Minnesota Nurses Association 3rd District

3rd District Nurses at the ANA Convention

Click Here to view pictures!

Serving all registered nurses...

Welcome to the official site of Third (3rd) District Nurses, a grassroots arm of the Minnesota Nurses Association that strives to meet the needs of all registered nurses throughout Minnesota, especially those nurses in Anoka, Hennepin, Carver and Scott counties. It is our goal to make your experience with this site as helpful, informative and enjoyable as possible. This is your site--let us know how we can make it more relevant and useful to meet your ever evolving needs.

Are you involved in the whole enchilada?

3rd District Nurses Banquet
Cheryl Ernst congratulating Jill Walker-Markie on becoming President of 3rd District Nurses	Erin Peterson Scholarship Winner
LeAnn Lindeman past president and Service Award Winner for 2008	Incoming President (right) Jill Walker-Marie and Award Winner Mary Ellen Cook (left)
Olalekan Obadiya Scholarship winner with wife Stella, both nurse members.
The Shoppes At Arbor Lakes
Deb Fawcett and Rebecca Bethke with Arbor Lakes Marketing Director Jennie Zafft	Pam Scott and Pat Webster shopping at J.Jill
Pat Webster and Pam Scott shopping at J.Jill	Candy Matzke enjoying some Calif. Pizza Kitchen

3D Privileges Will Bring Buying Power to Nurses

At 5,000 members strong, 3rd District Nurses has partnered with Twin Cities retailers to bring registered nurses the buying power they've earned through their devotion to their profession and service to the community. Just by presenting their 3D Privileges Membership Card to a participating retailer, nurses can enjoy discounts on any number of products.To learn more,click here.

Members Can Win a Large Annual Cash Prize!

3^rd District Nurses is pleased to announce the launch of our first-ever Member-Get-a-Member (MGM) program. The MGM Program is designed to reward our members for helping our Association grow. Each time a new member comes on board, 3^rd District Nurses is offered a new, fresh perspective on our membership’s ever-evolving needs. This allows us to continuously develop and deliver relevant products and services to those we care about most—YOU! Click here to learn more.

Indonesian Nursing Adventure

by Krystal Ide, RN; Employed at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and nursing instructor at Anoka Ramsey.

Working towards Masters in Nursing Education at Bethel University .   

 This past fall I took a trip across the world to Batam , Indonesia .  This trip was a medical missions trip led by Living Word Christian Center ’s mission’s department.  Five people embarked on this mission.  Two nurses, one EMT, and two non-medical people made up our team. We were joined by a Singaporean man who is a missionary to the villages of Indonesia , and he led us into the villages.  Together we conducted four medical clinics and saw over 600 people.  We traveled into the poorest villages and provided free medical care to all who came.  We saw mostly women and children.  I expected to do a lot of well child check ups, but instead everyone was sick or suffering from some medical problem.  These people have very limited medical care if any.  In Batam, you have to pay an admission fee to get into the hospital, and for the village people this was not an option.  We saw many medical problems that had gone untreated for a long time. 

We primarily saw and treated skin infections, upper respiratory infections, gastrointestinal issues, and malnutrition.  I saw ring worm the size of baseballs, and scabies coving entire bodies.  There were some very sad cases that come to mind including a two year old with malaria.  We also saw a breastfeeding mother with a tumor that entirely filled one of her breast.  In addition I saw a two year old boy that had been severely neglected in an Indonesian hospital. He had no muscle strength and a flat head from lying in a crib for the majority of his life.  We were told that in Indonesia often those of the lowest socioeconomic status receive the worst care or are neglected inside the hospitals.

We had Indonesian antibiotics and US over the counter medications that we distributed using our best critical thinking abilities.  We were stepping out of our comfort zones as we distributed meds that usually require a prescription in the states.  We had our own make shift pharmacy in which we distributed meds and provided administration instructions.  In Indonesia many US prescription medications could be purchased over the counter.  The pharmacy was led by our two non-medical people, and they used interpreters to explain the prescribed directions. 

We were nurses applying every ounce of our experience and nursing abilities to help these people.  It was an amazing experience, and I hope to revisit these villages annually to follow up on their health care.  In addition to our medical clinics we visited several village home bible studies and visited girls in the sweat shop dormitories.  Although we may not have created long-term change I know that I touched the people with my ability to show caring and compassion.  These people were so grateful for things as simple as vitamins.  They couldn’t understand why an American woman would come to their village to help them.  Although separated by a language barrier their gratitude was displayed as they smiled through their tears of gratefulness.