Professional Nursing Organizations

Running head: PROFESSIONAL NURSING ORGANIZATIONS
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Professional Nursing Organizations
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation

PROFESSIONAL NURSING ORGANIZATIONS
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Importance of Professional Nursing Associations
It is crucial for nurses to join a professional nursing association since it brings forth a
chance for nurses to continue with higher education, presents them with certification
opportunities, equip them with competencies that are role-related and advocates for their needs.
When choosing a nursing organization, a nurse should consider their specialty area about the
association (Houston, 2013). As a Critical care nurse, one of such professional nursing
associations is the American Nurses Association which is discussed in this paper.
American Nurses Association (ANA), (Its purpose, mission, and vision Describe the
overall benefits, or "perks," of being a member)
The ANA was first founded in 1896 with only a few members and has now grown to a
capacity of 3.6 million people. At the same time, nurses were concerned with competency and
nursing standards of practice, and now the purpose of the association has grown to interests of
improving health care, standardization of nursing practice and promoting a work environment
that is safe and ethical (Stevens, 2013). Apart from working nurses, ANA is also a place for
student nurses (Henderson, Cooke, Creedy & Walker, 2012).
The primary mission of the ANA is to advance the profession of nurses to improve health
for themselves and the public. ANA has a vision of representing and supporting all nurses
regardless of their positions as well as enhancing the nursing profession as a whole.
As a critical care nurse member of the ANA, several benefits are ripped. Such benefits
include certification, a continuation of education for achievement of career goals and exposure to
educational conferences (Zaccagnini& White, 2015). The association encourages and promotes
practicing of nursing using evidence which is in form certificates. Daily, there are healthcare

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changes and aligning with the ANA a nurse is supported to further their education in their field
of specialty. Annual national conferences are held under ANA, and clinical nurses from all over
America converge and can share education and practice methods and also network.
Explain why it is important for a nurse in this specialty field to network
Networking for nurses is vital since it provides them with opportunities to develop in
their skills and knowledge they need to keep up with the constant change in advancement in the
nursing field (Meiring, 2018). Critical Care nurses can share their own best practices and gain
access to invaluable resources such as scholarships. Professional networking is a crucial concept
for nurses as they need to acquire favor from the community so that they can establish groups
that share common interests. Therefore nurses in the specialty need to engage in active
networking to convince individuals to connect. First of all, networking is beneficial for nurses as
they familiarize with the prevailing trends and advancements. Through networking, nurses
acquire professional support both mentally and physically. Notably, nursing is a demanding
profession hence nurses need to relieve stress that may result in burnout. Further, networking is
also important for the nurses as it helps them impact health care systems through expanding their
responsibilities. Nurses are greatly involved in the healthcare operations hence they need to
understand each perspective involved. In this case, there is a need to engage in networking to
gain knowledge about the establishment and implementation of healthcare processes. Notably,
the success of nurses in networking determines their positive impacts in the healthcare setting.
Discuss how this organization creates networking opportunities for nurses
ANA promotes networking among nurses through creating conferences, training sessions
and putting up online platforms. When a meeting event is set up, nurses can interact with each