Having been actively involved in ANA/PSNA since 1982, I've seen their activities up close and personal as they say and have participated in many letter writing campaigns to prevent erosion of RN practice....
1984: Employees Right to Know Hazards in the Workplace
Material Data Safety Sheets required to be present and employees informed of workplace hazzards... and be tested if workplace exposure suspected.
1980's: Registered Care Technician defeated
Nurses soundly defeated organized medicine's attempt to create a new category of caregiver, the registered care technician, to provide nursing care as their "solution" to the problem and be licensed UNDER the state boards of medicine.
1997:
Latex Allergy position statement
Helped force latex alternatives and encourage use latex free products
1994:
Polygraph Testing of Health Care Workers
ANA opposes the use of polygraph testing for making employment decisions, because it violates privacy, and gives inconclusive results.
1995:
The Right to Accept or Reject an Assignment
Summary: The American Nurses Association (ANA) believes that nurses should reject any assignment that puts patients or themselves in serious, immediate jeopardy. ANA supports the nurses obligation to reject an assignment in these situations even where there is not a specific legal protection for rejecting such an assignment. The professional obligations of the nurse to safeguard clients are grounded in the ethical norms of the profession, the Standards of Clinical Nursing Practice and state nurse practice acts.
How many have filed "Assignment Despite Objection" forms based on this premise?.....and are still employeed the next day. 
1995: Restructuring, Work Redesign, and the Job and Career Security of Registered Nurses
ANA opposes work redesign programs which delegate professional nursing responsibilities to unlicensed assistive personnel and other non-RN personnel. ANA believes such inappropriate substitution, along with inappropriate discharge and transfer of patients to less regulated areas, will lead to deterioration in the quality and safety of health care. Since registered nurses are the linchpin in providing the public with quality care in a cost effective manner, ANA believes that work redesign initiatives which downsize RN staffing levels or lower RN skill mix are often detrimental to patient safety. Therefore, when work redesign decisions affecting RN practice are being made, ANA insists that the registered nurses from the affected workplace be at the table as a full partner so that the decisions will be justified in terms of both cost and effect on important patient outcomes, including mortality, length of stay, patient satisfaction, and adverse outcomes.
As an out growth of this position statement, ANA began program in 1998 documenting nursing sensative quality indicators, which developed into National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators
Nursing-Sensitive Quality Indicators for Acute Care Settings and ANA's Safety & Quality Initiative
Information is collected on the following indicators. - Patient falls
- Pressure ulcers
- Physical/sexual assault
- Pain management
- Peripheral IV infiltration
- Staff mix :
- Registered Nurses (RNs)
- Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses (LPN/LVNs)
- Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)
- Nursing care hours provided per patient day
- RN education/certification
- RN Survey
Over 1000 facilities now participate. Info is now publically reported and collected in several states.
The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) developed the first hospital-specific report on hospital-acquired infections. The report - the first of its kind in the nation - identifies the actual number of infections reported by Pennsylvania's 168 individual hospitals, as well as other related quality of care measures.
Pennsylvania Releases Nation's First Hospital-specific Report on Hospital-acquired Infections
1999 ANA Statement on Introduction of Needlestick and Sharps Injury Prevention Act
ANA's Safe Needles Save Lives campaign brochure
helped get legislation passed mandating sharps injury reduction, now common place in most US healthcare facilities
2006:
Facts on the Nursing Shortage
Nursing Shortage Legislation and Strategies
Congress has introduced bills and other initiatives to alleviate the shortage, including:
The Nurse Reinvestment Act – President Bush signed this legislation on Aug. 1, 2002. This law provides authority for nursing-student scholarships and loan repayments, and public service announcements to promote nursing. Also included are authority for stipends and other supports, grants to promote the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) “Magnet” program criteria for best practices for nursing administration, funding for faculty development, and career ladder programs. For the latest on appropriations funding for this legislation, see
http://vocusgr.vocus.com/grconvert1/webpub/ana/MultiHome.asp?XSL=Home&PubTypeList=Federal+Center; Federal+Asset.
The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2005 (S. 71) and Quality Nursing Care Act of 2005 (H.R. 1372) –
This proposed legislation allows for the development of staffing systems that require the input of direct care RNs and provides for whistler-protection for RNs who speak out about patient care issues. Sponsored by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) in the Senate and Rep. Louis Capps (D-CA) and Robert Simmons (R-CT) in the House, these bills were introduced at the urging of ANA in response to the current nursing crisis. For details, see
http://vocusgr.vocus.com/grconvert1/webpub/ana/ProfileIssue.asp?IssueID=3117|Senate&XSL=ProfileIs sue&hidLegislatorIDs=.
Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2005 (S. 351 and H.R. 791) – companion legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives that would strictly limit the practice of forcing nurses to work overtime. (For details, see
www.nursingworld.org/pressrel/2005/pr0210.htm.)
Formation of the Congressional Nursing Caucus – a bi-partisan initiative, co-chaired by U.S. Reps. Lois Capps (D-CA) and Steven LaTourette (R-OH). The purpose of the caucus is to educate Congress on all aspects of the nursing profession and how nursing issues impact the delivery of safe, quality care. The caucus was formed after consultation between congressional leaders and ANA.
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These are just some of the initiatives
ANA has been involved in in past 20 years.
Don't see how nurses can say ANA has done nothing for the bedside RN after reading these initiatives.
The following member says Thank You:
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