Every June the American Nurses Association hosts a Membership Assembly in Washington, DC. This brings together ANA’s constituent member organizations (C/SNAs) (i.e. ANA-NY), Individual Member Division (IMD), affiliated organizations, and members of the ANA Board of Directors. This equals roughly 200 people each year. Representing ANA-NY besides myself and Jeanine Santelli were Kimberly Velez, Jessica Varghese, Lee Mancuso, Verlia Brown, Kerlene Richards, and Giselle Gerardi. This was my first time attending and with my luck, it was a “bylaws year”. It was comforting to have a strong group of ANA-NY representatives with me as many revisions were proposed that needed careful consideration. Many of these were clerical in nature not requiring discussion. Others, not so much. There were so many bylaw amendments that ANA held four virtual pre-hearing sessions leading up to the actual Membership Assembly. Although overwhelming, it also showed their dedication to transparency as an organization. ANA-NY is also part of a regional group that brings Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont C/SNAs together. There was discussion of controversial bylaw amendments with this group ahead of and at the Membership Assembly, which helped us see various sides of what was brought forth. A big discussion topic was about adding LPNs to ANA’s membership. Pros and cons were shared many times by many state groups and even ANA past presidents. Ultimately, this change was referred back to committee for additional discussion and my hope is that it comes back to the next “bylaws year” with many of the logistical questions (i.e. do they get full membership? Can they run for a board seat?) addressed. Apportionment, which is the formula used to determine how many votes each state receives was also referred back to committee. “One member one vote”, which would change the entire structure of ANA voting, was voted down. Due to the high volume of amendments proposed and even higher level of debate on some of the controversial topics, a special meeting was scheduled to finish our work. This was held virtually on September 11, 2025 and I am glad to say it went smoothly.  Just ahead of Membership Assembly, I participated in ANA’s Hill Day that resulted in 500 nurses from 47 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands meeting with 244 House of Representatives and 92 Senate Offices (American Nurses Association, 2025). Our advocacy focused on: preserving funding for Medicaid, reauthorizing Title VIII Nursing Workforce programs, protecting nurses from workplace violence, and improving patients’ access to care (American Nurses Association, 2025). ANA staff passed out stethoscopes for us to give out at our meetings in hopes that having a key nursing tool in their office would serve as a visual reminder of how important we are to their work. We also heard key reports from the ANA president, treasurer, CEO, Chief Nursing Officer, and Professional Policy Committee. Dialogue forums surrounding advancing rural healthcare, artificial intelligence, and up-coming revisions to the ANA Scope and Standards of Practice also provided guidance as to what is coming soon from ANA. Overall, my first Membership Assembly was exhausting yet invigorating. I take comfort in knowing about the important work that our “mothership” is doing to ensure we have a vibrant, productive organization and I hope you do now too. 

American Nurses Association (2025, June 26). ANA hill day 2025: Nurses take key issues to Capital Hill. https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2025/ana-hill-day-2025-nurses-take-key-issues-to-capitol-hill/