Advocacy
Advocating for our members is at the heart of what the Alaska Nurses Association does. Our goal is to build a stronger nursing community. Together we collectively address the issues that affect our profession and our patients. The result? We lead more fulfilling careers and ensure our patients get the care they deserve.
Advocating for our members is at the heart of what the Alaska Nurses Association does. Our goal is to build a stronger nursing community. Together we collectively address the issues that affect our profession and our patients. The result? We lead more fulfilling careers and ensure our patients get the care they deserve.
Advocacy is an essential part of the nursing profession. As nurses, our call to advocacy extends beyond the bedside. Together, we can use our collective voice to speak up to employers, regulatory agencies, and the legislature for a better healthcare environment. When we stand up and stand together, we can and do make changes.
We can’t do that alone. Together, through community building, we leverage our collective voice to advocate for nurses and patients throughout Alaska.
We achieve this through our different advocacy channels. Each of our committees dedicates their effort towards advancing the nursing profession through initiatives that improve the workplace environment and professional development of our nurses.
Together, we create a better future for our profession.
Our overall mission uplifts the nursing profession by providing advocacy mechanisms to achieve:
- Safe work environments
- Mental health support for nurses
- Affordable healthcare for all Alaskans
- High-quality professional standards
- Strong, fully-funded state health programs
Our committees meet at different times and all meetings are available either in-person or online. Reach out today and make Alaska a better place to live and practice nursing.
Legislative Advocacy in Alaska
Through actively monitoring, proposing, and responding to healthcare legislation in Alaska, we aim to lobby for the interests of nurses. Become a powerful, engaged leader in our political community.
Legislative Committee
Did you know?…
Each year, bills are introduced in Juneau with the potential to monumentally impact the nursing profession. These bills affect how we do our jobs and the care our patients receive.
Individually, it’s challenging for our voices to be heard at a state level. However, collectively we tackle issues affecting the nursing profession and the patients we serve.
AaNA’s Legislative Committee engages our members with state healthcare policy initiatives in order to elevate the voice of nurses throughout the state. Our advocates meet twice monthly online or in-person during the legislative session.
Stand up for your profession and become an advocate.
Legislative Priorities
Each October, our members meet at the General Assembly to identify key priorities and initiatives for the year. This year we have several different priorities that stretch across many disciplines. Our key initiatives are:
- Ensuring nurses have the resources they need during the COVID-19 pandemic, including safe workplaces, access to PPE, mental health support, and economic security.
- Opposing Alaska’s participation in the Nurse Licensure Compact and working to maintain a strong and independent Alaska Board of Nursing.
- Campaigning to end workplace violence in healthcare and continuing to stand up for safer work environments, including access to lift equipment and improved staffing.
- Ensuring that all Alaskans have access to quality, affordable healthcare including prescription drug access, school nurses, public health programs, mental health care, and substance abuse prevention and treatment, and more.
- Supporting the profession of nursing through student debt relief, continuing education opportunities, improved recruitment and retention, and more.
Professional Practice Committee
Are you interested in protecting the nurses of tomorrow? Do you wish to elevate the nursing profession? We work to empower Alaskan nurses to utilize the full extent of their education in their practice.
We advocate for policy that uplifts education, training, and capability. Through our work with the Alaska State Board of Nursing, we aim to tackle the toughest issues facing nursing today.
Alaska Board of Nursing
At AaNA, we are committed to ensuring high standards for nursing practice in Alaska. One way we do this is to attend all Alaska Board of Nursing meetings to monitor nursing regulations and advocate for nursing practice issues.
The Alaska Nurses Association represents your workplace and practice interests with the Alaska Board of Nursing. We aim to provide input on proposals that affect your workplace and practice.
Nursing Practice Issues
Our Professional Practice Committee addresses your toughest issues as nurses. Collectively, we stand in opposition to Alaska’s participation in the Nurse Licensure Compact. We aim to maintain a strong and independent Alaska Board of Nursing funded through licensing fees.
Health and Safety
When you work in an environment where every day is different, health and safety are the number one priority. From ergonomic workplace issues all the way to handling a violent patient at the end of a long shift, your health and safety matters. Advocate for the protection of both nurses and patients.
Health and Safety Taskforce
The Alaska Nurses Association Health and Safety Taskforce uses our collective voice to protect nurses’ working conditions and patients’ healing conditions. Through legislative initiatives and workplace advocacy, we are the force that creates a safer, healthier workplace.
Health and Safety Current Issues
At the Alaska Nurses Association, your health is our priority. We tackle a variety of workplace health and safety issues through legislation, education, and policies aimed towards improving safety for patients and nurses.
Our aim is to advocate for a safe, healthy workplace that our members want to be a part of. Through our various initiatives, we tackle everything from lift equipment to safe staffing levels.
At AaNA, we are committed to ending workplace violence in healthcare settings. Together, we advocate for enactment of an OSHA standard to protect healthcare workers from violence in the workplace. By speaking up together, we can prevent workplace violence, allowing us to care for our patients while staying safe.
We advocate for ensuring all nurses have access to mental health resources and promote healthy and safe workplaces for all Alaskan nurses through legislation, education, and policies.
Alaska Nurses PAC
Another way to get involved with the AaNA is to use your vote. The Alaska Nurses PAC is a specialized group that advocates for political candidates. As a team, we endorse individuals who uphold our standards and aim to elevate the nursing agenda. We do this through campaign contributions.
To learn more, visit the Alaska Nurses PAC.