May 5, 2011 (CHARLESTON, SC)—To celebrate National Nurses Week, The National Association For Continence (NAFC) is enhancing its professional memberships to recognize the valuable role of nurses on the continence care team. With the primary goal of educating the public about preventative measures and treatment options for incontinence, voiding dysfunction and pelvic floor disorders, NAFC wants to recognize nurses who serve as the patient educator at their medical center or private clinic.

National Nurses Week is celebrated from May 6, known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Nursing is defined by the American Nurses Association (ANA) as “the protection, promotion and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through diagnosis and treatment of human response and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities and populations.” NAFC would like to reward all nurses who educate and communicate with patients about treatment options and management tools for their pelvic floor health concerns by offering a new professional membership option.

Beginning Friday, May 6, NAFC launches a new “Practice Membership” for physicians and their nurses. This new membership seeks to recognize nurses as exceptional health care professionals and leaders in patient care. Throughout National Nurses Week, this membership will be available for $100. A physician who purchases the “Practice Membership” can add a personalized note to be delivered via an e-card to their nurse during National Nurses Week. After May 12, the membership will be available for $145.

Health care professionals who are members of NAFC appear in its Find An Expert Database, an online listing of health care professionals who are specifically trained in treating incontinence. The new “Practice Membership” will allow for a descriptive profile about the nurse in the physician’s listing. The physician and nurse will receive other benefits of being a professional member of NAFC, such as bulk ordering of patient educational materials at a deep discount. To purchase this membership visit this section of NAFC’s online store and click on the “Add to Cart” button under “Practice Membership.” Any doctors who are already professional members of NAFC may add their nurse at no additional charge, to do so please email NAFC at memberservices@nafc.org.