Political Action Awareness Paper

NUR 587
January 19, 2015
Dr. Cydney Mullen

Political Action Awareness Paper
The American Nurses Association is a professional organization that has a distinct voice in the political arena. It is recognized both at state and national levels. This organization is one of the very best to belong for the practicing nurse as they are at the center of many health care issues that affect nurses directly.
Nurse Leaders and Political Organizations
Regulation of nursing licensure in the United States has traditionally been a state-based function in which each state regulates the health care workforce within its geographic boundaries (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2015). Nurses practicing within a state or territory are required to be licensed by the jurisdiction in which they practice. However, with so many advances in technology, practice is no longer limited by these boundaries. The use of telephone triage and air transport nursing are just a few examples of how nursing practice is crossing state lines, either physically or via technologies (American Nurses Association, 2015).
According to the American Nurses Association (2015), “In 1997, the National Council for State Board for Nursing (NCSBN), a private association of state regulatory agencies, proposed a mutual recognition model of nursing licensure, referred to as the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)”(para. 3).
Political Actions and Awareness
The model is an agreement between two or more states to coordinate activities associated with nurse licensure. Although nurses generally do not need education in the legal implications of interstate compact administration, it is important that all nurses understand the implications a regulatory change, such as a mutual recognition model of nursing licensure, may have on consumers, nurses and the profession. Some state Attorneys General and policy makers are hesitant to adopt the Compact model, while ANA has long standing policy that is in conflict with the Compact (American Nurses Association, 2015). NLC is an example of a mutual recognition licensure model, requiring a nurse to hold a license in the state in which the nurse resides. The American Nurses Association’s long-standing policy stipulates (2015), “ the state of practice, rather than the state of residence holds greater logic for license jurisdiction” (para. 4). This position is derived from the belief that nursing is a knowledge-based profession and that knowledge resides with the nurse. In this way it is ANA's belief that the state of practice is where the nurse is located.
Conclusion
It is important to maintain awareness of this position if a nurse is considering taking license with a state that has an agreement with the one in which the nurse currently practices. There are regulations and standards to which the nurse must adhere to be able to legally practice. The American Nurses Association promotes practice in other states but is meticulous in maintaining the standards that continue to keep nursing as one of the most trusted professions in the United States. Changes in federal and state law can affect this position and it remains advantageous to be an active part of this organization that has political influence in this branch of the health care industry.

References

American Nurses Association . (2015). Policy and advocacy; nursing legislative issues and trends. Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2015). The nurse licensure compact . Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org/compacts.htm