The national body of the nursing profession is known as the American Nurses' Association, incorporated in 1901 under the laws of New York State, and in 1917 under the code of laws of the District of Columbia.
The purposes of the corporation "are to promote the professional and educational advancement of nurses in every proper way; to elevate the standard of nursing education; to establish and maintain a code of ethics among nurses; to distribute relief among such nurses as may become ill, disabled or destitute; to disseminate information on the subject of nursing by publications; to bring into communication with each other various nurses and associations and federations of nurses throughout the United States of America."
Membership is limited to members in good standing in the state associations belonging to the national association.
The general business of the association is vested in a Board of Directors. An Advisory Council to consider and promote the interest of the Association is composed of the officers of the Association, the presidents of state organizations, members of the Association, the chairmen of sections, and the editor of the American Journal of Nursing.
The general work of the Association is carried on by eight standing committees. A biennial convention of the Association is held. Dues are paid by the component societies, fifteen cents for each active member of each society.
There are forty-eight state members of the national body. The official organ, as has been said, is the American Journal of Nursing, published monthly. This is also the official organ of thirty-five state and other nursing organizations.
The National League of Nursing Education was formed in 1893 for the purpose of joining all directresses of training schools into an organization for the betterment of the instruction given to nurses. It has broadened out since then to include all members of the nursing profession who are engaged in educational work. These include superintendents and assistant superintendents of schools of nursing and hospitals, instructors, supervisors in schools of nursing and head nurses, members of state boards of nurse examiners and head workers in various forms of social, educational and preventive nursing. Many of the states have similar organizations, all of them being component societies of the national association.
Another important national organization is the National Organization for Public Health Nursing, which includes in its membership both lay and professional members. As its name implies, its activities are principally concerned with public health nursing.
In order to combine all types of nursing activities in one body, headquarters of the national nursing associations were established in New York. This organization was originally supported by the Red Cross, but at present is sustained entirely by the various national associations of nurses. One of its most important functions is to act as a placement bureau where applicants for positions in various administrative or teaching positions register; and where one may apply for assistance in obtaining such administrative or teaching nursing forces as are required.
Admission to the Nursing Profession
The standards of the profession have been gradually raised through years of constant endeavor on the part of the nursing associations. Educational and training facilities of the various hospi-
