ANA membership?

Forgive me for mounting a soapbox for a minute and hijacking your thread but your post is a good chance to get this point out there:

Would a new attorney not join the American Bar Association? Would a new doctor not join the AMA? No, these lobbying groups have virtually 100% membership. Yet only about 10% of nurses join the ANA. It is our strongest and largest representing (& lobbying) organization and yet 9 out of 10 nurses don't join. Read this thread.

Again, sorry for the hijack! We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

You're going to get a lot of anti- ANA and INA replies but my two cents is that for better or worse, these are the groups that represent RN's at the national and state level. You won't agree with all their platforms. They only exist because of YOUR dues and we are our voice concerning the big issues. Also when any nurse in the state has a serious work issue, who do they call first? Bingo, their nursing association who will help them whether they are a member or not. So yes, yes , yes - join and become a voice and don't let others bad-mouth you out of joining. As far as having memberships on a resume, your commitment to paying dues implies your interest in the profession as a whole. A lot of people are too angry or too cheap to join their professional associations - neither reason in a good one.

Hasn't anyone noticed that many state nursing associations are defecting from the ANA. ANA doesn't represent me since my home state is one of the many states that has defected from the ANA. There are many threads regarding why. The ANA isn't getting ANY of my money. The only organization that I would join is AACN but I cannot afford the dues. Oh yeah, I forgot that they also look down upon diploma nurses and nurses with ADNs. Doesn't sound very "unifying" to me. It may look pretty on your resume but it would not be a deciding factor in obtaining a job.

http://allnurses.com/registered-nurs...nt-354993.html

http://allnurses.com/nursing-activis...oc-313707.html

http://allnurses.com/nursing-news/an...er-340867.html

In IL, the dues are >$500/year and sorry, but I get nothing from this! And...even as an APN, I don't have extra $$$$$ lying around. For my money, I belong to the Emergency Nurses Association and the IL Society of Advanced Practice Nurses.

Few nurses in IL outside of Chicago are union and yes, there is an IL outside of Chicago!

June 27, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MNA WITHDRAWS FROM ANA

Okemos, MI In order to pursue the most effective course of action for its members, the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) announced today that it is withdrawing immediately as a constituent member of the American Nurses Association (ANA). The decision was announced at the ANA House of Delegates in Washington D.C. MNA had been a constituent member association of ANA since 1905 and was the third largest affiliate of the ANA.
“The health care industry is changing, and ANA’s stance on issues does little or nothing to address the crisis that nurses and the profession face,” stated John Karebian, MNA Executive Director of Labor and Government Relations. “MNA will continue to champion the critical issues facing the bedside nurse at the state level and work through our national affiliation with the United American Nurses and the AFL-CIO to influence the crisis in nursing at the national level. This has not been an easy step to take, but we are unafraid to stand strong and committed to our purpose and goals.”
MNA, the strongest union for nurses in Michigan, has seen a significant and disturbing change in the goals and mission of ANA in regard to supporting bedside nurses. Bylaw changes passed this week at the ANA House of Delegates have served to reinforce MNA's concerns with the ANA leadership in other areas as well as collective bargaining. In April 2008, MNA held a special House of Delegates to discuss its national affiliation with ANA. Concerns were raised by the delegates that ANA had ceased to be relevant to its constituency in Michigan. Members raised concern that ANA was not positioned to address the challenges faced by registered nurses and its stagnant membership base over the past thirty years represented a lack of vision and direction.
“It’s clear that ANA has no interest in supporting in a meaningful way the staff nurse performing essential bedside care,” stated Diane Goddeeris, RN, MNA President. “For instance, in direct opposition to legislation that would mandate minimum staffing ratios, ANA chose to support a bill that we know from experience has little chance of addressing the need for safe patient care in the nation.”
“ANA states that 73 percent of the nation's nurses identify short staffing as affecting their patient care. ANA's bill creates shared governance staffing committees to address staffing levels. Nurses have been trying this for years, and the results are the current unsafe system of mandatory overtime and inadequate staffing levels.”
“We are currently within a nurse shortage and must implement multiple strategies to stop the worsening spiral,” said Tom Bissonnette, MNA Executive Director of Nursing Practice and Operations. “Collective bargaining can ensure a work environment that is safe for ourselves and our patients. The ANA leadership has lost touch with its membership, the state nurses associations. We are convinced this action allows us to refocus on the issues that matter to our members and our commitment to work with nursing organizations that share our goals remains unchanged.”
“ANA claims they support staff nurses but their actions are not living up to that claim,” Goddeeris stated. “We are proud of what we have accomplished in Michigan, and our legislative, professional nurse practice, and labor programs have become a standard for excellence. This is a significant moment in our history, and this decision symbolizes a powerful signal that we are on the right course.”
READ MNA PRESIDENT DIANE GODDEERIS' STATEMENT TO THE ANA HOUSE OF DELEGATES
(.pdf file) (MSWord file)

I joined the ANA/INA as a new grad and quickly became disgusted with the way the organizations were using my money to support causes that I strongly disagreed with.

I have not belonged to these organizations for several years now, and no longer live in IL, although I am still licensed there.

I regularly receive INA mailings. I guess they are trying to recruit me. Based up on the most recent newsletter, there is not a snowball's chance that will happen. The most recent newsletter I received outlined the efforts of an organization in IL (I think it was the IL Hospital Assoc.) to pass legislation approving a new category of CNA who would, after a brief training period, be able to pass meds, do dressing changes and other sterile procedures, insert and manage Foley catheters, among other things. The INA article did not address any rebuttal by the INA against this type of unlicensed caregiver nor outline any actions to be taken in an effort to prevent it from becoming law.

In my experience that is typical of the INA, and is the main reason why I refuse to support the organization with a dime of my money. My own letters to legislators are far more effective in addressing these issues that force licensed nurses to hand over responsibility to minimally-trained and unlicensed caregivers who practice on our licenses. The INA seems to have no desire or effectiveness in protecting nurses' interests, but rather "getting along" with other organizations and entities that answer to the hospital and nursing home industries.

Actually, to clarify a statement another poster made, my father was a physician and used to often point out, when he and I would have conversations about this topic (belonging to professional organizations) that only a relatively small percentage of US physicians belongs to the AMA -- there is nowhere near 100% membership. I have no info about ABA membership.

Also to clarify, one joins/belongs to your state organization -- the ANA is made up of the various state nursing associations and there is no such thing as individual membership in the ANA.

Whether or not to join is a v. personal decision. I am a strong supporter of nurses being politically active as a group, but I realize not everyone chooses to go that route. Nurses seem constitutionally incapable of agreeing on anything, and trying to get us organized to pursue our shared professional interests is like herding cats. We continue to be our own worst enemy -- it's no wonder no one in politics takes us seriously.

Do yourself a favor, join the California Nurses Association and the NNOC. THEY are the nurses association who put their money where their mouth is, and are the ONLY nurses association who has done anything for the nursing profession. JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN
Spokane, Washington