ANA Resources
An update of a survey last conducted in 2001 shows overall improvements in safety in the RN work environment, particularly the availability of patient lifting equipment and safer needle devices, but many nurses still work in pain, suffer injuries on the job, and are targets for abuse.
Figures on nursing employment, demographics and education, from U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As health insurance coverage expands, the Medicare population bulges, and health care services continue moving from institutional to community-based settings, APRNs are being called upon to deliver more of the nation’s health care.
The U.S. faces a shortfall of RNs — a recent study pegged it at 260,000 by 2025 — that is projected to grow worse as demand increases, a surge of nurses retire, and nursing schools struggle to create capacity for students.
ANA’s National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators® (NDNQI®) helps hospitals improve patient safety and outcomes through nursing performance measures. This case study describes an NDNQI Award-winning hospital’s improvement on infection rates.
ANA believes health care is a basic human right, and advocates increasing the emphasis on prevention, primary care and chronic disease management.
- Controlling Costs
- Expanding Access
- Improving Quality
- Health Insurance Coverage
The Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000 gave health care workers more input into selection of safer sharps devices and helped reduce injuries, but incidents that could expose workers to bloodborne pathogens still occur too often.
With the CDC’s 2010 recommendation that everyone six months and older receive an annual influenza vaccine, nurses’ role as immunization leaders, coordinators and educators has become even more vital.
ANA Backgrounder
Bringing Immunity to Every Community