The American Nurses Association (ANA)

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is an organization that was founded in 1911 to represent the interests of the over three million nurses in the United States. Since its founding, its membership has grow from less than twenty nurses to millions and has become a leading organization in the advancement of the nursing practice and improvement of quality health care. The ANA does this by promoting high standards of nursing practice, fostering an ethical and safe work environment, and supporting the health and wellness of nurses. They also place a large focus on advocating for health care issues that not only affect nurses, but also the general public.

Since its creation, the ANA has also expanded its services and has since developed a code

The ANA helps to fund their efforts, as well as providing benefits to its members through monthly or yearly membership dues. The price of the dues vary based on the level of the membership and the amount of benefits the nurse has access to. An ANA only membership costs one hundred and ninety-one dollars per year, and is the middle of the line membership package, in which the nurse receives some of the benefits of the organization. Members can pay more for the ANA and State membership where they have access to all of the resources the ANA provides. The money from these membership dues help the ANA to fund their advocacy activities and various research projects (“ANA Only Membership”,

Groups like this are necessary to keep the profession expanding and developing, while trying to provide protection for its members. Through their policy initiative the ANA works to make sure the voice of the nurse is heard in government, and that they have what they need to provide the best patient care. The ANA also takes on big issues like antibiotic resistance and I believe it is very important that the ANA is placing emphasis on this issue, since nurses can play a major role in the solution, but are often overlooked. I hope that they continue to press for the inclusion of nurses in fighting this problem, as well as in other areas that the nurse’s abilities are under utilized. When I am a registered nurse I will likely become a member of the ANA to help support their efforts and take advantage of the many benefits that they have to