American Nurses Association House of Delegates passes historic ANA structural changes

Nevada RNformation, Aug 2003 by Black, Lisa

June 25 - 27 marked the 73rd session of the House of Delegates, the policy making body of the American Nurses Association (ANA). This voting body guides the direction and structure of the ANA, ensuring that the voice of the American Nurses Association reflects the collective voices of the 2.7 million nurses licensed in the Unites States of America. The Nevada Nurses Association was represented to the ANA House of Delegates by a delegation that was able to provide a diverse, while complimentary contribution to the governance of the American Nurses Association. The Nevada Nurses Association's 2003 delegates to the ANA House of Delegates were NNA members Naitte_ Jordan, RN, FNP, Kate Fricke, RN, BSN, and Lisa Black, RN, BSN. Naitte_ Jordan is a family nurse practitioner employed by the Clark County Health Department, and is a long-time active member of the American Nurses Association. Kate Fricke is a bed control coordinator at Washoe Medical Center in Reno, Nevada and has been a member of NNA for several years. Lisa Black is the Executive Director of the Nevada Nurses Association and has been active in the policy direction of the NNA since 1998.

In 2000, the House of Delegates charged the Board of Directors of the American Nurses Association with the monumental task of creating a new ANA; an ANA that would be able to nimbly respond to the ever-changing needs of the nursing profession. From this, the Futures Task Force of the American Nurses Association was born and a new ANA was envisioned and presented to the voting body of the ANA in Philadelphia, PA in 2002.

Over the past year, the American Nurses Association and its collective bargaining and workplace advocacy entities have worked long and hard to bring forth a new structure that will support the work of the nursing profession. "This [2003] House of Delegates was a time of rebirth. recommitment and rededication for ANA," said ANA President Barbara Blakeney, MS. APRN, BC, ANP. "By rising to the challenge for effective change, the ANA has strengthened its ability to do the work of nursing and advocare for the interests of the nation's 2.7 million nurses."

While adequately providing for both the core services and policy representation of the American Nurses Association, this new structure allows for the provision of collective bargaining and workplace advocacy services through the creation of two autonomous organizations that will be independent from, but affiliated with (and will continue to co-locate with) the American Nurses Association. The United American Nurses will continue to serve as the ANA's exclusive collective bargaining entity, and will continue to provide collective bargaining services for states that represent nurses in such a capacity. The Center for American Nursing (CAN) will replace ANA's Commission on Workplace Advocacy and will assist the state organizations (including the Nevada Nurses Association) in providing workplace advocacy services to members who are not represented for the purposes of collective bargaining. These changes will allow the American Nurses Association to focus on the cornerstone work and core issues of the nursing profession including maintenance of the code of ethics for nursing, creation of standards and guidelines for nursing practice, and guidance of policy direction on issues such as nurse-staffing, personnel shortages, and workplace safety. The newly independent UAN and CAN will, through the state nursing associations, provide workplace services to individual nurse members. The autonomous status of CAN affords the new association the opportunity to work closely with the state organizations to meet the personal and professional needs of the individual nurse with regard to workplace environment. It also opens doors for new partnership opportunities with internal and external stakeholders that will serve to spotlight and advance workplace issues.

"We are very pleased with this new relationship with ANA because it will strengthen the voice of nursing," said CAN Chair Clair Jordan, MSN, RN. "The Center for American Nurses will create a mosaic of products and services to meet the needs of nurses in the workforce today and tomorrow. CAN is on the cutting-edge for creating ways for [state associations] and individual nurses to influence and impact our profession."

What does this mean for Nevada?

The Board of Directors of the Nevada Nurses Association (NNA) wholeheartedly supports the new structure of the ANA. This structure will allow NNA to provide nurses in Nevada with additional services and help us to strengthen our collective professional voice. The Nevada Nurses Association does not currently provide collective bargaining (union representation) services for nurses and does not intend to provide such representation in the immediately foreseeable future. The NNA will align our workplace service strategies with the work of the newly created Center for American Nursing to provide services for individual nurses with workplace challenges or concerns. The Nevada Nurses Association is proud to be able to partner with the Center for American Nursing to provide the workplace services that will empower individual nurses who are not represented by collective bargaining and are often in need of such guidance and direction. Additionally, membership in the Center for American Nursing through your state nursing association will entitle you to valuable discounts and services through reputable merchants such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Scrubs and Beyond, and PDA Verticals.