Labor relations, labor law, and the legal aspects of collective bargaining have long been of concern to nurses employed in hospitals. The basic collective bargaining policy of the American Nurses’ Association, for example, dates back to 1946, when its convention adopted an “Economic Security Program.” Unlike some other professional organizations, the ANA not only proposed a “collective bargaining” program, but also explicitly referred to it as such, as it still does. The ANA’s 1946 statement on economic security called for collective action on such traditional collective bargaining items as a 40-hour work week, higher minimum salaries, and improved fringe benefits, as well as on more uniquely professional matters such as participation by nurses in the planning and administration of nursing services.

Providing proper health care to prisoners is often more of a myth than a reality. Nonetheless, prison officials contend that the death of a prisoner due to inadequate medical care both undermines the confidence of society in the prison system, and can create an “explosive reaction” from other inmates who view the death as preventable. Therefore it is probably not surprising that when 24-year-old Kenneth Myers, serving seven to ten years at MCI Concord, a medium security prison in Massachusetts, refused to consent to hemodialysis for the treatment of chronic glomerulonephritis and uremia, prison officials went to court to obtain an order permitting them to forceably treat him.

The practice of medicine, nursing and other health care professions may be conducted only after lawful acquisition of a license to do so. In most states, the licensing board is made up primarily of members of the specific profession and is generally charged with all matters with regard to regulating the profession, including promulgation of standards of practice, conducting disciplinary procedures, and imposing sanctions.