ABSTRACT
Governments perform a critical role in fashioning health-care delivery systems. In several Member States, there are nurses occupying posts at the most senior level of government. Developments in the health-care field also nurtured these roots along with the social, economic, and political frameworks that accompanied them. Some Member States have a Chief Nursing Officer's (CNO) and others do not. Those who are members of a group are more likely to become involved in civic activities. The Philippine Nurses Association in Austria and the National Catholic Nursing Association in Belgium serve as examples. This discussion will focus on the general or broad purpose nursing associations in the Member States. The Hungarian Nursing Association has specifically adapted membership dues to nurses' wages. International Council of Nurses (ICN) has underscored the significance of professional nursing organizations' participation in all phases of health services decision making and policy development at all levels of government.
