The Role of the Association
Professional nursing associations exist to provide a voice to advance the profession; influence healthy public policy; and provide resources and supports to help members succeed throughout their career.
Professional associations can:
- Offer nurses the opportunity to engage in the profession and contribute to the overall vision of healthcare
- Offer key services that support the professional development that every nurse is required to do for continuing competence, resources for professional practices, knowledge generation, and research
- Provide networking opportunities with a broader range of nurses than found in their workplace, which promotes further education and career development
- Take a whole system approach and offer an objective outside perspective to help facilitate integrated solutions
- Rely on subject matter experts within the profession when asked to provide feedback to stakeholders such as the government on various issues
- Provide nurses with the opportunity to use their voices to advocate for health and be seen as experts in their field
- Connects nurses with other professional bodies both intra and interprofessionally at the local, national and international levels