As a Nurse, How Do I Advocate for the Nursing Profession? (2024)

Jenna Staggs DNP, APRN, NNP-BC, RNC-NIC, C-ONQS, C-ELBW

As nurses gain more experience and become comfortable and confident in delivering care, we usually start questioning why things are done a certain way and notice the inefficiencies and barriers to delivering healthcare. To scratch this itch, many nurses go back to school for a degree in higher education with a focus on nursing theory or research while others join committees or perform quality improvement (QI) projects or other evidence-based activities. While these strategies are helpful, many nurses do not have the time, funds, nor the confidence to return to school or dive into a QI project. Nurses of all backgrounds, experiences, clinical specialties, and practice settings have unique and valuable perspectives that can help solve patient care, access, and process problems. Nurses are problem solvers. Problem-solving is in the DNA of the nursing process – assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The nursing process not only works for solving health issues, but also process and legislative issues.

Patient care and process problems may be caused by local issues within a unit, clinic or hospital. These types of problems are often addressed by committees or QI teams within the particular healthcare setting. But what about big picture issues like staffing, pay, access to care, nurse and APRN scope of practice – the regulatory factors that are dictated by state and federal laws? How do nurses, those whose boots are on the ground, influence and fix the issues that affect the care they deliver every day?

Nurses are busy. We take care of our patients, our families, and other obligations well before we take care of ourselves or our profession. Even if we had the time and resources to do so, where do we start? By getting involved in state and national nursing organizations like the Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA) and the American Nurses Association (ANA). Nurse specialty organizations such as the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) set standards of patient care, make recommendations for nurse/patient ratios, and education standards for neonatal nurse practitioner students. These organizations rely on member volunteers along with paid staff and lobbyists to work on the nurses’ behalf. Nurses can directly influence policy and legislation by volunteering their time and expertise on professional organization committees or by donating money through membership. Professional organization memberships usually come with perks in addition to advocacy, such as access to peer-reviewed journals, free or heavily discounted continuing education units, webinars, conferences and other education materials, scholarships, awards, networking opportunities, and mentoring. Being an active member or volunteer within an organization is even more impactful, however, the value of membership should not be dismissed.

My Advocacy Journey
I am a neonatal nurse practitioner that practices at a small community hospital in Franklin County, Tennessee. I have been a nurse for 18 years. I volunteer in both state and national nursing organizations – TNA and NANN. I volunteer on the TNA Government Affairs Committee (GOVA), where we meet monthly via Zoom and sometimes more often during the legislative season. GOVA is comprised of TNA members, TNA staff members, and an experienced lobbyist. We not only discuss legislative issues affecting healthcare, access, and nurses’ scope of practice in Tennessee, but we also work with state legislators to gain support and sponsor healthcare-related bills. TNA makes monetary donations to legislators who support the mission of TNA. TNA also holds “Nurses Day on the Hill” each February, which gives TNA members the opportunity to meet as an organization in Nashville to discuss legislative issues, expose nurses to the legislative process, and most importantly, speak with our legislators. However, you don’t have to be a TNA member to talk with your state representative. Throughout the year nurses can reach out to their representatives as individuals in support or in opposition to pending legislation. You can even bring up a concern to your legislator and work together to draft a new bill. Your legislators and their contact information, along with pending legislation can be found at Capitol.Tn.gov.

I also volunteer on several NANN Committees. Last year, I served on NANN’s task force to update the requirements for the didactic and clinical hours and competencies for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner students. While this took the team nearly a year to complete, the monthly and sometimes biweekly meetings were not overwhelming. I was able to share my experience, expertise, and perspective as a relatively young practicing NNP among seasoned NNP faculty. My voice, concerns, and opinions were valued as we worked together to update the education guidelines.

I am also a member of ANA. While I do not volunteer on any ANA committees currently, I read the communications and legislative updates distributed by ANA. The ANA, TNA, NANN, and many other professional organizations make it simple for you to contact your legislator and keep track of legislation that affects our profession. They do this by distributing statements on proposed legislation to their members and providing direct links to legislator contact info and sometimes provide pre-authored statements to help their members voice their individual and unified voices in support or against proposed legislation.

I share my experiences to encourage you to consider becoming a TNA or ANA member, or a member of your nursing specialty’s state and/or national organizations. Your monetary contributions do make a difference, even if you don’t have the time to volunteer. However, I do encourage you to volunteer, even if you don’t think you have the time. Usually, the time commitment is minimal, but the impact you make is immeasurable. It is time nurses take care of ourselves. Each nurse’s unique perspective and ideas are valuable, no matter their education level, experience, or background.

Dr. Jenna Staggs is a practicing neonatal nurse practitioner in the state of Tennessee. She received an associates degree in 2006, a Masters degree in 2018 and a doctorate in nursing practice in 2020 from UAB. She recently completed a post-graduate nurse educator program and is a certified nurse educator. Her passion is quality patient care and inspiring others to reach their full potential as professional nurses.