American Nurses Association: Building an Effective Nursing Career

This article discusses the role of the American Nurses Association (ANA) in building an effective nursing career by increasing knowledge and job opportunities. It highlights the perks of being an ANA member, such as networking opportunities and academic resources. The article also emphasizes the importance of professional networking, staying informed about the latest developments in the field, and career and professional development.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Introduction
The organization that has been chosen by me is the esteemed organization of the
American Nurses Association. This reputed organization exclusively supports professionals
who wish to assume the role of advanced nursing practitioners in future (ANA, 2018). The
organization specifically focuses on rendering quality training to the aspiring professionals
and at the same time promote positive patient outcome. In the following sections, the
justification for choosing the organization and its role in building an effective nursing career
by increasing the knowledge and job opportunities would be discussed.
Response 1:
The American Nurses Organization focuses on safeguarding the wellbeing of the
nurses and assist training in order to support healthier lives. The mission of the organization
relies on providing the best practice environment to the dedicated nursing professionals who
would positively contribute towards the wellbeing of the patients (ANA,2018). The
organization is positively committed towards the promotion of nursing excellence in the
professional field. It imparts knowledge about tackling ethical issues within the scope of
practice, abiding by the standards of the profession and ensuring protection and advancement
within the scope of practice. In addition to this, the organization offers a varied range of perks
to the members. The perks include golden opportunity to attend Nursing webinars free of cost
quarterly through the year. In addition to this, the organization also offers online academic
sources at a discounted price. In addition to this, the ANCC offers the initial certification at
an extremely reasonable price range of only $125 dollars. Also, the certificate renewal cost is
also reasonable amounting to only, $100 (ANA 2018). The American Nurses Organization
offers a career on successful completion of the certificate course. In addition to this, the
members get the opportunity to stay connected with the Registered Nurses and the Mentors

2PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
through local and national meetings and social media. Maintenance of the communication
network assists the aspiring professionals to remain updated with the latest advancements in
the professional field and at the same time improves the decision making ability (ANA 2018).
At the same time, it is critical to note that the perks of being a member varies from one
location to another but includes certain general items such as the state association newsletter,
job networking, education and career development, local networking opportunities and
representation in the state house with regards to critical issues.
Response 2:
Professional networking is defined as the process that is based upon professional
interactions and contribute in a positive manner to build strong professional relationships
(Butts & Rich, 2013). According to DeNisco & Barker (2013), it has been mentioned that
professional networking allows nurses to closely interact with members of different
healthcare organizations and keep a track on the ongoing recruitment across the
organizations. It can hence be said that professional networking is extremely important for
the advancement of the nursing career (Finkelman & Kenner, 2014). In addition to the,
networking substantially offers professional support to the nurses and delivers scope to the
professionals to enhance the healthcare systems. Therefore to summarize it can be said that,
Networking forms an integral part of the nursing profession as it allows the registered nurses
to interact and coordinate with other professionals and Mentors to enhance their scope of
practice and look for better job opportunities (Tower et al., 2014).
In this context, it should be noted that the American Nursing Organization provides
ample networking opportunities in the form of local as well as state networking opportunities.
The members of the organization can interact with one another through local and national
meetings, committees and on the social media (ANA 2018). In addition to this, being a

3PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
member of the ANA is equivalent to being a member of the state and that confers the right to
vote in the American Nurses Association as well as the concerned state nurses association.
ANA also hosts the largest online community of the registered nursing professionals who can
interact with one another. It should also be noted that the organization observes the National
and State-Level lobby day and the ANA Quality and Innovation Conference (ANA 2018). It
can be mentioned in this regard that the organization provides ample opportunities to the
members to involve in the process of networking and boost their professional as well as
academic career.
Response 3:
The healthcare sector is one of the dynamic sectors that has been reported to evolve
and advance significantly on a regular basis (Holloway & Galvin, 2016). It is extremely
important for the healthcare professionals to continuously upgrade themselves with the latest
advancements of practice. In close association to this, it can be stated that it is important to
keep the nursing professionals informed about the recent development in the field of health
science that affects their speciality area of practice (Hood, 2013). The American Nursing
Association ensures this through the newsletters and the diverse academic resources that are
accessible online at an extremely nominal price. The members can conveniently access the
latest journals that focus on nursing issues and enrich their knowledge reserve. In addition to
the informative journals that keep the members informed about the latest ongoing
development in the field of nursing the ANA also publishes the code of Ethics for the nurses
that assist the members in acquiring proficiency to undertake critical decisions during
complex clinical scenarios (ANA 2018). It should also be noted that the ANA also features
the Capitol Beat Blog that helps the professionals in being aware about the exclusive clinical

4PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
events across various areas of the state and track changes within the scope of practice that
affects the speciality area of practice (ANA 2018).
Response 4:
The ANA is committed to guide a registered nurse throughout the professional
journey in order to obtain the best career outcome. The organization has structured programs
to offer assistance to professionals with career and professional development, certification
preparation, continuing higher education, collaborate with ANA enterprise and look for an
appropriate nursing job (ANA 2018 It further provides information to the nursing
professionals through online and offline newsletters, monthly journals, pamphlets, posters
and E-Newsletters so that required information could be circulated. The discussed topics
include, work environment, organizational excellence, clinical expertise, certification review
and leadership and onsite political news. Social media is also used to circulate the
information among the members effectively.

5PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
References:
ANA (2018). Continuing Professional Education in Nursing | ANA Enterprise.
[online] ANA. Available at: https://www.nursingworld.org/resources/individual/
[Accessed 6 Dec. 2018].
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2013). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice.
Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
DeNisco, S. M., & Barker, A. M. (2013). Advanced practice nursing: Evolving roles for the
transformation of the profession.
Finkelman, A., & Kenner, C. (2014). Professional nursing concepts. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Holloway, I., & Galvin, K. (2016). Qualitative research in nursing and healthcare. John
Wiley & Sons.
Hood, L. (2013). Leddy & Pepper's conceptual bases of professional nursing. Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins.
Tower, M., Latimer, S., & Hewitt, J. (2014). Social networking as a learning tool: nursing
students' perception of efficacy. Nurse Education Today, 34(6), 1012-1017.