The weeks before and after Thanksgiving are usually filled with grace and gratefulness. And so it is even this year, a year of highs and lows. Through it all, you, our great network of allies and friends, have shown remarkable strength. Today, we write simply to say thanks. Thank you for putting your lives on the line, and thank you, too, for taking steps to create a powerful future.

You—all of you reading this—are helping the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action reach our ultimate goal of a more equitable America, one in which more people have more choices for better health. For your dedication, we are grateful.

We thank for the ways you are making the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report your own. You were inspired and inspiring at our two Campaign summits, in June and September: In all, nearly 100 organizations have taken a stand to achieve health equity, committing to implement at least one recommendation from the National Academy of Medicine’s long-awaited report. You are taking purposeful steps to diversify the nursing workforce, address systemic racism, support nurse well-being, and more.

We thank all of you who participated in our Health Equity Action Forum series, and our mentoring programs supporting nursing schools that serve populations underrepresented in our profession.

And we’re glad, too, for ongoing progress that represents a significant victory for the public: With Delaware just months ago lifting restrictions on nurses, some 83 million people in 24 states and the District of Columbia now have direct access to nurse practitioners who can provide full care.

We are thrilled that, despite the pandemic’s pressures, many of you chose to focus on the critical work needed to create structures to make health care more equitable in every way, by applying for our Nursing Innovations Fund awards. We look forward to watching the progress of the six coalitions that earned funds, along with our many past-year awardees.

You are part of a huge group of good-hearted, hard-working people fighting to bring better health to this country. There is greatness in numbers, and your strength and determination are sources of joy and great hope. Thank you for many hundreds of reasons to give thanks!

Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN
Senior Adviser for Nursing, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation;
Director, Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action

Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN
Senior Vice President and Director, AARP Public Policy Institute;
Chief Strategist, Center to Champion Nursing in America and Family Caregiving Initiatives

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There are so many reasons to choose a nursing career. Nurses work in a wide range of roles and in almost every setting imaginable. They provide care, advance rehabilitation and cure, provide emotional support, advocate for health promotion, and educate patients, families, and the public on preventing illness and injury. Nurses make a difference in individual lives and communities in ways that have consistently earned them the public’s trust.

In addition to these intrinsic benefits, nursing offers several distinct advantages over some other health careers. The profession welcomes entrants with multiple educational degrees, making it accessible to people from diverse and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Nursing’s strong career ladder rewards continued education with almost unparalleled opportunities for advancement. And all along the way, nurses can earn real money.  Licensed practical nurses averaged $48,000 a year in 2020, well above the $36,000 personal median income reported by the Census Bureau in 2019—and registered nurses in some markets earn six-figure salaries.

Once the almost exclusive province of white women, the profession has grown increasingly diverse. In 2019, more than a third of new nurse graduates were people of color, and roughly 13% were men; and while statistics on LGBTQ representation are hard to come by, anecdotal reports suggest the field has diversified in this way as well. This increased diversity is making it easier for patients to receive care from nurses who readily understand their expectations. This attribute of care is considered essential to the advancement of health equity—a state in which “everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible,” according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN

How nurses can contribute to achieving health equity is the focus of a recent report on the future of the profession from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). “The NAM report talks about all the ways nurses can advance health equity—and, remarkably enough, one way is by becoming a nurse in the first place,” says Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, senior vice president and director of the AARP Public Policy Institute and chief strategist for the Center to Champion Nursing in America, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and RWJF, which runs the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action. “When individuals choose to pursue a career that gives them financial security, that decision also benefits their family, and by extension, their community,” Reinhard said. The Campaign is also an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and RWJF.

Annette Franqui, MBA, CFA

Wealth is a powerful predictor (often called a social determinant) of health and well-being, and nursing has a strong track record of fostering upward mobility. In the United States, the Department of Labor projects growing demand for nurses through 2029, with RN earnings averaging $75,000 annually in 2020. “This career can be a pathway to economic security at a time when that security is elusive for so many people, especially in communities of color,” says Annette Franqui, MBA, CFA, who chairs the AARP Board of Directors. “The 2019 federal Survey of Consumer Finances showed the median wealth of white families was eight times that of Black families and five times that of Hispanic families. There are so many people in vulnerable neighborhoods who have lost their precarious foothold on economic security because of this pandemic,” she says. “A career in nursing can be a very promising path forward.”

Jean C. Accius, PhD

AARP wants to close the wealth gap and ensure that all people, especially communities of color and other historically marginalized groups, can access that pathway, according to Jean C. Accius, PhD, AARP’s senior vice president for global thought leadership. “Disparities rob our nation of its full capacity and deplete it of its potential and prospects. When we foster new opportunities for greater wealth, we create a fair and equal chance for everyone to participate in the full opportunities our nation has to offer. This is not just a moral imperative; it’s also an economic necessity,” Accius says. “We believe a nursing education can provide a pathway to financial security to millions of people,” but he adds, “getting people on that pathway will require considerable ingenuity and support.”

People who have limited financial resources often face barriers to acquiring the education needed to become a nurse in the first place. Hurdles go beyond insufficient funds to cover the cost of tuition. Would-be applicants facing housing instability, food insecurity, and other byproducts of poverty, may also lack access to reliable internet and the financial literacy needed to complete the college application process and make sound decisions about college loans.

The District of Columbia (D.C.) is helping some residents overcome these hurdles. In August, the D.C. Council unanimously supported the Nurse Education Enhancement Act of 2021, which provides $5.8 million over three years to support training and education for certified nursing assistants, home health aides, and medication assistants. Program participants are eligible for free tuition and fees as well as transportation costs and school supplies. The program also provides a monthly stipend students can use toward living expenses. Students who find employment in one of these jobs for at least two years are then eligible to apply for a discounted or free nursing education at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). This includes obtaining higher education credentials for professional advancement.

“For more than a decade here in the District of Columbia, we’ve seen the number of direct care workers shrink, all while the need for them has only increased,” says Louis Davis, Jr., MPA, director, AARP District of Columbia (D.C.). He says a recent survey by the DC Coalition on Long Term Care found that over half of respondents currently did not have enough home health aides to staff other clients for every shift; 67 percent said the closure of several training programs will affect their ability to hire more staff; 95 percent expressed concerns about their ability to hire enough home health aides; and 100 percent of long-term care providers said they support providing more career pathways into the health care sector. “That’s why AARP chose to support and endorse this legislation and worked with the D.C. Council to ensure its passage,” Davis says. “The men and women who become certified and licensed and go on to earn nursing degrees will help people live longer, where they choose to live.”

As someone with a passion for supporting family caregivers, Reinhard—also chief strategist of AARP Public Policy Institute’s family caregiving initiatives—was understandably excited by news of D.C.’s commitment to strengthening the home health workforce. “This effort dovetails beautifully with everything the Campaign for Action has been doing to support health equity by diversifying the nursing workforce,” she says, referencing the Campaign’s ongoing initiative to foster mentoring programs at educational institutions serving Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native students. “It also aligns with the missions of AARP’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and our Global Thought Leadership team” she adds. “It’s heartening to see the saying ‘think globally, act locally’ playing out in the service of such important goals: diversifying the nursing workforce and giving people from economically disadvantaged communities a path to financial security.”

To learn more on this topic, listen to the recording of our February, 2021, Health Equity Action Forum, Nursing as a Career to Achieve Financial Security.

The post In D.C. and Across the Nation, Nursing Provides a Path to Economic Well-Being appeared first on Campaign for Action.

SHIFTING AND SHAPING OUR FUTURE

Join Dr. Susan Hassmiller as she provides an overview and takeaways of the new National Academy of Medicine’s recently issued report! 

Tuesday, September 21st | The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity | Susan B. Hassmiller, Ph.D., RN, FAAN

The National Academy of Medicine report, “The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity”, challenges nursing leaders and other stakeholders both within and outside of healthcare to prioritize addressing the structural inequities that have fueled persistent health disparities.

The report lays out a series of recommendations to help our nation meet the need for a stronger, more diversified nursing workforce that is prepared to provide care and promote health and well-being among nurses, individuals, and communities.

Dr. Susan B Hassmiller, who served as the senior scholar in residence and adviser to the president at the National Academy of Medicine, will describe the key takeaways from the report and discuss how nurse leaders and their organizations can advance the report recommendations.

Register now…

Tuesday, September 28th | Colorado Organization of Nurse Leaders Presidential & Board Address – CONL President Caleb Dettman, MSN, RN, CWCN, NE-BC & Committee Leaders.

Joshua Ewing, MPA – Vice President, Legislative Affairs will join us from the Colorado Hospital Association and will lead a Discussion on Advocacy

Tuesday, October 5th | Leading the Profession to the Future: The Innovation Imperative | Dan Weberg, Ph.D., RN, MHI, BSN

Register Now!

The post The Most Salient Issue of our Time appeared first on Campaign for Action.

“Nursing…has a responsibility to society to prepare a health care workforce that is truly going to serve and be able to be truly take care of everyone in our growing diverse society. That is embedded in our ethical code.” – Sheldon Fields, PhD, RN, FAAN (March 30, 2021).

Over the first few months of 2021, the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, AARP’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and AARP’s Global Thought Leadership, held a series of webinars on health equity, bringing together businesses, government officials, policy leaders, social justice and consumer organizations, health care providers and nurses. A major goal: to engage and involve a diverse range of stakeholders in supporting a more diverse nursing workforce as a means to advance health equity.

The Health Equity Action Forum series has concluded, but you can watch each of the three sessions below.

Forum One

The first Health Equity Action Forum, Diversifying the Nursing Workforce to Achieve Health Equity, was held in January. The forum sought to:

• Engage and activate a diverse range of stakeholders to support a more diverse nursing workforce as a means of advancing health equity and
• Support the nursing profession’s efforts in building a diverse health equity-minded workforce.

Forum 2

The second Health Equity Action Forum, Nursing as a Career to Achieve Financial Security, was held in February. This event sought to:

• Demonstrate nursing as a career for financial security and as an effective career ladder for historically marginalized populations.
• Support the nursing profession’s efforts in building a diverse health equity-minded workforce and leadership.

Forum 3

The third and final Health Equity Action Forum, Nursing Supporting Individuals, Families and Communities, was held in late March. During the event participants:

• Examined how structural racism and social injustice impacts the wellbeing of communities;
• Explored COVID-19’s impact on underserved communities and the nursing workforce; and
• Learned about the contributions of some of nursing’s hidden figures, who shaped the nursing workforce and the way in which nurses provide care.

The post Improving the Nation’s Health Equity appeared first on Campaign for Action.

While the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action has from its start sought to increase diversity in the nursing workforce and continues to emphasize inclusivity, it will introduce a new aspect of its efforts to improve America’s health on Feb. 3. That’s when the Campaign brings together experts at its second Health Equity Action Forum to promote nursing as a career path to financial security, with a focus on would-be nurses from populations historically underrepresented in nursing.

Even before COVID-19 hit Black people and other communities of color with disproportionate force, historically underserved populations in the U.S. have experienced a lower quality of health and health services. The structural racism at the root of these health inequities gives rise, too, to a racial wealth divide: for example, a review by the Federal Reserve Board in 2016 showed white Americans with $140,500 median household wealth, Latino people at $6,300 median household wealth, and African Americans at $3,400 median household wealth.

The February 3 Health Equity Forum session, “Nursing as a Career to Achieve Financial Security,” will join together all of these considerations as representatives from social justice organizations, business, schools of nursing, national nursing and other health care organizations to seek ways to close the gap when it comes to disparities in both health and wealth.

Among panelists will be national nurse leader and educator Kenya V. Beard, EdD, AGACNP, FAAN, associate provost of Social Mission & Academic Excellence at Chamberlain University. Beard, a friend to the Campaign, has spent years creating new practices and ways of thinking for both students and nursing programs to advance health equity. Part of that means attracting more students from communities long underrepresented in nursing and taking a holistic approach to help them succeed.

There is no one simple solution, says Beard, but such support includes “at a minimum, actionable steps that expand beyond student factors and examine the extent to which institutional policies and practices create empowering environments.”

The forum will tackle the very issues Beard says need attention: “The nursing profession should consider the ways that upstream factors, like structural racism, continue to mute the belief that nursing is a plausible career and how partnering with community stakeholders, beyond secondary education, could help the profession become more inclusive and stronger advocates for the communities served.”

Financial Health and Nursing

Financial well-being comes from a person’s “sense of financial security and freedom of choice—both in the present and when considering the future.” Nursing has long been a career path to financial security for many, but it hasn’t been pursued evenly across racial boundaries: according to the 2018 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, those from populations historically underrepresented in nursing made up 25% of the RN workforce.

And yet: Studies show that patients do better when cared for by providers with ethnic and racial backgrounds similar to their own. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine noted that “a more diverse workforce will help better meet current and future health care needs and provide more culturally relevant care,” in its report on the future of nursing. A follow-up report in 2015 said that “evidence suggests that racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse health care providers are likely to practice in communities with similar populations, improving access to and quality of health care in those communities.”

Because nurses make up the largest proportion of the health care workforce, the need is even more urgent to bring in more nurses from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

By directing its efforts at historically marginalized populations, the Campaign seeks to work with others to help create a cadre of health care professionals who look like the communities they serve, while also benefiting those professionals by guiding them to rewarding and remunerative careers.

And the field is fast-growing: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for registered nurses was $73,300 in May 2019. The bureau also projects that employment of RNs is will grow 7% from 2019 to 2029—some 175,900 openings for RNs each year, faster than the average for all occupations.

The Feb. 3 convening will explore financial insecurity and inequity in the U.S. and how financial status affects health and well-being. Participants will learn that financial and health security are interrelated and will hear how underserved communities can achieve better health and wealth by significantly increasing the diversity of nursing.

They will also hear of successes so far. Yes, says Chamberlain’s Beard, nursing is a promising path to a secure career: “Nursing is an awesome profession! Indeed, the adoption of holistic admission practices has widened the doorway to economic prosperity.”

The post Push for New Nurses Seeks to Reduce Wealth & Health Disparities appeared first on Campaign for Action.

Left to right: co-chairs Carmen Alvarez, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, and Eric J. Williams, DNP, RN, FAAN

From opposite sides of the country, Carmen Alvarez, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, and Eric J. Williams, DNP, RN, FAAN, bring different experiences and perspectives to a common pursuit: advancing health equity by diversifying the nursing workforce. As co-chairs of the Campaign for Action’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee (EDISC), they are leading the committee’s efforts to ramp up its work this year—contributing to a series of Health Equity Action Forums and rolling out the Campaign’s innovative mentor program developed with historically black colleges and universities to Hispanic- and Native-American-serving institutions. The Campaign is an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

We sat down with the EDISC co-chairs to learn more about what they bring to this endeavor and what they hope to accomplish in the future.

Williams is interim associate dean of health sciences and RN program director at California’s Santa Monica College and immediate past president of the National Black Nurses Association. When he entered college in the early 80s, African American men were a rarity in nursing schools. “I had to deal with stigma, racial confrontations, and institutional racism,” he says, but some faculty were very encouraging. “They helped me to keep my eye on the prize. I actually had a nursing instructor say to me, ‘You’re going to be a leader one day.’”

Alvarez also works in academia, after making several stops along the way to her current position as an assistant professor at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. “My first bachelor’s degree was in nutritional science,” she says. “That’s what got me interested in maternal and child health.” She entered nursing school with the intention of becoming a midwife but soon found herself thinking about the entire family. Emory University, which she attended, was one of the few schools that offered dual certification at the time, so she became both a nurse practitioner and a midwife.

Today her research focuses on adverse childhood events and intimate partner violence. “I’ve always practiced in safety-net settings that serve predominantly uninsured immigrant populations,” she says. “I noticed that the people who seemed to struggle the most with their daily challenges tend to be people who have a history of trauma. It got me thinking about what it is that we ought to be doing for this population so that their outcomes are not so disparate from those who have not experienced these traumas.”

Williams comes at this problem from a different angle. In his former role as president of the National Black Nurses Association, he championed violence reduction. “Violence is an epidemic,” he says, “but nurses can make a difference. If we start off with saving children, we save an adult. If you give children a good education, have more after-school programs, make sure they have the tools for success, then 20 years from now you should see less incarceration.”

Community-based solutions are at the heart of what both co-chairs believe it will take to ensure that all people have what they need to lead healthier lives. These leaders would like to see nurses who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve engaged in implementing those solutions. “Nurses need to work with faith-based organizations, public housing, public transportation, public libraries—anything that’s associated with the public,” Williams says. “We also need to move from the bedside to the boardroom, so nurses are true decision-makers when it comes to health policy. We need to be integral in the community. Nurses need to lead the way.”

When it comes to the thornier question of how nurses can combat racism, Williams emphasizes leadership once again. “We have to ensure that we have diverse leaders—deans in schools of nursing, hospital administrators—and we need nurse leaders in the community because, remember, health care is moving more to a community-based model,” he notes.

When considering how nurses can combat racism and advance health equity, Alvarez offers a different approach. “I think that comes with a lot of reflection,” she says. “For instance, in nursing education, what are we communicating—or not communicating—to our students?” she asks. “We all have our implicit biases. Are we fueling those in the education that we provide? What opportunities are we missing to help our students recognize their unconscious bias and deliver care in a way that creates the most trusting and comfortable space for a patient?”

Reflecting on what motivated her to get involved in the Campaign’s work to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion, Alvarez says, “The events of the last year—the COVID-19 pandemic, the killing of George Floyd, and the social justice uprising—have made me that much more passionate about working for diversity and health equity. I think many of us who have been working in health disparities are excited that we now have people’s ear and their attention to appreciate and consume the work that we’ve been doing.”

The post Co-chairs Bring Complementary Strengths to Equity Initiative appeared first on Campaign for Action.

First, a heartfelt thank you. Thank you for the contributions that we know you have made to your family, your community, the profession, and more, during a year of enormous challenges that include sickness in our ranks, burnout, grief, and worse. The pandemic has tested the world, and nursing as a whole. Even as we help others—as we always do—we also hurt.

Bearing witness to the pain and loss and the frailty of our systems continues to be hard. As the new year brings the hope of widespread availability and use of vaccines, we know that we still need to fight to heal ourselves, our fellow nurses and their families—all who continue to sacrifice.

In these earliest days of 2021, we would like to pause to look back—and forward—at nursing and the role the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), plays in the nation’s well-being.

It was the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, chosen to honor—200 years after her birth—the founder of modern nursing. But COVID-19 ravaged the world, which means that Florence Nightingale’s name is also now part of another sort of homage: The Nightingale Tribute names the nurses who have given their lives helping others during the worst pandemic in a century.

While the health disaster has highlighted the courage of nurses, it has also highlighted the disparities in health and health care. Then with the killing of George Floyd came a public reckoning of the effects of structural inequities, and the nation’s recognition of the need to right historical wrongs. As we affirmed at the time: Racism and injustice have no place in our country today. Our pathway to equity is to help build better health through nursing.

In ways large and small, we made strides in 2020 to do just that. Progress includes:

Access to Care

States: Through the Center to Champion Nursing in America, the Campaign’s operating arm, also an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and RWJF, we hosted monthly sessions to guide others on how to work with state policymakers to lift—at least during the pandemic—legal restrictions on nurses. Participants included Action Coalitions, AARP state offices, and community groups. Successes in Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin expanded access to care for nearly 59 million people.

Florida, California, and Massachusetts also saw changes in laws that improve consumer’s access to care.

Federal: Nursing organizations including the Campaign, through AARP, helped pass the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, providing consumers easier access to care at home.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Among contributions toward building a more diverse nursing workforce, the Campaign’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee has created a mentoring program and a health equity toolkit for use by nursing schools. The mentorship program, designed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health and historically black colleges and universities, includes mentor-training workshops and a learning collaborative. Postponed last year, but back on track, are similar programs for students at schools that serve largely Hispanic populations, and those that serve American Indians.

Population Health in Nursing

The Campaign, with a grant from RWJF, completed a series of reports exploring promising models of nursing education related to improving population health. The Population Health in Nursing (PHIN) project, found here, also examines how nurses should be prepared for new roles in population health practice.

National Academy of Medicine report

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) delayed to late spring 2021 its much-anticipated report on the future of nursing 2020-2030, expanded to include nursing’s role in responding to the public health crisis. Many reading this letter have contributed to the committee’s broad outreach and research, including during an August 2020 webinar.

Coming Up: Virtual Gatherings to Plan Action

The focus of each is important, so we’ll list in chronological order brief notes on the meetings we have in store for early 2021.

• On January 12, we held the first of our Health Equity Action Forums, focusing on the value of diversifying the nursing workforce to achieve health equity. It was the first of several such virtual meetings. The second, slated for February 3, will cover the topic of nursing as a career ladder for establishing financial well-being for underrepresented communities.
• February 24, we will honor the work that so many have carried out based on the 2010 Future of Nursing report. We’ll also look ahead to the next NAM report.
• In May, we expect the release of the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report.
• June 3–4, we’ll gather Action Coalitions and other Campaign members, allies, and stakeholders to plan how to implement the new report recommendations.

Nursing Innovations Fund

Wrapping up our yearly note is a spotlight on an inspiring set of projects past and future: the Nursing Innovations Fund Awards. In October, we announced 10 ambitious projects designed to address health disparities that each earned $25,000 awards. And look for news in May about a similar funding opportunity, for projects that address structural inequities.

Again, we want to thank you for all that you have done. Nursing, long the most trusted profession, has never been more important. You have pushed through and persevered. For all you’ve endured and the grace you have shown, thank you.

Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN Senior Adviser for Nursing, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Director, Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action

Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN Senior Vice President and Director, AARP Public Policy Institute; Chief Strategist, Center to Champion Nursing in America

The post A Heartfelt Thank You appeared first on Campaign for Action.

Nurses are committed to advancing health equity but know they can’t achieve that goal on their own. One solution: inviting other health professionals and leaders from business, government, policy, consumer, and social justice organizations to join them.

Beginning in January, the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action and AARP’s Multicultural Leadership team will convene a series of virtual Health Equity Action Forums with three goals in mind:

1. building a more diverse nursing workforce to achieve health equity;
2. demonstrating nursing as an effective career ladder for historically marginalized populations; and
3. supporting the nursing profession’s efforts in building a diverse health equity-minded workforce.

“The forums will be engaging non-nursing and non-health entities—for instance advocacy or social justice groups such as UnidosUS or the National Urban League—to get their perspectives on what health equity would look like for them and how nurses can contribute to that,” says Carmen Alvarez, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.

Alvarez co-chairs the Campaign’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee, which has spearheaded the Campaign’s efforts (including an innovative mentoring program) to diversify the nursing workforce so it better represents the diversity of the nation. Her co-chair Eric J. Williams, DNP, RN, FAAN, interim associate dean of health sciences and RN program director at Santa Monica College, is also eager to engage a broader range of stakeholders in this endeavor.

“Our hope is that the Health Equity Action Forums will expand people’s horizons regarding the lack of diversity in the nursing workforce and how it impacts patient care outcomes,” Williams says. In his view, “It’s going to take all people being on board” to advance health equity. He sees room for parent-teacher associations, fraternities, sororities, faith-based organizations, and advocacy groups like Black Women for Positive Change. “How do we use nurses who are involved in their church or their neighborhood watch or a professional association to lead the way?” he asks.

Alvarez also hopes the forums galvanize a broad range of stakeholders and rejuvenate interest in diversifying the nursing workforce. She believes the COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of George Floyd and others have amplified the urgency of the committee’s work. “I hope attendees come away from the forums with some strategies for how they can create environments that are more receptive to a diverse workforce,” she says. She also has a vision for change that goes beyond the workplace. “When I think of health equity,” she says, “I think of healthy communities—pedestrian-friendly places that are rich with green space where people can walk outside and feel safe. I think it would be wonderful [if nurses became involved in projects related to] the built environment, because that contributes tremendously to the health of our communities.”

Williams believes nurses have what it takes to make such strides. “If there’s ever a problem, a nurse can fix it,” he says. “We are taught to be critical, strategic thinkers…to look at pros and cons and outcomes. Current problems give us an opportunity to make our voices heard—not only from an individual perspective, but from a health policy perspective, one that focuses on equity.”

The first Health Equity Action Forum Diversifying the Nursing Workforce to Achieve Health Equity will take place on January 12 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET. Visit the Campaign website for details.

The post Forum Will Explore Ways to Advance Health Equity Through Nursing appeared first on Campaign for Action.