Political engagement begins with grassroots advocacy. With strength in numbers, nurses can channel energy into effective action. This presentation provided an overview of a variety of initiatives and resources to support advocacy efforts to improve the nursing environment and the healthcare of our citizens.

1. RNAction.org is ANA’s grassroots community. With links on how to Engage, Capitol Beat, Latest News, the RN Action Center and Regulatory Action, this site provides a wealth of information on advancing nursing priorities on Capitol Hill. Visit the RNAction Center (https://p2a.co/ywz5JtS) to see a 2024 Hill Day photo of NJSNA nurses under the Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act H.R. 7546/S. 3860 section.
2. The Federal Advocacy Library provides access to letters to Congress and other nursing coalition letters. The Legislative Advocacy site states: On the Legislative Advocacy side, to be successful with passing and implementing our policy priorities, ANA remains nonpartisan and works diligently to form relationships with elected officials and staff of all political stripes in Congress. We meet with elected officials on these issues every day to make sure they understand ANA’s priorities. While we may disagree on certain issues, we remain steadfast to not be disagreeable – the person you disagree with on one issue may be your biggest champion on another in the future. (retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/federal/ana-advises-federal-agencies/)
3. ANA’s Hill Day invites nurses from around the country to advocate in person in Washington D.C. This year nearly 500 nurse attendees, including over 80 nursing students held 353 meetings on the Hill. Nurses advocated for the following:
   1. Restricting Mandatory Overtime for Nurses (S. 3860, H.R. 7546)
   2. Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act (S. 2418, H.R. 2713)
   3. Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act (S. 2815, H.R. 7002)
   4. Protect Timely Access to Quality Nursing Care in LTC Facilities (Support the CMS recently issued LTC Staffing Final Rule).
4. Get Out the Vote (GOTV) educates members and nurses through email and text reminders, candidate scorecards, and National Convention information. This initiative includes attending numerous smaller events to engage with multiple interest groups within each party and providing visibility as part of ANAs nonpartisan presidential engagement process.
5. Partnering with Vot-ER. Vot-ER is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to integrate civic engagement into healthcare. Healthcare professionals can simply wear their free badge backer, ask about voter registration, and have patients scan the QR code for effortless voter registration.
6. https://nursesvote.org/. This site provides a link to the Voting Center to register to vote, locate candidates and elected officials, and other voter information. For state specific voting and election details, visit the site to access a US map and click on our state to view important election dates and voting information. See https://nursesvote.org/state/new-jersey/
7. 50 years of ANA PAC Campaign. The campaign highlights the history of ANA PAC and the successful legislation the PAC has helped pass. It emphasizes key nursing issues and prioritizes issues when deciding how to give ahead of a contentious election cycle. Its donor party designation allows donors to designate a specific party that their money will be used to support and allows membership a greater degree of control over their money.

This valuable presentation emphasized the importance of continuously advancing the nursing profession-no matter who is in office-and of pursuing multiple avenues to affect change: regulatory, legislative, grassroots, etc. There are 535 voting members of congress so engagement across the aisle is essential. Key nursing champions come from both parties. Remember, When Nurses Speak, Washington Listens.