Abstract
Background: Workplace violence and nursing shortages are challenges for nurses. Studies have listed insufficient staffing and workplace violence as contributory factors to nurses leaving their jobs. This presentation aims to demonstrate how a healthcare system empowers, enables, and engages their nurses to collaborate with their Government Affairs team to advocate for resources and solutions through legislative efforts. Nurses use their professional expertise, knowledge, and experience to effectively communicate the challenges to the legislators.
Method: To prepare the nurses, training sessions, supplemented by FAQs were provided. Our healthcare system sponsored 80+ nurses to attend the 2023 Nurses Day at the Capitol to educate our local legislators about workplace violence, staffing shortages and safety.
Results: Due to our collective effort with the other nurses and our state nursing organization, three Senate Bills were passed to address workplace violence, and one was passed to support investment in nursing education.
Conclusion: Nurses will continue to impact changes through advocacy and collaboration within its organization and its community. Organizations will reap these benefits by providing a structured process to support their nurses.
Notes
Al-Qadi M. M. (2021). Workplace violence in nursing: A concept analysis. Journal of Occupational Health, 63(1), e12226. https://doi.org/10.1002/1348-9585.12226
Chiu, P., Cummings, G. G., Thorne, S., & Schick-Makaroff, K. (2021). Policy advocacy and nursing organizations: A scoping review. Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, 22(4), 271–291. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544211050611
Jones-Burkes A. (2024). It is time for nurses to advocate for nurses. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(4), 3–4. https://doi.org/10.3928/02793695-20240229-01
Taylor M. (2019). Nurses were built for the front lines. Delaware Journal of Public Health, 5(4), 58–59. https://doi.org/10.32481/djph.2019.10.016
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Policy/advocacy, Workforce, Politics/advocacy
Recommended Citation
Ho, Judy Ong, "Nurse Advocacy: Elevating the Voice of Nurses From the Bedside to the Capitol" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 45.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2025/presentations_2025/45
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Nurse Advocacy: Elevating the Voice of Nurses From the Bedside to the Capitol
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Background: Workplace violence and nursing shortages are challenges for nurses. Studies have listed insufficient staffing and workplace violence as contributory factors to nurses leaving their jobs. This presentation aims to demonstrate how a healthcare system empowers, enables, and engages their nurses to collaborate with their Government Affairs team to advocate for resources and solutions through legislative efforts. Nurses use their professional expertise, knowledge, and experience to effectively communicate the challenges to the legislators.
Method: To prepare the nurses, training sessions, supplemented by FAQs were provided. Our healthcare system sponsored 80+ nurses to attend the 2023 Nurses Day at the Capitol to educate our local legislators about workplace violence, staffing shortages and safety.
Results: Due to our collective effort with the other nurses and our state nursing organization, three Senate Bills were passed to address workplace violence, and one was passed to support investment in nursing education.
Conclusion: Nurses will continue to impact changes through advocacy and collaboration within its organization and its community. Organizations will reap these benefits by providing a structured process to support their nurses.
Description
Workplace violence and nursing shortages are challenges for nurses. This presentation aims to demonstrate how an organization empowers, enables, and engages their nurses to collaborate with the Government Relations team to advocate through legislative efforts. Nurses attended the 2023 Nurses Day at the Capitol and partnered with the state nursing organization to educate legislators.