National Awards Program
About The ANA National Awards Program
Award Program Materials
Since the early 1900s, the American Nurses Association has presented awards to prominent registered nurses to recognize their outstanding contributions to the nursing profession and the field of health care. Provisions have also been made to honor, on special occasions, individuals who are not members of the nursing profession but have made significant contributions to health and/or nursing care.
The awards program was established to pay special tribute to those individuals who, through distinguished service to the nursing profession:
- work for the improvement of health standards and the availability of health care services to all people;
- foster high standards of nursing; and/or
- stimulate and promote the professional development of registered nurses and advance their economic and general welfare.
A primary goal of the awards program is to inform members of the nursing profession, other health professionals, government officials, and the public of the outstanding accomplishments and significant achievements of individual registered nurses in the delivery of health care. In addition, the awards program assists the public in gaining a better understanding of the role of nursing and its significant contribution to the delivery of health care.
The ANA Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for approving the selection of recipients for all national awards. The board-appointed Committee on Honorary Awards and its nine subcommittees are charged to review all nominations for specific awards and make recommendations to the board.
Individuals selected to receive an award are honored each biennium during a ceremony held in conjunction with ANA’s House of Delegates. Fourteen national awards will be presented in 2008. The award descriptions are listed below.