North Carolina Nurses Association
The North Carolina Nurses Association (NCNA) is a professional nursing organization established for Registered Nurses. The organization advocates on behalf of patients as well as the nursing profession. It is the only nursing organization in the state that represents all Registered Nurses in North Carolina.
NCNA states their mission as:
“The North Carolina Nurses Association serves the changing needs of its members, addresses nursing issues, and advocates for the health and well-being of all people.”
The organization was established by a group of nurses in 1902. Their first order of business was to pass the Nursing Practice Act. This act made North Carolina the first state to allow nurse registration.
The organization has divided NC into several regions. Some regions are further subdivided into district. The regions, districts, and corresponding North Carolina counties are as follows:
- Mountain Region: Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey counties
- Northeast Region: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson counties plus District 17 (Halifax, Hertford, Northampton, Warren counties)
- Northwest Region: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Iredell, Watauga, Wilkes counties
- South Central Region: District 14 (Cumberland, Harnett, and Sampson counties), District 15 (Bladen, Hoke, Southern section only of Moore, Richmond, Robeson, and Scotland counties) and District 16 (Columbus county)
- Southeast Region: District 21 (Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Lenoir, Jones, Onslow, and Pamlico counties) and District 22 (Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties)
- Southwest Region: District 5 (Anson, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly and Union counties) and District 29 (Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, and Rutherford counties)
- Triad Region: District 3 (Davie, Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin counties), District 8 (Alamance, Caswell, Guilford, and Rockingham counties) and District 9 (Randolph, Davidson, and Montgomery counties plus High Point, NC)
- Triangle Region: Chatham, Durham, Flanklin, Granville, Johnston, Lee, Northern section of Moore, Orange, Person, Vance, and Wake counties)
NCNA Membership
NCNA offers two options for membership:
- Full Membership to both NCNA and ANA
- NCNA Only Membership
Obviously the full membership gives members full voting rights and benefits from both the state and nation nursing associations. And the state only membership only provides voting rights and benefits from NCNA, but not ANA.
There are many benefits to being a member of NCNA. The organization has a full-time lobbyist at the NC General Assembly influencing state legislation regarding nurses and nursing related issues. They work to get state funding for nursing schools and scholarships to help address the state’s shortage of nurses.
Nurses can further their careers utilizing free and discounted continuing education offerings from NCNA. They can develop leadership skills by holding elected offices within the organization and volunteering for various committees and commissions.
Members receive the quarterly NCNA publication (Tar Heel Nurse), their monthly newsletter (Inside NCNA), an annual Nurse Practitioner publication (NP News), and a monthly APRN email update. Members also have access to archives of old versions of NCNA publications and documents via their web site.
There are tons of opportunities to network through regional and district meetings. There are even mentoring programs for members.
The organization offers members many discounts on products and services from merchants as well as preferential access to scholarships from NCNA’s Foundation for Nursing for those RNs returning to school.
Contact Information
You can use the contact information below if you would like to join or learn more about the NCNA organization for Registered Nurses:
North Carolina Nurses Association
103 Enterprise Street, Box 12025
Raleigh, NC 27605
Phone: (919) 821-4250
FAX: (919) 829-5807
Hours: 8:30am – 4:30pm
