Welcome to American Nurses Association
The ANA is the strongest voice for the nursing profession and for workplace advocacy. The ANA represents
the interests of the nation's 2.9 million registered nurses through its 53 constituent state and territorial
associations and more than 155,000 members. More than 25 of the ANA's constituent associations serve as the
collective bargaining agents for nurses. The ANA is a professional association for nurses as well as the strongest
labor union for the nursing profession.
Dedicated to ensuring that an adequate supply of highly-skilled
and well-trained nurses is available, the ANA is committed to meeting the needs of nurses as well as health care
consumers. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the
economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and
by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the general public.
The ANA is at the forefront of policy initiatives pertaining to health care reform. Among the priority issues are:
a restructured health care system that delivers primary health care in community-based settings; an expanded role
for registered nurses and advanced practice nurses in the delivery of basic and primary health care; obtaining federal
funding of nurse education and training; and helping to change and improve the health care workplace.
Through the ANA's political and legislative program, the association has taken firm positions on everything from AIDS
policies and a patient's right to self-determination, to adequate reimbursement of health care services and access to
health care. The ANA and its state nurses association's lobbying efforts are contributing to health care reform on both
state and national levels.
The ANA continues its efforts to expand the scientific and research base for nursing
practice, for the collective bargaining rights and workplace advocacy for all nurses, to gain better compensation and better
working conditions for nurses, and to implement new ways in which nursing services can be delivered to respond to current
and future demands for cost-effective, quality health care.
The ANA-affiliated organizations include the American
Nurses Foundation and the American Nurses Credentialing Center.