2008.
By combining efforts, NAANA and NAAMA will serve as a voice, a network and a resource for all health professionals in their pursuit of advancement in their profession, as well as positively impacting delivery of healthcare and cultural competency. Joint membership will offer many benefits, from national and international conventions and local chapter activities to discounts on registrations and other promotional offers.
The convention, themed "Building Cultural Bridges in Health Care: Strength in Diversity," will feature noted experts in health care diversity who will address the expected 400 to 600 health administrators; physicians; residents; medical students; nurses; student nurses; social workers; speech, physical, and occupational therapists; human resource professionals; hospital chaplains; educators; researchers; and other key healthcare professionals.
Internationally renowned Dr. Gottfried Oosterwal, Adjunct Professor of Global Health in the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, will discuss micro-inequities in health care settings. Microinequities are the subtle, sometimes subconscious messages that devalue or demoralize an individual in the workplace.
CEUs and CMEs will be granted for attendance to convention sessions.
"We have made it very attractive for both doctors and nurses to attend the 'Building Cultural Bridges' Convention at the same time they become members of NAAMA and NAANA. Member registration rates are priced low enough that becoming a member at the time of registration is a smart thing to do," said Khalifa.
Founded in 2001, NAANA is a professional organization that:
* Encourages and supports the recruitment of student nurses
* Serve as a vehicle for the promotion of nurses generally and
Arab American nurses specifically throughout the United
States and abroad
* Promotes the image of American Arab nurses in the profession
and to patients
* Works to advance the knowledge and career status of nurses
* Educates healthcare providers about cultural practices that
impact the healthcare of an increasingly diverse patient
population.
NAAMA, established in 1975, is the largest Arab American professional association in North America. NAAMA is a non-profit, non-political, educational, cultural, and humanitarian organization with 28 chapters in the US and Canada that promotes medical education, charitable activism and social fraternity among its members. It is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to offer continuing medical education to physicians. And through institutional partnerships, NAAMA provide continuing education credits to pharmacists and nurses.
NAAMA holds its International Medical Convention in Alexandria, Egypt in June 2008 and the National Medical Convention in Washington, DC, in October 2008.
Sponsorships and exhibitor space are available as are "Building Cultural Bridges" convention registrations by calling 313-680-5049. For more information, visit www.n-aana.org.
The National American Arab Nurses Association logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1446