Benefits of Joining Professional Nursing Associations

Professional Nursing Organization Comparison

Choose two professional organizations. These can be organizations you are a member of or that are known in the nursing profession.

Create a table comparing the two organizations.

American Nurses Association

When Established

The organization has roughly 490 chapters throughout 85 countries.

American Nurses Association was established in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911.

Support of Nursing Leadership

STTI provides opportunities for nurses to participate in leadership programs and mentoring opportunities, and take advantage of career development resources.

The ANA provide programs and offerings for nurses, nursing leaders, and all stages of the nursing career trajectory.

Leadership Opportunities

Members can ask career-related questions and get responses from STTI volunteer Career Advisors.

More than 900 nurse researchers, students, clinicians and leaders attend the International Nursing Research Congress to learn from evidence-based research presentations. The theme of the 26th International Nursing Research Congress held this year (2015) is: Question Locally, Engage Regionally, Apply Globally

Attendees will learn how to: Stimulate a global exchange of advanced-practice nursing knowledge; apply innovative nursing research outcomes; and, recognize the importance of nursing research discoveries in influencing practice, education, research, and health care policy.

Leadership topics presented in cooperation with Capella University include: Becoming a Transformational Leader, Agile Decision-Making. Through a partnership with Ohio State University, multiple day immersion programs are offered on topics such as Innovation and the Triple Aim: Advancing Leadership in Transforming Health Care. Online seminars cover change management and leadership acumen.

Cultural Issues Addressed

The ever-changing healthcare environment requires educators and practitioners to be nimble, flexible, and responsive to change. While individuals can be nimble and flexible, organizational culture is often stubbornly resistant. Changing the culture requires more than introducing new activities or tasks. Reflective learning can be a catalyst for transforming traditional organizations and environments. The authors of the STTI book, Reflective Organizations: On the Front Lines of QSEN & Reflective Practice Implementation, make a strong case that the way organizations incorporate change into their culture or processes ultimately affects sustainability.

Community cultural issues that are of interest to ANA include the following: Encouraging young women to get the HPV vaccination; pain assessment communication for children with autism; PTSD; and patient and caregiver diversity. Underlying theory considers nursing care to start before a disease begins by nurses exercising their expertise, authority, and creativity in health promotion roles. A holistic approach to nursing care does not begin in an outpatient clinic or hospital, but looks for ways to take care of patients and the community.