What in the world does the ANA do?

Nurses Activism

Published

an update for those of you not involved & wondering.......

In the past two years, the ANA has focused its work on core issues of vital concern to the nation's registered nurses - staffing, health and safety, workplace rights, continuing competence and patient safety/advocacy. In this section of NursingWorld, ANA shares with you what it is doing to address these core issues for you and your patients.

Introduction and history are in the beginning. Action updates start on page 13. Excellent report. Lots of info here that answers the question. PDF file. Takes a few minutes to open.

http://www.ana.org/about/lately/stakerep.pdf

I'm glad I'm in California..........

Specializes in Hospice, Med/Surg, ICU, ER.

In a word: NOTHING.

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

ANA is over inflated, always has been always will be, dont expect anything then you wont be disappointed

Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.

They give meaning and purpose for the "pumps and pearls" out there.

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

Sounds like nothing has changed since I dropped my INA/ANA membership 20 years ago.

Specializes in Critical Care/Teaching.

The ANA needs to be FIRED!!! They are worthless in my opinion, I wish I worked in CA....the CNA has made real progress!!!

ANA = worthless for the working nurse!!! I am canceling my membership tomarrow!!

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

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 nqf%20endorsed%20small.jpg
  • pressure ulcers
  • physical/sexual assault
  • pain management
  • peripheral iv infiltration
  • staff mix : nqf%20endorsed%20small.jpg
    • registered nurses (rns)
    • licensed practical/vocational nurses (lpn/lvns)
    • unlicensed assistive personnel (uap)

    [*]nursing care hours provided per patient day nqf%20endorsed%20small.jpg

    [*]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=profileissue&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.

My question is have you been an active member (going to meetings and serving on committees???) to work for change in areas that you as a professional perceive to be a problem?

My question is have you been an active member (going to meetings and serving on committees???) to work for change in areas that you as a professional perceive to be a problem?

Not everyone has the time or inclinationg to get involved, but they still would like to see some results for their dues.

Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
My question is have you been an active member (going to meetings and serving on committees???) to work for change in areas that you as a professional perceive to be a problem?

Yup, and got bupkis.

BTW, needlestick prevention/safety? That got going long before the ANA attached itself to it as a "cause." That was an excellent example of how the grassroots efforts of nurses can effect change.

If you really want to know what the ANA and the INA don't do, treat yourself one day and go see the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation Nursing Board. They generally meet the first Friday of the month and alternate Springfield and Chicago. I went on March 2, 2007 in Chicago. I have never seen a group of people who just keep telling each other how smart they are and how they all have the most perfect answer to every nursing dilemma. The fact that nursing will not exist the way it does today seems to completely escape them. I don’t think they have any idea about the tremendous negative impact they are having across the state and nationally. I believe the AMA is getting our house in order because they are getting increasingly tired of how nursing is failing at the bedside. Med's aren’t passed on time, patients aren’t getting the care they need, and orders are left in the chart because no one is there to take them off. While writing the LPN curriculum I chose two books for nursing fundamentals, I could not find one reference about pacemakers; not in the index, glossary of terms, review of the cardiac system, surgical nursing – NO WHERE. What happened, I know I went to nursing school a long time ago but really!!! Nurses are not learning about medicine, we have our own ways to diagnose our patience and apparently it has nothing to with those damn doctors!!! Why do we need to compare ourselves to doctors? This is what the ANA and the INA have done for us. Most of my friends that are doctors say nurses today don’t know what they’re doing, and they are right and I found out why as I wrote the curriculum. Nursing books and instructors aren’t supposed to teach them the medical model, we teach the nursing model. If someone could help me understand this shift I will be more than appreciative. I was under the seriously wrong belief that differential diagnosing is a great way not to miss something that is going on with your patient. The way I was taught so as to not miss anything going on with your patient is to start with rule out not rule in. We as human beings are, and don’t be shocked, prejudiced. Once we have something in our head, we will start finding evidence to support our conclusions. For example, politics; statement one I hate George Bush – I will then watch the news, read papers, listen to others and start filling putting together the things I hear, read and/or see to support the conclusion I want, throughout the day I will find enough evidence to say, “see he is a bad person and a terrible president.” With statement two being I love George Bush, I will now go about seeing, reading and hearing all the same information but now I will pick out only the things support my conclusion that he is the great person and a great president. If I use this model to find out what is wrong with the patient I am likely to miss something, possibly a big something. Now if you diagnose by ruling things out you are far less likely to miss anything. You are no longer tied to a diagnosis and you can go through systems looking for the problem and whatever is left – is what is wrong. Yet, guess what, we nurses decided we know more so we won’t fall into those pitfalls that seem to draw every other person in the world into. We are better than that. Someone needs to tell the Departments of Professional Regulations throughout America that no matter what, we are still “only” the nurse. (Don’t yell at me for that one) We can’t come up with a medical diagnosis and even if we could, we can’t even give someone a Tylenol without a physicians order. Sorry everyone, it is what it is. I don’t know about everyone else but I LOVE my job, I like taking care of people, I like being able to spend more time with the patients than doctors do. I don’t want the responsibility of a physician; if I did I would have gone to medical school. Why can’t we just be nurses???

If you really want to know what the ANA and the INA don't do, treat yourself one day and go see the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation Nursing Board. They generally meet the first Friday of the month and alternate Springfield and Chicago. I went on March 2, 2007 in Chicago. I have never seen a group of people who just keep telling each other how smart they are and how they all have the most perfect answer to every nursing dilemma. The fact that nursing will not exist the way it does today seems to completely escape them. I don't think they have any idea about the tremendous negative impact they are having across the state and nationally. I believe the AMA is getting our house in order because they are getting increasingly tired of how nursing is failing at the bedside. Med's aren't passed on time, patients aren't getting the care they need, and orders are left in the chart because no one is there to take them off. While writing the LPN curriculum I chose two books for nursing fundamentals, I could not find one reference about pacemakers; not in the index, glossary of terms, review of the cardiac system, surgical nursing - NO WHERE. What happened, I know I went to nursing school a long time ago but really!!! Nurses are not learning about medicine, we have our own ways to diagnose our patience and apparently it has nothing to with those damn doctors!!! Why do we need to compare ourselves to doctors? This is what the ANA and the INA have done for us. Most of my friends that are doctors say nurses today don't know what they're doing, and they are right and I found out why as I wrote the curriculum. Nursing books and instructors aren't supposed to teach them the medical model, we teach the nursing model. If someone could help me understand this shift I will be more than appreciative. I was under the seriously wrong belief that differential diagnosing is a great way not to miss something that is going on with your patient. The way I was taught so as to not miss anything going on with your patient is to start with rule out not rule in. We as human beings are, and don't be shocked, prejudiced. Once we have something in our head, we will start finding evidence to support our conclusions. For example, politics; statement one I hate George Bush - I will then watch the news, read papers, listen to others and start filling putting together the things I hear, read and/or see to support the conclusion I want, throughout the day I will find enough evidence to say, "see he is a bad person and a terrible president." With statement two being I love George Bush, I will now go about seeing, reading and hearing all the same information but now I will pick out only the things support my conclusion that he is the great person and a great president. If I use this model to find out what is wrong with the patient I am likely to miss something, possibly a big something. Now if you diagnose by ruling things out you are far less likely to miss anything. You are no longer tied to a diagnosis and you can go through systems looking for the problem and whatever is left - is what is wrong. Yet, guess what, we nurses decided we know more so we won't fall into those pitfalls that seem to draw every other person in the world into. We are better than that. Someone needs to tell the Departments of Professional Regulations throughout America that no matter what, we are still "only" the nurse. (Don't yell at me for that one) We can't come up with a medical diagnosis and even if we could, we can't even give someone a Tylenol without a physicians order. Sorry everyone, it is what it is. I don't know about everyone else but I LOVE my job, I like taking care of people, I like being able to spend more time with the patients than doctors do. I don't want the responsibility of a physician; if I did I would have gone to medical school. Why can't we just be nurses???
Wow, from a rant about the uselessness of the ANA to the uselessness of the nurse, plus snuck a little political agenda in there as well.
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