The American Nurses Association

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The American Nurses Association

• The importance of belonging to your professional
  nursing associations

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What do associations do?

• Set the standards of practice for the profession
• Maintain the Code of Ethics
• Promote the profession to the public
• Educate their members on issues through
  continuing education and publications
• Advocate for their members on the Federal and
  State level
• Provide opportunities for members to interact,
  discuss trends and disseminate knowledge

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Nursing Associations

• There are over 100 specialty organizations
• Focus on the clinical aspects of each specialty
• Focus on areas that are unique to the specialty
• American Nurses Association
• Focus on the issues that affect all of nursing
  and patient care

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History of ANA

• Deplorable working conditions and the need to
  protect the public from incompetent women who
  claimed to be trained nurses propelled nursing
  leaders to form an association of trained nurses
• In September 1896, The Nurses Associated Alumnae
  of the United States and Canada was formed
• Renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911

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The Goals of the Association

• To establish and maintain a code of ethics to
  elevate the standards of nursing education to
  promote the usefulness and honor, the financial
  and other interests of nursing.
• Minutes of the Association, February 1897

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A Sample of Historical Accomplishments

• 1901 Helped secure passage of a bill creating
  the Army Nurse Corps under the direction of a
  properly trained nurse
• 1913 With the Red Cross, ANA developed a plan
  that took public health nursing to rural
  communities.
• 1934 ANAs House of Delegates approved an
  8-hour work day for nurses
• 1945 ANA intensified efforts to recruit nurses
  for military service as an alternative to
  President Roosevelts proposal to draft nurses
  into military services.
• 1955 ANA helped pass a bill to commission male
  nurses in the Reserve Nurse Corp

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A Sample of Historical Accomplishments

• 1965 ANA was the first association of health
  care professionals to endorse the creation of
  Medicare.
• 1976 Nurse Training and Health Services Bill,
  vetoed by President Ford, was overridden by
  Congress, recognizing the existing and expanding
  role for nurses in delivering health care.
• 1986 Helped to create the National Institute
  for Nursing Research at NIH.
• 1998 ANA supported the Patient Right to Know
  Act with provisions for anti-discriminatory
  language, coverage of emergency care and
  prohibitions of gag clauses in managed care plans.

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ANA Today
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ANA Goals Today

• Professional Practice and Excellence ANA
  successfully champions professional nursing
  excellence through standards, code of ethics and
  professional development, such as credentialing
  and lifelong learning.
• 2. Healthcare and Public Policy ANA is an
  acknowledged leader in the formulation of
  effective healthcare and public policy as they
  affect the profession and the public.
• 3. Knowledge and Research ANA is the
  recognized source for accurate, comprehensive
  health policy information based on knowledge from
  research.
• 4. Unification ANA facilitates unification and
  advancement of the profession.
• 5. Workforce and Workplace Advocacy ANA with
  its partners and through its organizational
  relationships is the leader in promoting improved
  work environments and the value of nurses as
  professionals, essential providers and decision
  makers in all practice settings.

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ANAs Foundational Work

• Code of Ethics for Nurses
• A statement of the ethical obligations and duties
  of every individual who enters the nursing
  profession
• The professions non-negotiable ethical standard
• An expression of nursings own understanding of
  its commitment to society

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ANAs Foundational Work

• Nursing Scope and Standards
• 23 current standards
• Produced in cooperation with the Specialty Nurses
  Organizations

• Nursings Social Policy Statement
• Reflects a new definition of nursing

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ANA Working for Nurses on Capitol Hill

• Nurse Reinvestment Act
• Provides federal funding for scholarships and
  training
• Funded for 150 million in 2006 a 120 increase
  from 2000 funding levels of 68 million.
• Smallpox Emergency Personnel Protection Act of
  2003
• Assures the proper administration of vaccinations
  
• Compensates individuals injured by the vaccine

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ANA Protecting Nurses Needlestick Sharps
Injury Prevention

• ANA successfully pushed for enactment of OSHA
  Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, Needlestick Safety
  and Prevention Act of 2000, and multiple state
  needlestick legislation
• Estimates show declining rates of needlestick
  and sharps injuries, though injuries continue to
  occur. Our work is not done!
• Train-the-trainer program teaches implementation
  of a needlestick prevention committee and
  compliance with OSHA regulations
• ANA Needlestick Prevention Guide available free
  on Nursingworld.org website

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ANA Protecting Nurses Back Injury
Prevention/Safe Patient Handling

• ANA Board approves position statement titled
  Elimination of Manual Patient Handling to
  Prevent Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders
  in June 2003
• Co-sponsorship of annual Safe Patient Handling
  Conferences in coordination with the Tampa VA
  Patient Safety Center
• Educational campaign targeting front-line nurses,
  healthcare administrators, and nursing schools
• Ergonomics identified as a priority for ANA
  nationwide state legislative agenda

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ANA Protecting Patients

• Recognizing the aging population, ANAs Nurse
  Competence in Aging program works to increase
  nurses capacity to care for aging patients
• Cover the Uninsured Week, May 1-7, 2006
• ANA is the only nursing organization among 18
  national partners
• Take Action for Healthy Blood Pressure Campaign
• Free blood pressure screenings and consumer
  education in 10 cities in partnership with state
  nurses associations in 2005

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ANA Promoting Nursing

• Coverage for the work of ANA and Nursing in
  prominent magazines, newspapers, radio and
  television
• Nurses have topped Gallups professional honesty
  and ethics poll every year but one since 1999
  when nurses were first added to the poll
• In 2001, Firemen were rated number one

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ANA Proving the Value of Nurses

• ANAs National Database for Nursing Quality
  Indicators (NDNQI) helps to demonstrate the
  positive impact of the appropriate mix of nursing
  staff on patient outcomes
• Provides data at the unit level
• Develops a database to
  inform practice and policy
• ANA, along other nursing organizations, has
  funded research to help quantify the economic
  value of nursing

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ANA Representing Nurses

• ANA represents nursing at numerous tables (and is
  often the only nurse in the room!)
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement Saving
  100,000 Lives Campaign National Quality Forum
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
  National Institutes of Health National Institute
  for Occupational Safety and Health U.S.
  Department of Labor American Hospital
  Association American Health Care Association
  Long Term Care Commission American Medical
  Association American Medical Informatics
  Association American Public Health Association,
  American Society of Bioethics and Humanities
  e-Health Initiative Families USA Hospitals for
  a Healthy Environment International Council of
  Nursing Institute for Healthcare Improvement
  Institute of Medicine Joint Commission of
  Accreditation of Health Care Organizations
  National Association for Home Care National
  Coordinating Council for Medication Error
  Prevention and Reporting National Coalition of
  Health Professional Education in Genetics
  National Council of Patient Information
  Education National Conference of State
  Legislators
  
• Just to name a few!
• 
  

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ANA Subsidiaries
The American Nurses Credentialing Centers many
programs include certification for all levels of
nursing and MagnetR Hospital Recognition Program
The American Nurses Foundation has awarded over
900 nursing research grants since 1955 with over
3 million dollars granted.
The AAN is comprised of 1,500 qualified and
savvy nurse leaders who are literally at the top
of their profession. AAN members have been
identified by their peers to be the best and the
brightest in the nursing discipline.
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ANA Organizational Members

• Constituent Member Associations
• ANA has a state nurses association in every state
  plus the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin
  Islands, and a uniformed nurses constituency
• Organizational Affiliates
• Currently 14 of the top specialty nursing
  organizations belong to ANA
• Associated Organizational Members - Currently
  most of ANAs members have overlapping membership
  with either

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State Nurses Association

• Key in protecting the Nurse Practice Acts in each
  state
• Instrumental in advancing the rights of advanced
  practice nurses in each state
• The voice for nurses at the state legislature
• ANA and the state nurses associations work to
  coordinate this effort to be more effective

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• All this work is already being done
• why do I need to belong?

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Belonging is Important!

• More nurses belonging to nursing associations.
• Gives additional power to the association when
  speaking in front of Congress and other
  regulatory bodies
• Gives additional funds for associations to do
  work on behalf of the profession
• Puts nursing in a position to direct health care
  policy versus reacting to it

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Plus Membership Gives you

• A voice in the decisions being made for the
  profession
• The opportunity to receive discounts and benefits
  as a member
• Discounts on certification
• Free continuing education
• Access to members only information
• A chance to interact with nurses around the
  country

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How do I belong

• A variety of ways to belong when you are a RN
• Through your state nurses association most
  states offer discounted dues for new nurses
• In some states, directly to ANA or your CMA
• As a student, you may become a subscriber to
  Members Only on Nursingworld.org
• Become involved now by participating in your
  local National Student Nurses Association chapter

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ANA and Nursing are excited to have you join the
profession We hope you will join ANA and your
specialty nursing association
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• For more information go to
• NursingWorld.org
• The official web site of the American Nurses
  Association