Читать книгу Kelly Vana's Nursing Leadership and Management - Группа авторов - Страница 150

The ANA is a full service, professional organization representing the nation's entire RN population. The ANA represents the 4 million RNs in the United States through its 54 constituent state and territorial associations. The ANA's mission is to work for the improvement of health standards and availability of health care services for all people, foster high standards for nursing, stimulate and promote the professional development of nurses, and advance their economic and general welfare (ANA, 2019).

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recognizes the ANA as a collective bargaining agent. The fact that the ANA has a dual role of being a professional organization and a collective bargaining agent causes controversy. Some nurses believe that unionization is not professional and that the ANA cannot truly support nursing as a profession if it is also a collective bargaining agent. Nurse managers are excluded from union membership. The ANA lobbies Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the general public. The ANA initiates many policies involving health care reform. It also publishes its position on issues, ranging from whistle blowing to patients' rights. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the ANA, created the Magnet Recognition Program to recognize health care organizations that provide the very best in nursing care. Since 1994, many institutions have received this award.

In this chapter, we have explored how health care is organized and financed in the United State, compared U.S. Health care with that of other industrialized countries, identified major issues facing health care, and related efforts for improving the quality, safety, and access to health care. Staying abreast of U.S. health care and health care in other countries is part of being a registered nurse and understanding the environment in which we work.