Retired Position Statements

Archived ANA Position Statements

• Retired Position Statement: Nursing and the Patient Self-Determination Acts - Nov 1991 This is available only to members.
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  ANA Position Statement - Archived February, 2012

• Retired Position Statement: Mechanisms Through Which SNAs Consider Ethical/Human Rights Issues 12/8/94

  
  ANA Position Statement - Archived September, 2011

• Retired Position Statement: Tobacco Use Prevention, Cessation, and Exposure to Second-hand Smoke - 4/20/05 This is available only to members.
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  Archived Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Registered Nurse Education Relating To The Utilization of Unlicensed Assistive Personnel - 4/13/92

  
  ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Adolescent Immunization - 12/12/02 [PDF] This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue: The American Nurses Association (ANA) recognizes continuing advancement in widespread public immunization against vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) as among of the greatest public health achievements in the 20th century. Further, ANA acknowledges the essential role of nurses in progress toward control of VPDs and in maintaining and improving vaccine coverage levels in all age groups. But while vaccination rates for infants and children are now reaching record levels, achieving optimal coverage levels for protection against VPDs during adolescence presents unique challenges requiring specific strategies to reduce risks and meet the special needs of this population. To meet immunization goals for adolescents, nurses must participate fully in developing and implementing strategies to reach this sometimes hard-to-reach and often neglected population. The American Nurses Association, the National Center for School Health Nursing, and the National Nursing Coalition for School Health have joined together to promote the incorporation of adolescent immunization recommendations into nursing practice so that adolescents, and in turn, the general public, are optimally protected against VPDs.

• Retired Position Statement: Adult Immunization - 12/12/02 [PDF] This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue: The American Nurses Association supports:
  1. Vaccine delivery st rategies that remove barriers to access for all persons; regardless of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, immigration status or geography.
  2. Public policy that removes barriers to access to immunization for all adults;
  3. Research to evaluate consumer and professional attitudes and behaviors in regard t o immunization delivery and to guide t he design of evidence-based programs to improve vaccine acceptance and immunization levels;
  4. Clinical practices linking assessment of vaccination status and administration of vaccines to other recommended preventive measures and strongly recognizing nursing’s role in this process;
  5. Forums for health care professionals to develop, share, disseminate and become educated about current information regarding indications, efficacy, safety, and delivery of adult immunization and consumer educational materials that reflect current research in these areas.
  6. Collaborative and cooperative agreements and partnerships with private and public sector organizations to promote adult immunizations in a variety of settings and to advance ongoing vaccine research.

• Retired Position Statement: Opposition to Mandatory Overtime - 10/17/01 This is available only to members.
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  Archived ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Elimination of Medication Waste in Long Term Care Facilities - 6/21/00 [PDF] This is available only to members.
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  Archived ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Human Cloning by Means of Blastomere Splitting and Nuclear Transplantation - 6/21/00 This is available only to members.
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• Retired Position Statement: Environmental Tobacco Smoke - 12/12/97 This is available only to members.
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• Retired Position Statement: Latex Allergy - 9/15/97 This is available only to members.
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  Archived ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Privatization and For-profit Conversion - 9/15/97 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Prevention of Tobacco Use in Youth - 3/26/97 This is available only to members.
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  Retired Position Statement

• Retired Statement: ANA Response to Pew Commission Report - 12/5/96 This is available only to members.
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  Official Position on This Issue: Any effort to reform health care workforce regulation must be based on a commitment to ensuring a stronger, more effective system that places primary emphasis on protection of the health and safety of the public. ANA opposes attempts to weaken the functioning and enforcement abilities of the regulatory system.

• Retired Position Statement: Authentication in a Computer-Based Patient Record - 11/95 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Home Care for Mother, Infant and Family Following Birth - 11/30/95 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Computer-based Patient Record Standards - 11/95 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: On Access to Patient Data - 11/30/95 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Long Term Care - 7/02/95 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Restructuring, Work Redesign, and the Job and Career Security of Registered Nurses - 3/30/95 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Childhood Immunizations - 3/30/95 This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue: The American Nurses Association recognizes the importance of immunizations to the health of individual children and the community as a whole, and of the pivotal role nursing plays in assuring immunizations. The fulfillment of the immunization goal is a major undertaking that cannot be realized without the full endorsement of all professional nurses. For that reason, ANA will strive to attain the highest rate of immunization coverage in order to insure maximum protection overall for the general population.

• Retired Position Statement: Informal Caregiving - 3/29/95 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: A National Nursing Database to Support Clinical Nursing Practice - 12/08/94 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Polygraph Testing of Health Care Workers - 12/08/94 This is available only to members.
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  Retired Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Services to Families Following a Sudden Infant DeathSyndrome - 4/94 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statements

• Retired Position Statement: Education for Participation in Nursing Research - 4/94 This is available only to members.
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  Retired Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Association of Operating Room Nurses Official Statement on RN First Assistants - 4/94 This is available only to members.
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  Official Position on This Issue, Endorsed by ANA: Perioperative nursing practice has historically included the role of the RN as assistant at surgery. As early as 1980, documents issued by the American College of Surgeons supported the appropriateness for qualified RNs to first assist.
  AORN officially recognized this role as a component of perioperative nursing in 1983 and adopted the first Official Statement of RN First Assistants (RNFA) in 1984. Acceptance of this official statement by many state boards of nursing has supported that RNFA behaviors are recognized within the scope of nursing practice.
  AORN's official statement delineates the definition, scope of practice, qualifications, educational requirements, and clinical privileges that must be met by the perioperative nurse who practices as an RNFA. AORN further recognizes the need for appropriate compensation/reimbursement to RNs who fulfill this role in providing perioperative patient care.

• Retired Position Statement: Guideline for Commercial Support for Continuing Nursing Education - 4/08/94 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: The Health Care Service System and Linkage of Primary Care, Substance Abuse, Mental Health, and HIV/AIDS Related Services - 12/93 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Tuberculosis and HIV - 4/02/93 This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue: The American Nurses Association supports:
  -Closely monitoring the HIV-infected person for TB symptoms and screening for TB as part of their routine health care. All individuals found to be HIV positive should be offered appropriate TB test.
  -Policy development to support linkages of TB with HIV, primary care and substance abuse screening, education, treatment in accessible and convenient programs.
  -The provision of joint testing services for TB and HIV which employ confidentiality and pre & post test counseling services.
  -The ethical responsibility of nurses to engage in on-going assessment related to communicable diseases, such as TB.
  -Education for all nurses about the epidemiology, transmission, preventive strategies and symptoms of TB.
  -Employers' provision of protective equipment and appropriate safe work environment for nurses to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases such as TB.
  -Federal and state resources being applied to alleviate conditions of social deprivation (poverty, homelessness).
  -Funding for increased research to expand knowledge of HIV/TB transmission and treatment.
  -Increased participation of nurses in research for safe workplace protective equipment and technology to reduce the risk of communicable disease transmission.
  -Continued nursing input in to federal, state and local agencies and legislative processes about TB and HIV disease concerns.

  The HIV positive nurse to
  -know their TB status by following CDC recommended guidelines for ongoing assessment,
  -self-limit their nursing practice based on a case-by-case assessment of their TB status,
  -self-restrict their contact with patients, co-workers, and visitors if symptoms associated with airborne communicable disease are present,
  -adhere to prescribed medication regime for TB to decrease the opportunity for transmission of the disease.

• Retired Position Statement: Tuberculosis and Public Health Nursing - 4/02/93 This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue: The American Nurses Association Supports:
  -The use of a nursing case management model in tuberculosis control to coordinate inpatient and outpatient services; facilitate the safe delivery of TB medications to patients in the community; assure completion of therapy; and limit the transmission of the disease by identifying newly infected and diseased persons through contact investigation procedures.
  -The utilization of unlicensed assistive personnel (such as community outreach workers and public health advisors) working under the supervision and direction of nurses.
  -The enhancement of nursing's role in surveillance, assessment, treatment, and evaluation activities with priority given to nursing management of patients on treatment, as well as education and infection control practices that will promote prevention in the community and among health care workers.
  -Collaboration with other agencies to encourage research on the development and implementation of different treatment models of care to provide a full range of available treatment options for clients with TB - from outpatient services, halfway houses and respite units - to inpatient and long-term-care models.
  -Nursing research initiatives on the effectiveness of different treatment modalities in improving treatment outcomes, including the use of directly observed therapy and other adherence strategies.
  -Innovative demonstration projects to document effective strategies for surveillance and screening methods with at-risk populations.
  -Accelerated research to document the most effective control measures which will prevent the transmission of TB to nurses providing treatment.

• Retired Position Statement: AIDS/HIV Disease and Socio-Culturally Diverse Populations - 4/02/93 This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue; Culture embodies the values, attitudes, beliefs and practices of a group as well as its roles and structures, communication styles, technology, art, and artifacts. The numbers of reported cases of AIDS/HIV disease are dramatically increasing in some ethnic and minority groups. The American Nurses Association (ANA) supports the provision of skilled, knowledgeable and compassionate nursing care which respects client conscience and integrity, cultural values, beliefs, relationships and the right to make choices. Comprehensive educational programs that are culturally sensitive must be targeted to diverse population groups to assure that the transmission of the AIDS/HIV epidemic is stopped in all communities. Research which increases knowledge about socio cultural diversity is needed. Continued political action and advocacy is also needed to ensure quality health care for all, regardless of ag

• Retired Position Statement: Nurse-Midwifery - 4/02/93 This is available only to members.
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  Retired Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: HIV Infected Nurse, Ethical Obligations and Disclosure - 12/11/92 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Nutrition Screening for the Elderly - 12/11/92 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: HIV Disease and Women - 9/11/92 This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue ANA supports:
  -The availability and accessibility of primary health care and early intervention for women.
  -Prevention programs that are culturally sensitive and culturally specific with testing and counseling information specifically for women, including access to safer sex appliances, education to increase self-esteem, and skill in negotiating safer sexual practices.
  -The integration of health care and social services for both women and their children into a "one-stop shopping" model, with adequate and appropriate case management and referral.
  -Training for clinicians and health care providers to increase their expertise in HIV risk assessment and gynecological manifestations of HIV infection/disease in women.
  -Increased research in HIV prevention for women, etiology of HIV in women, the care and treatment of women with HIV and the inclusion of women in clinical drug trials. Access and availability of social services for women including child care, transportation, support groups, and provision of basic living needs (housing, food, clothing).
  -Drug treatment and rehabilitation programs for women on demand that also address the specific needs of women with children.
  -The protection of women's rights to retain custody of their children and to arrange for their care. Women should have access to assistance for in home-care for children in the event of the mother's illness and assistance with foster care and adoption if the mother predeceases her children.

• Retired Position Statement: Maintaining Professional and Legal Standards During a Shortage of Nursing Personnel - 8/92 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: HIV Infection and U.S. Teenagers - 12/13/91 This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue: The American Nurses Association (ANA) believes the most effective strategy in dealing with the AIDS epidemic is prevention. Increased education about the risks of HIV infection should be a priority within community health nursing practice. ANA also supports the inclusion of information related to HIV transmission in school curricula.

• Retired Position Statement: Role of the Registered Nurse in the Management of Patients Receiving IV Conscious Sedation - 9/91 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Travel Restrictions for Persons with HIV/AIDS - 9/06/91 This is available only to members.
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  Retired Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Referrals to the Most Appropriate Provider - 9/06/91 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Ethics and Human Rights - 9/05/91 This is available only to members.
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• Retired Position Statement: Role of the Registered Nurse in the Management of Analgesia by Catheter Techniques - 9/91 This is available only to members.
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  Official Position on This Issue: Placement of a catheter or infusion device, administration of the test-dose or initial dose of medication to determine correct catheter or infusion device placement, and establishment of analgesic dosage parameters by written order for patients who need acute or chronic pain relief or for the woman during labor should be done only by licensed professionals who are educated in the specialty of anesthesia and physicians in other specialties who have been granted clinical privileges by the institution.

• Retired Position Statement: Opposition to Criminal Prosecution of Women for Use of Drugs While Pregnant - 4/05/91 This is available only to members.
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  Retired Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Guidelines for Disclosure to a Known Third Party About Possible HIV Infection - 4/04/91 This is available only to members.
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  Retired ANA Position Statement

• Retired Position Statement: Polypharmacy and the Older Adult - 12/15/90 This is available only to members.
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  ANA's Official Position on This Issue The American Nurses Association supports:
  -the position that a drug profile be initiated on admission of older adults to any health care institution or community setting
  -the evaluation/ monitoring of this drug profile for unnecessary and excessive drugs by appropriate professionals nurses in their actions to communicate, document, and refuse to give medications that in their judgment may adversely affect their older patients
  -research in pharmacodynamics and promotion of safe medication self-administration in the older population.