This document discusses the importance of professional nursing organizations and their role in establishing standards of practice, advocating for legislative changes, and providing continuing education opportunities. It focuses on the American Nurses Association, which began in 1896 in response to concerns about nursing standards and competency. Professional organizations work to support nurses and improve the nursing profession. They are responsible for developing certified nurses and protecting the public through regulatory standards like the National Patient Safety Goals, which were created after a 1999 report found that medical errors resulted in up to 98,000 deaths per year. Professional organizations aim to keep nurses informed of healthcare changes and evidence-based practices through networking and educational events.

1. Professional Association Membership Paper 2
Professional Association Membership Paper 2Professional Association Membership Paper
2Examine the importance of professional associations in nursing. Choose a professional
nursing organization that relates to your specialty area, or a specialty area in which you are
interested. In a 750-1,000 word paper, provide a detailed overview the organization and its
advantages for members. Include the following:Describe the organization and its
significance to nurses in the specialty area. Include its purpose, mission, and vision.
Describe the overall benefits, or “perks,” of being a member.Explain why it is important for a
nurse in this specialty field to network. Discuss how this organization creates networking
opportunities for nurses.Discuss how the organization keeps its members informed of
health care changes and changes to practice that affect the specialty area.Discuss
opportunities for continuing education and professional development.Prepare this
assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student
Success Center. An abstract is not required.This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the
rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for
successful completion.References:ORDER NOW FOR CUSTOMIZED, PLAGIARISM-FREE
PAPERSExplore the Advocacy page of the American Nurses Association (ANA)
website.URL:https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/ Read Chapter 5 in
Dynamics in Nursing: Art and Science of Professional
Practice.URL:https://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/grand-canyon-
university/2018/dynamics-in-nursing_art-and-science-of-professional-practice_1e.phpthis
is the chapter 5 By June Helbig“… nurses provide services that maintain respect for human
dignity and embrace the uniqueness of each patient and the nature of his or her health
problems, without restriction with regard to social or economic status.” (American Nurses
Association, n.d.a, para 1)Essential QuestionsWhat significance does joining a professional
organization have on nursing practice?How can nurses contribute to legislative changes
that impact nursing practice and patient outcomes?Why is evidence-based practice (EBP)
the gold standard in patient care protocol improvements? Professional Association
Membership Paper 2IntroductionAccording to the American Nurses Association (ANA)
there are currently 3.6 million registered nurses in the United States (American Nurses
Association [ANA], n.d.b, para 12). The ANA is a professional nursing organization, which
began when fewer than 20 nurses attended a convention in 1896. Nurses at the time were
concerned with nursing practice standards and nurse competency. The ANA has since
grown into an organization with interests in improving health care and setting standards

2. for nursing practice. All nurses are represented regardless of status within the organization.
The goal of professional organizations is to support nurses and improve the profession
(ANA, n.d.c).This chapter will explore the significance of joining professional organizations
and how nursing can contribute to legislative changes that may affect patient outcomes as
well as the work environment of the nurse. Professional nursing organizations are
responsible for the development and certification of nurses interested in improving health
care and providing safe quality nursing care. Through participation in professional
organizations, nurses can actively contribute to legislative changes that can affect patient
care and the way they conduct their work. Nurses are continually looking for and exploring
new ways to provide patients with quality care. Nurses perform studies looking for new and
innovative ways to provide care. The use of evidence-based practices (EBP)has become the
gold standard for providing safe, quality care to patients.Standards applied to nursing care
include:ANA’s Standards of PracticeThe Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals
(NPSGs)Structured communication toolsIntegrated health care prioritiesQuality and Safety
Education for Nurses (QSEN)Social determinants of healthCultural competenceHealthcare
and Research Quality Act of 1999Standards of Nursing PracticeStandards of practice are
rules and regulations that guide the nursing practice. The Nurse Practice Actis a law in each
state regulating nursing practice. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN),
founded in 1978, requires the licensed registered nurse (RN) to have specialized
knowledge, skill, and independence in decision making. Originally, the NCSBN was part of
the American Nurses Association Council of the State Boards of Nursing. The NCSBN was
created to protect the public from incompetent or unlicensed health care personnel. “The
NCSBN has the responsibility of providing regulatory excellence for public health, safety
and welfare, and protecting the public by ensuring that safe and competent nursing care is
provided by licensed nurses” (National Council for State Boards of Nursing [NCSBN], n.d.a,
para. 1).Information about licensure is available from each state’s board of nursing as well
as from Nursys. Nursys “is the only national database for verification of nurse licensure,
discipline and practice privileges for RNs and LPN/VNs licensed in participating boards of
nursing, including all states in the Nurse Licensure Compact” (Nursys.com, n.d., para
1).ANA’s Standards of PracticeIn addition to the rules and regulations that govern nursing
practice, the ANA wrote the Standards of Practice, which are used along with the state
Nurse Practice Act to guide safe practice. It is important for the RN with a Bachelor of
Science in Nursing (BSN) degree to be aware of the rules and regulations that govern
nursing. The standards of practice describe a competent level of nursing practice
demonstrated by the critical-thinking model known as the nursing process (Bickford,
Marion, & Gazaway, 2015).National Patient Safety Goals Professional Association
Membership Paper 2The National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) were established in 2002.
The purpose of the NPSGs was to address concerns about patient safety raised by a report
from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The IOM is a Quality Health Care in America
committee, which is a division of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and
Medicine.To Err Is HumanThe report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System
(Institute of Medicine [IOM], 1999) was a result of two major research studies that found
that approximately 98,000 people died each year from medical errors (see Table 5.1). The

3. IOM discovered that these patient deaths were not a result of individual errors, but from a
decentralized and fragmented health care system. “Among the problems that commonly
occur during the course of providing health care are adverse drug events and improper
transfusions, surgical injuries and wrong-site surgery, suicides, restraint-related injuries or
death, falls, burns, pressure ulcers, and mistaken patient identities” (IOM, 1999, p. 1). The
IOM also found that many of these errors occurred in areas such as operating rooms,
intensive care units, and emergency rooms (IOM, 1999).Table 5.1Types of
ErrorsDiagnosticTreatmentPreventiveOtherError or delay in diagnosisFailure to employ
indicated testsUse of outmoded tests or therapyFailure to act on results of monitoring or
testingError in the performance of an operation, procedure, or testError in administering
the treatmentError in the dose or method of using a drugAvoidable delay in treatment or in
responding to an abnormal testInappropriate (not indicated) careFailure to provide
prophylactic treatmentInadequate monitoring or follow-up of treatmentFailure of
communicationEquipment failureOther system failureNote. Adapted from To Err Is Human:
Building a Safer Health System Report Brief, by the Institute of Medicine, 1999, p. 2.
Copyright 1999 by the Institute of Medicine.The IOM committee developed four
recommendations to lead the way to making healthcare safer. The first recommendation
called for the creation of a National Center for Patient Safety within the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
This designated organization would be responsible for establishing NSPGs and tracking
their progress. The second recommendation was to create a mandatory reporting system to
collect data regarding medical errors. This provided the IOM with a way to track errors and
information to prevent future errors and harm. The third recommendation called upon
patients, healthcare professionals, and accreditation groups to put pressure on healthcare
organizations to provide a safer environment for patients. The only way to find errors
within a system is to report errors and then investigate how and why the error occurred.An
error causing an adverse event could have been a patient safety event or an error in
documentation. No matter the reason for the adverse event, stopping its cause is
paramount. The IOM (1999) report focused on errors that occurred in health care
organizations that lead to patient deaths. Analysis of reported errors has revealed many
hidden dangers, such as near misses, dangerous situations, and deviations or variations that
point to system vulnerabilities, not intentional acts of clinician performance that may
eventually cause patients harm (Wolf, 2008). Part of providing quality care is to be aware of
events that could occur and could cause harm.Pressure was applied in the creation of
quality indicators, which are measurements of the delivery of quality care. For example, it
has been decided the development of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers is a direct indicator
of poor care delivery. A patient receiving quality care should never develop a pressure ulcer.
So, each month, every organization must report whether any patients developed a pressure
ulcer. If so, the organization might not receive the monetary incentive for quality care
delivery provided by HHS and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Organizations able to prove that zero patients acquired pressure ulcers would receive the
monetary incentive.The last recommendation was to build a culture of safety. “Creating and
sustaining a culture of safety would require actions by thousands of health care

4. organizations. Hospital leadership must provide resources and time to improve safety. The
organizational culture must encourage recognition and learning from errors” (Donaldson,
2008, p. 5). It is important for all RNs to participate in building and maintaining a culture of
safety while working. Those in leadership positions must lead by example in maintaining a
culture of safety. Professional Association Membership Paper 2