Nursing and national healthcare implications with the rise of the California Nurses Association and the National Nurse Organizing Committee

In 1993, a group of unionized bedside nurses took control of their state nursing association. In 1995, they disenfranchised themselves from the American Nurses Association, which historically had billed itself as “THE” voice of the profession of nursing. This study utilizes a case study format to look at who they are, what their intentions are, and what their vision is for the future of the profession. Twenty questions were submitted to key participants identified by the California Nurses Association (CNA). The questions were organized into three main areas: the period leading up to the disenfranchisement, the period of growth after the takeover up until the historic passage of the ratio laws and whistle blower protection, and the period after the passage of the laws wherein the association began a national movement. This movement continues to evolve, and in December, 2009, the CNA (now the National Nurses United) became the largest nursing organization in the country. As the title of the study implies, one intention of the study is to look at the implications for the profession of nursing and the inevitable political implications for the national healthcare debate. Another purpose is to introduce this group to the academic and professional nursing communities, which until now have largely ignored them. Still another purpose is to lay out a blueprint for other state nursing associations who may wish to empower themselves, to analyze the process by which this group has grown to political prominence. No other nursing association has been able to duplicate their political success. Finally, the study raises many crucial questions which nursing academics and nursing leaders must address if nursing is going to able to utilize our only real political power, the power of numbers. Uniting the field, or at least growing the association to significant numerical strength, is the only way nursing can become an equal partner in the national healthcare debate