Nurses are at the forefront of providing care for patients. Genetic information focuses on individual genes in the genome. Genomic information focuses on all genes in the genome interacting. Nurses are increasingly expected to use genetic and genomic information when providing care for patients. Nurses recognize and respond to the revolutionary changes that occur in providing health care. The American Nurses Association (ANA), and, more specifically, the Center for Ethics and Human Rights (the Center), have been involved in the development, promotion, and dissemination of genetic and genomic information because ANA recognizes the impact genomic information has on patient care. ANA and its Center have been leading the way in the genomic revolution for more than a decade.

In the early 1990s when human genome mapping was in its infancy, ANA was surveying nurses to elicit information about the use and storage of genetic information. The data from the survey was reported in a seminal document entitled Managing Genetic Information: Implications for Nurses (Scanlon and Fibison 1995). The document identified four key areas for practice with ethical implications linked to the Code of Ethics. The key areas discussed by Scanlon and Fibison were informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, veracity, and non-discrimination. The outcome of that initial project launched ANA and specifically the Center into a decade of assisting nurses with the management of genetic information that continues even today.

Following the initial project on managing genetic information, ANA partnered with the Genome Institute at the National Institute of Health and the American Medical Association to seek funding to secure a grant to begin the work that resulted in the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG). Today, NCHPEG is the premier resource for health information and an active organization in promoting and improving genetic and genomic health information for health professionals in all disciplines. National nursing organizations comprise the largest health profession membership in NCHPEG. Other examples of early ANA leadership include ANA‘s recognition of genetics as an area of nursing specialty through credentialing and standards. ANA worked collaboratively with the International Society of Nurses in Genetics (ISONG) to develop and disseminate information on Nursing and Genetics. The ANA continues to have a strong collaborative relationship with ISONG.

Constituent members of the ANA have been active in creating and passing resolutions related to genetics and cloning that similarly span the decade. In 1999 and 2003, the ANA House of Delegates approved statements relating to genetics education and therapeutic and reproductive applications of genetics. In 2000, ANA developed a position statement on “human cloning by means of blastomere splitting and nuclear transplantation” (ANA 2000). Most recently, the ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights Advisory Board appointed for 2006-2008 began a review of the 2000 human cloning position statement.

The ANA through its Governmental Affairs department (GOVA) has continuously monitored federal legislation related to genetics and genomics. As needed, GOVA has made the positions of ANA members known to federal legislators. Legislation related to medical record privacy issues, mobility and health insurance, and stem cell research are the most notable examples of proposed federal legislation requiring ANA vigilance, monitoring, and input.