Roles of Professional Nursing Associations
Conduct a web search of at least two professional nurses' associations and describe how each organization defines its respective role at local, state, and national levels.
Identify the organization and its website. What are some examples on the website demonstrating that the organization addresses policy and politics?
The website for the American Nurses Association (ANA) can be found at www.nursingworld.org, and by reviewing the wealth of content provided by the ANA through this interactive forum it is evident that the organization actively addresses both public policy and political issues. Through the auspices of its American Nurses Association Political Action Committee, or ANA-PAC, the ANA seeks "to promote the improvement of the healthcare system in the United States by raising funds from & #8230; members and contributing to support worthy candidates for federal office who have demonstrated their belief in the legislative and regulatory agenda of the American Nurses Association" (2012). The ANA website also offers several ways for politically minded nurses to engage in the policymaking process during this election season, providing members with updates on legislative actions which concern the profession, and notifying nurses about upcoming nursing-related ballot initiatives.
Through the ICN website, found at http://www.icn.ch/, nurses working in nearly every country on Earth are provided a forum to connect and communicate with peers. The ICN Strategic Plan 2011-2014 provides a detailed explication of the organization's various policy advisory roles on the local level, as well as their efforts to standardize nursing practices on a global scale. The ICN states explicitly that its overall purpose is "to represent nurses worldwide, and to be the voice of nursing internationally thereby advancing the profession and influencing health policy" (2011), demonstrating the group's overall commitment to the pursuit of prudent nursing policy.
2.) Is your facility involved in professional organizations? Identify how your organization aligns itself or does not align itself with the websites ideologies.
At ____ hospital, where I currently work as a ____, the administrative staff definitely advises staff members to actively involve themselves with professional organizations like the ANA and the ICN. While the hospital may not concur with every policy position taken by the ANA and the ICN, the facility's leadership believes…
