I was always under the impression that the ANA had hundreds of thousands of members. After all, they claim to speak for all nurses, but did you know that they only represent a small fraction of the 2.9 million nurses in the U.S.? I don’t belong to the ANA because they don’t represent my position on a lot of issues. I’d like to know why others don’t belong to the ANA.

MJ

I'm not a member......

then again, I'm Canadian...

nevermind...

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Nurse Sean
http://nursesean.com

No, I'm not a member.

I know that this is not a very PC thing to say, but I kind of like doing my job and then going home.

I'm sure that in a perfect world, we'd all love to be activists for our professions, but this isn't a perfect world.

I feel as though I give as much as I possibly can to be a good nurse. The rest of my time is given to my family and hobbies.

This is also the reason why I let my AACN memberships lapse as well.

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code blog

Nurse Sean, you crack me up!

MJ

I'm not either but I am a member of the Royal College of Nursing (royal connections help maybe).

The RCN acts as a kind of trade union by negotiating terms, conditions and pay along with other professional bodies. It also offers indemnity insurance and representation in employment anmd professional cases. One of the great things is that it has different sections for different types of nursing plus runs courses and conferences.

Even so, many people don't feel it represents their interests. Not sure how you please everyone.

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Julie
http://www.lifeinthenhs.wordpress.com

I have not joined the ANA because I lack the time and insight necessary to be involved in ANA's decision-making processes.

Yeah! What she said!

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code blog

Geena! You are so funny! Thanks for the laugh .

I have found it difficult at times to choose the best from among all the good things there are to do in this world. They all look wonderful to my enthusiatic and uncritical eye! The result of such naviety is that I end up juggling flaming brands. Those obligations then either burn my hands or fall to the ground and set fire to everything! I've lived through enough 'scorched earth' times to be wary of taking on too many good things!

Here is to healthy boundaries and laughing while we juggle! ...Anyone have a fire extinguisher handy?

Joy

Hi Joy:

Don’t lose your enthusiasm for life. It’s the only thing that keeps you going in your old age.


MJ

I don't belong to the ANA either, if I was going to belong to a professional organization, I'd probably choose the ENA, only because I'm an Emergency Nurse and they do a lot of inservices that are pertinent to the ER.

But...on a realistic level, my heart belongs to getting the word out about Stem Cell Research because my niece thinks that is the most important thing in the world. She's a juvenile diabetic and wants people to know that insulin is not a cure, and she'd love to see a cure for diabetes (among other things) in her lifetime.

She's 16. All I wanted at 16 was a date for the movies every once in a while. Hmmmm.

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www.MyOwnWoman.blogspot.com