In 2025, nurses remain the backbone of patient advocacy, ensuring each individual’s needs and rights are respected. As healthcare systems evolve to address new challenges—technological advancements, shifting patient expectations, and persistent quality gaps—advocacy has never been more crucial. Enter artificial…

Men’s health remains a critical yet often under-recognized area of national health policy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is at full throttle, and nursing leaders are in gear and maintaining speed. Healthcare leaders have integrated AI into medical imaging by 21%, and 13% use AI in virtual health assistance (Stempniak, 2024). Integrating AI…

I’ve been a nurse for some time now. I love providing care for the people in my charge, and as a nurse leader, the people in my care are nurses and health professionals. Our political landscape is certainly a dynamic…

Do you recall your first shift on a new unit? Do you remember your nervousness and the myriads of questions that went through your mind? Being a novice is uncomfortable. It requires bravery and humility—bravery to speak up and humility to…

This article continues the discussion on mentorship previously shared in the December 2024 issue. The article focused on mentorship for novice Nurses in Professional Development (NPD) specialists and can be found at https://www.myamericannurse.com/mentorship-for-novice-npd-specialists/. In this article, however, Dr. Dione Sandiford,…

New Jersey (NJ) is among many states projected to face the largest RN shortages, driven by an aging workforce, a growing population, workforce shortages, and high demand for nurses. The 2025 Nursing Data and Analysis Report from the New Jersey…

Kristin Meloche Sagedy PhD, RN, CEN, NJSNA President-Elect and Chair, Institute for Nursing IFN Mission is to preserve the heritage, principles, values, and practices of our healing profession through the support of scholarship, education. and research. IFN Vision is to…

Judy Schmidt, DHA, MSN, RN, NJSNA/IFN CEO Political Updates:   Although co-sponsors continue to be added to the following bills, there has been no movement of the bills as of 1-8-25. Legislation Watch: • Removal of APN/ Collaborating Agreement (A944/S1983) Referred…

In 2025 and 2026, as a new administration outlines its healthcare priorities, nurses get to step into the political arena as powerful advocates for human dignity, patient centered and quality care. Political advocacy is not a partisan issue; it is…

Figure 1: AACN Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments (AACN 2016) The work of the Organization of Nurse Leaders New Jersey (ONL NJ) through the Nursing Workplace Environment and Staffing Councils (NWESC) continues to improve workplace environments throughout…

Communication in nursing is the basis for all care, interactions and professional development throughout a nurse’s career.   Educators, leaders and the nursing role itself emphasizes that the ability to interact and communicate in various forms plays a crucial role…

Sheila Caldwell, RN Sheila Caldwell, RN, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) student in the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions at Thomas Edison State University (TESU), has been awarded the American School Health Association’s (ASHA)…

When I first entered the field of psychiatric nursing, the term ‘de-escalation’ didn’t mean very much to me. It was a term that I had occasionally heard, but it was rarely a part of my vocabulary. Now, it’s a term…

Mission: The mission of the New Jersey State Nurses Association is to promote the profession of nursing; advance the practice of nursing and advocate for nurses. Vision: Creating the future through advocacy, leadership, and public policy. Margaret Daingerfield, EdD, RN,…

Letter to the Editor As healthcare providers, we spend far too much time documenting in the Electronic Health Record (EHR). Each task in patient care requires numerous clicks, pulling us away from what truly matters—our patients. Often caring for multiple…