Nurse Advocacy Groups To Pay Attention To

You advocate for patients every shift. Advocacy groups do the same thing for you: they fight for safe staffing, fair pay, and the resources that let you do your job. Years at the bedside give you a perspective politicians and the public need, and these organizations turn that perspective into pressure.

The need runs beyond illness. In 2020, there were 10,583 reported cases of human trafficking in the U.S., almost certainly an undercount, with roughly 25 million people affected worldwide. People facing addiction, poverty, homelessness, and healthcare inequity need nurses willing to stand up for them.

The nursing shortage hurts both patient outcomes and nurse health. Advocacy groups push the solutions that actually move the needle: filling nurse educator roles, expanding nursing program admissions, lowering hospital attrition, and mandating safe staff-to-patient ratios.

Here are 11 groups worth knowing, and how to get involved with each.

1. National Nurses United Campaign for Safe Registered Nurse-to-Patient Ratios

National Nurses United knows that while you advocate for patients, hospitals often decide based on the budget rather than clinical need. Without a federal mandate, nurses across the country routinely carry more patients than is safe.

Get involved: NNU advocates for unionization, which can mandate safe ratios. Become a member and organize in your state.

2. International Nurses Society on Addictions

IntNSA supports nurses who work with patients experiencing addiction and substance use disorders. Founded in 1975, it has grown from national to international. Its mission is to advance excellence in preventing and treating addiction.

Get involved: Find a local chapter. Membership includes collaboration with colleagues, a subscription to the Journal of Addictions Nursing, scholarships, and continuing education.

3. Nursing Now Challenge

The Nursing Now Challenge extends the Nightingale Challenge. It works with employers, universities, and colleges to build leadership opportunities for nurses and connects nurses and midwives worldwide so they can share ideas.

Get involved: Join one of their Global Solutions Initiatives to share your expertise and help improve public health.

4. Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation

Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation is a joint effort of the American Nurses Association, the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the American Nurses Foundation. It engages nurses and their families in wellness activities that combat burnout and compassion fatigue.

Get involved: Register, take the health assessment, then pick an area where you will commit to a change and join the health challenges.

5. Sutter Health Institute for Advancing Health Equity

The Institute runs research and data gathering, builds partnerships, and acts as an incubator that brings community experts together to identify inequities and design solutions.

Get involved: Contact them directly about current opportunities.

6. Show Me Your Stethoscope

Show Me Your Stethoscope is a grassroots group that engages nurses and the public to drive change at the regional, state, and national levels. It has 650,000 registered members and runs on a simple motto: nurses take care of patients, we take care of nurses.

Get involved: Become a member and join their impact projects, which include medical missions, safe staffing campaigns, disaster response, and adopting families for the holidays.

7. American Nurses Foundation

The American Nurses Foundation funds groups working on new ways to solve nursing and patient care problems, generating new ideas and tools.

Get involved: Donate to the 501(c)(3). Past donations funded the Coronavirus Response Fund for Nurses, which supported mental, financial, and educational health.

8. Nurse Advocacy Association

The Nurse Advocacy Association is a forum where nurses identify and discuss issues affecting practice, with a focus on collaboration, education, and professional development.

Get involved: The group currently connects nurses across Texas. Membership is free and gives you a platform to discuss healthcare challenges openly.

9. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

NAPNAP advocates for the pediatric population and supports pediatric nurse practitioners through networking, research collaboration, and family education on the newest developments in pediatric care.

Get involved: Membership includes research data, clinical practice resources, and an advocacy center where advanced practice nurses raise concerns with state and federal representatives and help shape health policy.

10. American Association for Men in Nursing

AAMN works to shape practice and leadership for men in nursing through education and research. A nurse founded it in 1971 to support the growth of men in the profession and push back against stigma.

Get involved: The organization has roughly 2,300 members and chapters in 28 states, many on college campuses. Membership includes a vote at meetings, a quarterly newsletter, and the chance to run for office. It is open to anyone who wants to support the mission.

11. Nursing Organizations Alliance

The Nursing Organizations Alliance connects leaders from professional organizations nationwide to encourage collaboration and exchange best practices. It formed when two long-standing coalitions united to create a stronger, more cohesive voice.

Get involved: Membership is open to nursing organizations. The Alliance holds about three events a year focused on building nursing leadership and giving organization leaders a place to collaborate.