NSG 130 - Professional Nursing Concepts

Through 51 Action Coalitions in every state and Washington, D.C., the Campaign works with policymakers, health care professionals, educators, and business leaders to respond to the country’s increasing demand for safe, high-quality, and effective health care.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) believes that advocacy is a pillar of nursing. Nurses instinctively advocate for their patients, in their workplaces, and in their communities; but legislative and political advocacy is no less important to advancing the profession and patient care.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a not-for-profit organization leading the improvement of health care throughout the world

(Healthy Nurse/Healthy Nation) Use Your Role as a Nurse to Get Engaged in Your Community and Beyond. Three of ANA’s advocacy experts share their tips for getting involved, even when you’re crunched for time. (updated 2023)

SINCE THE DAYS of Florence Nightingale, patient advocacy has been an important nursing responsibility. Nightingale laid the foundation for patient advocacy by consistently insisting on quality of care, including a safe and clean environment, and basic human rights for all. Personal attributes of effective nurse advocates include professional competence, objectivity, flexibility, empathy, self-motivation, accountability, commitment, a sense of responsibility, and strong coping skills. (Nursing, April 2018, Volume 48 (4), p 55–58, available at OVID Journals)

Every nurse has the opportunity to make a positive impact on the profession through day-to-day advocacy for nurses and the nursing profession. In this article the author defines advocacy; describes advocacy skills every nurse can employ to advocate for a safe and healthy work environment; and explains how nurses can advocate for nursing as part of their daily activity whether they are point-of-care nurses, nurse managers, or nurse educators. The advocacy practices discussed are applicable whether advocating on one’s own behalf, for colleagues at the unit level, or for issues at the organizational or system level.

Nursing leaders since the time of Florence Nightingale have envisioned advocacy for both patients and caregivers as an integral part of nursing’s mission. While advocacy on behalf of patients and caregivers has remained a central concern—the American Nurses Association (ANA) publication Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice identifies advocacy for safe, effective practice environments as a responsibility of the professional nurse—modern professional nursing organizations have embraced a broader understanding of the nurse advocate’s role. Today, nursing advocacy extends to social justice and environmental sustainability.

Advocacy means using one’s position to support, protect, or speak out for the rights and interests of another. Nurses have long claimed patient advocacy as fundamental to their practice. The American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics for Nurses and Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice clearly identify nurses’ ethical and professional responsibility for protecting the safety and rights of their patients. State nursing practice acts may establish a legal duty for patient advocacy as well.