AMSN History
Our Story
In 1990, the American Nurses Association conducted a survey regarding attitudes of nurses working in adult health areas toward membership in professional organizations.
The survey respondents said:
86% - there was no representative for medical-surgical nurses
82% - they were interested in exploring a membership organization for medical-surgical nurses
A proposal was created to develop an organization that would meet the rapidly changing needs of the medical-surgical nurse and be able to support education of the latest clinical trends. AMSN was born! This specialty group, formed by medical-surgical nurses, is a committed to achieving the highest level of clinical and professional performance that assures the public of the highest level of cost-effective, quality patient care by our membership.
AMSN was formed to reach the "hidden and silent" heroes of tertiary care facilities – you!
Nursing has a rich past,and every nurse has a 'spark' that brought them to nursing. Look back on some of the sparks that got us to where we are as a profession, and learn about our AMSN founders' spark for a national association dedicated to medical-surgical nursing.
We’re proud of our history and are pleased to share a few selected highlights:
Milestones
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1991
The AMSN Steering Committee is formed
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1992
Co-Founder, Alice Poyss is inducted as the first president of AMSN during the First Annual Convention
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1993
MEDSURG Nursing Journal is created; Marilyn Fetter serves as first editor
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1994
Co-Founder, Cecelia Gatson Grindel, assumes the presidency – for the first time
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1999
The AMSN Web Site, medsurgnurse.org is unveiled
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2000
November 1 is established as "Med-Surg Nurses Day"
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2001
Nurses Nurturing NursesTM Mentoring Program is introduced
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2002
A med-surg nursing certification exam task force was formed and a blueprint was designed
AMSN News is renamed MedSurg Matters! -
2003
The first Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN) exam is given and 702 nurses earn the credential
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2004
The AMSN Research & Scholarship Fund of the Nursing Economic$ Foundation is established
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2005
Cecelia Gatson Grindel, AMSN's second president, begins a second term as President of the association – she is the only President to be elected to second term
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2006
The AMSN Foundation kicks off fund-raising activities to match a $10,000 gift from Mike & Cece Grindel
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2007
Medical-Surgical Nurses Week, November 1-7, is established
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2010
Compassion. Commitment. Connection. is introduced as the AMSN tagline
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2013
MSNCB FailSafe certification program is introduced
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2014
Collaborated with Dr. Marlene Kramer to recognize healthy practice environments in medical-surgical nursing units
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2015
Developed the Clinical Leadership Development Program (CDLP) for clinical nurses at the bedside. Launched the CCCTM exam, the first certification for registered nurses primarily in a CCTM role.
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2016
Happy 25th Anniversary!
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2017
AMSN PRISM Award®️ is established
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2018
Launched the AMSN Legislative Advocacy program
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2019
Updated the AMSN brand and created a new logo
