What's ANA been doing for NURSES lately??

sjoe · Jul 17, 2003

More to the point: what are the CONCRETE RESULTS of those meetings, conferences, etc. in the working lives of everyday nurses?

ainz · Jul 24, 2003

my thoughts exactly sjoe

teeituptom, BSN, RN · Jul 24, 2003

Concrete sinks

Hot air rises

live4today, RN · Jul 24, 2003

Concreteville vs. Realityville............I live in Realityville! Let the rubber meet the road and see who comes out on top! :nurse:

-jt · Jul 24, 2003

Im a staff RN working f/t at the bedside in an urban ICU. Im also an active ANA member. And I can tell you there are a lot of staff RN ANA members just like me, working hard in that organization, getting it to where we all know it should have been many years ago. And we're doing it. ANA's job is in Washington DC. If you want to know how the organization is working for RNs, read its government affairs page on its website. Also look at the studies it has done on workplace conditions, and RN staffing & its impact on patient care. Those studies give credence to our arguments and support the rationale for getting the laws we staff RNs need passed. Im so tired of hearing complaints about how much WE are not doing for everybody else who is isnt lifting a finger to help.

ainz · Jul 24, 2003

I am advocating that all nurses unite and join the American Nurses Association. They have some things in place that would be advantageous. With less than 10% of nurses in America being members, what can we expect from these people.

If we join in mass and elect people to the ANA that will get out there and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN then it would be worthwhile.

I am a results oriented person. The ANA has been around since 1902. Look at where nursing is today. You tell me what the ANA has done to produce concrete results. We need leadership in the ANA that truly reflects nursing issues today and has some teeth that knows how to get out there and be effective in bringing about change.

live4today, RN · Jul 25, 2003

Rock on ainz! (clapping warranted for your post). :kiss

I, too, am a "results oriented person". Problems are a fact of life, but solutions come to those who work to make them happen. :nurse:

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 25, 2003

you tell me what the ana has done to produce concrete results.

check out:

voices from the past, visions of the future a summary of selected benchmarks in the history of the american nurses association

the american nurses association, composed of professional nurses dedicated to the promotion of health and the care of the sick, has served as the forum in which the nation's critical health issues have been discussed throughout the last century.

functioning as a democracy, the ana provided the structure in which views were expressed, ideas were debated and evaluated, and positions and goals were formulated. because it represented the views of administrators, clinical practitioners in institutions and community agencies, educators, and researchers, it has served for 100 years as the public voice for the diversity of america's professional nurses.

this centennial exhibit focuses on the primary reason for all of ana's concern and activities, the fulfillment of nursing's social responsibility to provide health care to people.

the following is a selection of nurses' quotes and summarized narratives that depict ana's involvement with professional nurses and their patients throughout a century of care-giving. the content of "voices from the past, visions of the future" is a summary of selected benchmarks in the history of the american nurses association and is not to be considered an exhaustive study.

"organization is the power of the day.

without it, nothing great is accomplished."

sophia palmer, first and second convention of the american society of superintendents of training schools for nursing, 1897 http://nursingworld.org/centenn/index.htm

check out each decade link at bottom of website. karen

your guide to the benefits of ana membership:

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm

providing information you need

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#info

presenting your work to the public: public relations

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#pr

protecting your patients' rights: ethics, human rights

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#patients

working for you on capitol hill: lobbying, legislative work

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#lobbying

organizing your political voice: politics, grassroots action

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#politics

guarding your rights and safety in the workplace: labor efforts, workplace safety

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#safety

working for you behind the scenes: in the federal agencies

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#federal

representing the u.s. nursing community: international nursing

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#icn

fighting for quality of care for your patients

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#quality

guiding your profession: standards of practice

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#practice

enriching your nursing career: networking, credentialing, certification, continuing education

http://nursingworld.org/member2.htm#career

highlights of 2002 activities:

what has ana done for me lately:

http://nursingworld.org/about/lately/ceohome.htm

ainz · Jul 25, 2003

I acknowledge that the ANA has been ACTIVE, but, activity that does not produce results is WASTED energy.

One of the key issues at hand that threatens the very survival of the profession is being able to link NURSING interventions to positive patient outcomes and linking that to positive financial outcomes. The ANA states that they have been aware of this missing research for 10 YEARS but NOTHING has been done.

Then we go look at the NIH NINR (National Institute for Nursing Research) and the "themes for the future" that their panel of EXPERT nursing researchers have developed, nothing directly addresses the issues currently threatening the very survival of our profession. Nothing directly addresses the reasons for, and SOLUTIONS to, the issues driving existing nurses out of the profession and keeping people from entering.

A nicely and professionally written collection of position papers has done little for nursing. Nursing is in the shape it is because we as nurses and our professional association that represents us have taken no effective and meaningful action to advance the profession. The laws and regulations of our country allow corporations to force nurses to accept things that are not good for healthcare or force nurses to leave. This should not be and I consider it an OUTRAGE.

I am very passionate about this subject because nursing is my CHOSEN profession and I have alot of pride in what I do and have done.

So, what has the ANA done for nursing lately????!!!!!!!

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Jul 25, 2003

I know this may sound off the wall, but I was wondering if ALL nurses were REQUIRED to be a member of ANA (wait, now, I'm not finished... ) and we ALL had to pay dues (they could then also certainly afford to reduce those dues if ALL nurses were dues-paying members)... wouldn't we as ONE VOICE then be a whole lot louder..and HEARD? Wouldn't we EXPECT ANA to perform on ur behalf.. DEMAND it, even,.. if we all were paying dues... similar to any other union? Wouldn't we be filling ANA's mailbox and ringing those phones off the wall, as you so well stated in another thread? Wouldn't we be WANTING RESULTS for our money? And pushing a whole lot harder to GET them?

Just a thought.. I don't like "mandatory" anything, myself, but it sure does make me wonder.... :confused:

ainz · Jul 25, 2003

jnette--based on some things I have read here and conversations with nurses in my community and hospital; it may be that the only way to unify nurses throughout the country is to impose some mandatory requirement that pulls us together, even if it is against our will--but wait--is that kind of like communism or a dictatorship or something where it is assumed people are too stupid to assume the basic responsibilities of living in a democracy and having freedom? Things like staying informed of important issues, being involved so that your opinion and voice is heard, voting, and such?????