Nurses Association of Israel

Nurses Association of Israel
Name	Nurses Association of Israel
Native name	התאחדות האחיות והאחים בישראל
Formation	1923
Headquarters	Tel Aviv
Region served	Israel
Membership	Nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners
Leader title	Chair
Leader name	Yael Cohen-Arad

Nurses Association of Israel is the principal professional association representing registered nurses, midwives, and nursing students in Israel. It functions as a professional body, collective bargaining participant, and credentialing advocate, interfacing with national institutions, hospitals, and academic centers. The Association has played roles in wartime medical mobilization, public health campaigns, and the development of nursing education across Israeli universities and hospitals.

History

The Association traces origins to early 20th-century nursing movements in Palestine (region), with formal organization emerging amid the British Mandate period and interactions with organizations such as Hadassah, Clalit Health Services, and the Histadrut. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War the Association coordinated with military medical units in the Israel Defense Forces and with civilian emergency services in cities such as Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv. Post-independence, it contributed to establishment of professional standards alongside the Ministry of Health (Israel), the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Throughout the late 20th century, the Association responded to shifts driven by legislation including the Nursing Law (Israel), reforms at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Faculty of Health Sciences, and health system changes involving Meuhedet Health Services and Maccabi Healthcare Services.

Organization and Leadership

Governance is structured with an elected central committee, regional branches across districts like Northern District (Israel), Southern District (Israel), and municipal units in Beersheba, Ashdod, and Netanya. Leadership has included figures who liaised with the Knesset health committees, the Israeli Nurses Foundation, and unions related to the Histadrut. Chairs and executive directors have engaged with hospital directors at institutions such as Sheba Medical Center, Rambam Health Care Campus, and Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov). The Association holds assemblies that interact with accreditation bodies at the Council for Higher Education (Israel) and regulatory offices such as the Israeli Medical Association and the Nursing Administration of the Ministry of Health (Israel).

Membership and Roles

Membership comprises registered nurses, certified midwives, advanced practice nurses, and students from programs at Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Members serve in clinical settings including general hospitals, specialized centers like the Hadassah Medical Center, community clinics run by Kupat Holim, long-term care facilities, and non-governmental organizations such as Magen David Adom. Roles include bedside nursing, emergency medicine in Rambam Health Care Campus Emergency Department, neonatal care at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, oncology units at Sheba Medical Center, and public health roles in municipal health departments in Haifa and Beersheba.

Education, Training, and Professional Development

The Association partners with academic institutions—Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Medicine, Technion Faculty of Medicine, and nursing schools at Tel Aviv University—to develop curricula, internships, and continuing education. It has established certification pathways for specialties aligned with programs at Soroka Medical Center and training collaborations with the Israel Center for Medical Simulation. Postgraduate nursing and nurse practitioner tracks link to clinical departments at Rambam Health Care Campus and research units at Weizmann Institute of Science for evidence-based practice training and master's level education.

Advocacy, Policy, and Labor Actions

The Association has engaged in collective bargaining and industrial actions alongside labor organizations tied to the Histadrut and has negotiated staffing ratios and wage agreements with hospital management at Sourasky Medical Center and governmental budgeting authorities in the Knesset Finance Committee. It has lobbied for legislative changes affecting scope of practice, nurse prescribing linked to regulations from the Ministry of Health (Israel), and workforce planning in cooperation with national planners from institutions like Clalit Health Services and Maccabi Healthcare Services. Notable labor actions have intersected with national crises including mobilizations during the Second Lebanon War and responses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel.

Publications and Research

The Association sponsors professional bulletins and contributes to peer-reviewed publications in collaboration with university centers such as Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Faculty of Health Sciences and research hospitals like Sheba Medical Center. Its members publish clinical research on nursing interventions, patient safety, and community health in journals tied to the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research and international nursing journals linked to academic presses at Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Research initiatives often interface with public health studies from the Ministry of Health (Israel) and translational collaborations at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

International Relations and Collaborations

International affiliations include exchanges with organizations such as the International Council of Nurses, partnerships with European nursing associations connected to the European Nursing Research Foundation, and cooperative programs with institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, and Jordan for cross-border emergency preparedness. The Association has worked with UN-linked agencies like the World Health Organization and collaborated on global health projects involving humanitarian responses coordinated with Magen David Adom and international medical NGOs.

Category:Medical and health organisations based in Israel