A century-old rule in nursing just came down. Nurses, this one's for you.
The American Nurses Association voted to allow licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) to become national members for the first time. This has been discussed since 2017, and in 2026, these clinicians finally got something they'd never had: a seat at the table of the country's largest nursing organization.
So what exactly did the ANA vote to change?
The short version: the ANA amended its bylaws to open national membership to LPNs and LVNs. This happened at the ANA's 2026 Membership Assembly.
For as long as the ANA has existed, national membership has been a registered-nurse-only club. This vote ends that rule and folds practical and vocational nurses into the country's largest nursing organization. The association is rolling out the full model in the coming months, working out how LPN and LVN membership will run day to day.
How many nurses does this affect?
A lot more than you might guess. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted roughly 651,400 LPN and LVN jobs across the country in 2024.
These are the nurses working in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, community settings, and home care, often as the face a patient sees the most. For years, they worked alongside registered nurses (RNs) while the ANA spoke for the profession's 5 million registered nurses. Now that circle stretches to include them.
What does full membership actually get you?
More than a login and a newsletter. National membership confers real standing within the organization. Depending on how it rolls out, LPNs and LVNs may be given:
- Voting rights in ANA governance
- Eligibility to serve on committees and in leadership
- Access to continuing education, practice standards, and clinical journals
- Member discounts and career resources
- Representation in the ANA's state and federal advocacy
That last point is the one that matters most. It moves LPNs and LVNs from being adjacent to nursing's biggest voice to being counted as part of it.
Why did it take this long?
Because change like this gets built, not announced. The groundwork began in 2017, when the ANA first allowed individual state associations to accept LPNs and LVNs as state-only members.
That was the test run. It gave the ANA and its state associations a way to see how a broader membership would work before scaling it nationwide. The association points to that pilot's success and the backing of the state groups behind it as what made the 2026 vote possible.
Why were LPNs and LVNs left out in the first place?
Fair question, and the answer isn't an oversight. For more than 100 years, the ANA defined itself as the professional home for registered nurses, and 2 things kept the line firm.
- Different licenses. LPNs and LVNs hold different licenses and scopes of practice than RNs, and they typically work under the direction of an RN or a physician.
- Different education. RNs usually earn an associate or bachelor's degree, while LPN and LVN programs generally run 12 to 18 months, and the ANA has long promoted higher educational standards.
Those differences are still true. What changed is how the ANA reads them: as room for everyone under one roof, not a reason to build separate ones.
What does this mean if you're already an RN?
It reshapes who the ANA represents, and possibly how much weight it carries. When more of the profession stands under one roof, its priorities carry more weight.
Unity is the whole bet here. The open question is whether it turns into real leverage on federal policy, safe staffing standards, and workplace safety legislation. The rollout will start to answer that.
Is this a big deal, or just paperwork?
It's a big deal. Strip away the bylaws language, and what's underneath is recognition.
LPNs and LVNs have always been essential to patient care. Now the profession's largest organization is treating them that way, formally and nationally, with a seat at the table instead of a nod from the sidelines. One vote handed hundreds of thousands of nurses a national voice they never had, and nudged the whole profession toward something more inclusive and more united.
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