ANA Principles

While many are working to attain full practice authority for APRNs through legislative and regulatory efforts, analysis has revealed a disturbing trend in state legislation requiring a supervised post-licensure practice or transition period, often referred to as “transition to practice” requirements, further delaying APRN full practice authority. Increasing variability in state practice requirements for APRN full practice authority does not bring the nation toward consensus, but institutes additional layers of unnecessary regulatory constraint and higher costs.

ANA’s Principles for APRN Full Practice Authority provides policy-makers and stakeholders with evidence-based guidance when considering changes in statute or regulation for APRNs.

ANA Principles for Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)
Full Practice Authority 

Over the past decade, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has piloted a new role, most often referred to as the Community Paramedic (CP). This expanded role builds on the skills and preparation of the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic, with the intention of fulfilling the health care needs of those populations with limited access to primary care services. Cuts in public health and community services funding have decimated programs, leaving unmet health needs. In many cases, CPs are filling a gap in services that had been performed by public health and visiting nurses.

ANA's Essential Principles for Utilization of Community Paramedics provides overarching standards and strategies for the Registered Nurse and the Community Paramedic to apply when cooperating in various settings and across the continuum of care. This document seeks to promote common understanding of the Community Paramedic role and clarification of Registered Nurses' expectations of cooperation with this new role.

ANA's Essential Principles for Utilization of Community Paramedics 

The American Nurses Association and the American Organization of Nurse Executives developed these "Principles of Collaborative Relationships" to enhance highly effective practice environments. The Principles guide clinical nurses and nurse managers on functioning as teams to deliver on their shared goal of high-value patient care.

Principles of Collaborative Relationships

Online social networking facilitates collegial communication among registered nurses and provides convenient and timely forums for professional development and education. It also presents remarkable potential for public education and health guidance, contributing to nursing’s online professional presence. At the same time, the inherent nature of social networking invites the sharing of personal information or work experiences that may reflect poorly on a nurse’s professionalism. ANA’s Principles for Social Networking and the Nurse: Guidance for the Registered Nurse provides guidance to registered nurses on using social networking media in a way that protects patients’ privacy and confidentiality and maintains the standards of professional nursing practice. These six essential principles are relevant to all registered nurses and nursing students across all roles and settings.

ANA’s Principles for Social Networking and the Nurse

Today, in response to variations in the quality of health care and rising health care costs, many policymakers and purchasers of health care services are exploring and promoting pay-for-performance (P4P) or value-based purchasing (VBP) systems. There are multiple variations of Pay for Quality programs all with designs and strategies to refocus the health care system on cost-effective quality care. At the core of any program are the measures used to rate the provider’s performance. ANA’s Principles of Pay for Quality: Guidance for Nurses presents ten principles to guide the nurse in any Pay for Quality discussion.

ANA Principles for Pay for Quality

The 2019 ANA Principles for Nurse Staffing identify the major elements needed to achieve optimal staffing, which enhances the delivery of safe, quality care. These principles and the supporting material in this publication will guide nurses and other decision-makers in identifying and developing the processes and policies needed to improve nurse staffing at every practice level and in any practice setting.

ANA's Principles for Nurse Staffing, 3rd Edition

Clear, accurate, and accessible documentation is an essential element of safe, quality, evidence-based nursing practice. The RN and the APRN are responsible and accountable for the nursing documentation that is used throughout an organization. This publication identifies six essential principles to guide nurses in this necessary and integral aspect of the work of registered nurses in all roles and settings.

ANA Principles for Nursing Documentation

Nursing as a health care profession and environmental health as a public health discipline share many of the same roots. This document articulates and expands on ten principles to guide registered nurses in providing nursing care in a manner that is environmentally safe and healthy. By doing so, this document challenges nurses to rediscover their profession’s traditional environmental health roots and to operate from these roots and principles in their roles as health care advocates and providers.

ANA Principles of Environmental Health
for Nursing Practice with Implementation Strategies

The American Nurses Association (ANA) Core Principles on Connected Health (Principles) is a guide for health care professionals who use connected health technologies to provide quality care.

These Principles are an update to the 1998 ANA Core Principles on Telehealth, which were developed through an interdisciplinary work group to help guide health care professions developing policy in the telehealth arena. For the latest iteration, the ANA Professional Issues Panel (Panel) leveraged a working definition of Connected Health (see below) to revise the Principles and reflect the current lens and transformation of health care. This definition is not an endorsement of ANA.

ANA Core Principles on Connected Health