American Association of Nurse Attorneys

TAANA members practice in private law practice, in academia, as litigators and defense attorneys, as legal counsel for healthcare entities, and in health care compliance among other settings.

Vision Statement

Advocating excellence and creating opportunities for nurse attorneys.

Mission Statement

The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) provides resources, education and leadership to its members and the healthcare and legal communities.

• To promote and enhance TAANA and the profession of the nurse attorney
• To provide educational programs, products and services to members, chapters and the public
• To facilitate communication, collaboration and leadership among members
• To serve as a resource for the healthcare and legal communities

In 1977, the late Cynthia E. Northrop, then an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, took the first steps toward creating what is now The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA). Ms. Northrop placed notices in various publications requesting the nurse attorneys or nurses in law school identify themselves. At about the same time, other nurse attorneys in San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City undertook similar efforts.

Early activities focused on identifying and communicating with each other. Meetings were held in various metropolitan areas where interested nurse attorneys were clustered, and a network evolved among those groups.

On August 30, 1982, the group incorporated in the District of Columbia as The American Association of Nurse Attorneys, Inc. That November, over 60 nurse attorneys and students attended the first national meeting in Washington, DC. At that meeting, the membership elected the first board of directors, and the board subsequently elected the first officers. The first newsletter was published in July 1983, and the first TAANA Membership Directory was compiled and distributed. TAANA established an office in Baltimore in 1984. In 2002 they moved their National Office to Columbus, Ohio.