We’ve had your back since 1908
This story appears in the Fall 2024 print issue of The Washington Nurse.
Our history is one of nurses uniting with a shared vision to elevate their profession; improve working conditions; and advance the health of patients, communities, and populations.
Through two world wars, a tuberculosis outbreak, the influenza epidemic, polio, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Depression, injustices, and progress, WSNA has been there.
We established scholarships for nurses, improved nursing education, advanced the Nurse Practice Act, and formed one of the country’s first political action committees for nurses. WSNA was a leader in the labor movement years before Congress recognized the right of private sector healthcare employees to organize in 1974.
In 1960, WSNA called for the elimination of discrimination as a barrier for any nurse, and in 1978, WSNA received the ANA Human Rights Award for achievements in affirmative action in nursing.
Our legislative victories have set minimum salaries and benefits for nurses, protected whistleblowers, secured safe patient handling, provided PTSD benefits, and made ongoing progress toward safe staffing and reducing workplace violence.
Today, we have the backing of our powerful national union, AFT, and our membership is growing. We are the largest state affiliate of the American Nurses Association (ANA), and our resolutions shape policy.
In 1992, the American Nurses Association adopted our resolution against the Department of Defense policy banning lesbians and gay men from military service. And in 2023, WSNA played a leading role in ANA adopting a strong position on enforceable staffing standards.
Our history allows us to reflect on our lengthy battle for fair treatment. It also reminds us of the historical exclusion of nurses of color by our institutions and professional associations — a stain on our profession. Today, WSNA, the American Nurses Association, and many others are working on racial reckoning and ensuring that diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are driving forces for all decisions.
This historical recap was sourced from a longer timeline created for our centennial in 2008 and from nearly 100 years of print publications starting in 1929.
The Washington Nurse, which has gone by different names over the years, has been an invaluable resource for tracking changes in our culture and the nursing profession.
