Professional Nursing Associations: Rationale
A professional association refers to "an organization of practitioners who judge one another as professionally competent and who have banded together to perform social functions which they cannot perform in their separate capacities as individuals" (Merton, as cited in Matthews, 2012). Nursing has, over time, developed to professional status and is at present characterized by numerous national professional associations. Whether or not these associations add value to their professions and whether or not there is need to have so many of them have been subjects of debate in recent years. This context gives an in-depth demonstration of the rationale behind professional nursing associations, and illustrates why there is need to have them in greater numbers.
The Rationale behind Professional Nursing Associations
Nursing is built upon the concept of advocacy; nurses not only advocate for their profession, but for their patients as well (Gregg-McQuilkin, 2005). Professional associations, motivated by ethical and moral principles, spearhead this advocacy role by "arguing within political, economic, and social systems, and also institutions, for an idea or cause that can lead to" resource-allocation decisions that are promotional to the well-being of the nursing fraternity and the greater healthcare field (Matthews, 2012).
Since these professional associations are created by nurses, they serve as an outward articulation of the social policy, integrity, practice, and values of the nursing profession, and in so doing, demonstrate self-regulation in addition to advocacy (Day, 2006).
There is power in numbers, and nurses are better-placed to advocate for their causes if they congregate and voice out their individual ideas through these kinds of professional associations (Day, 2006). In the United States, the American Nurses Association (ANA) coordinates and solicits ideas from individual nurses and from the various nursing associations, deliberates on the same, and then "develops them based on the Code of Ethics, and the other two framework documents that serve as the basis of the nursing profession" (Matthews, 2012). The two documents (framework texts) are the "Social Policy Statement and the Scope...
Org/about/mission.htm)." The benefits to joining this and other professional nursing associations around the nation include having a strong voice and a fellowship with others who spend their careers helping patients and families during times of need. There are several ways that affiliating with a professional nursing association can provide this including: Federal lobbying on issues important to nursing and health care. State lobbying through our State Nurses Associations and nationwide state legislative agenda on
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In the emergency room, this distinction can have a determinant impact on the ability of the staff to preserve life and diminish pain and suffering. The introduction of a bioethical perspective into this dialogue invokes a question as to the primacy of an interest in pursuing to the utmost the well-being of the patient. This speaks to one of the core values associating the principles of the ANA with the
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