The need runs beyond illness. In 2020, 10,583 situations of human trafficking were reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, almost certainly an undercount, and the International Labour Organization estimates roughly 25 million people are in forced labor worldwide. People facing addiction, poverty, homelessness, and healthcare inequity need nurses willing to stand up for them.
The nursing shortage hurts both patient outcomes and nurse health. Advocacy groups push the solutions that actually move the needle: filling nurse educator roles, expanding nursing program admissions, lowering hospital attrition, and mandating safe staff-to-patient ratios.
Here are 11 groups worth knowing, and how to get involved with each.
1. National Nurses United Campaign for Safe Registered Nurse-to-Patient Ratios
National Nurses United knows that while you advocate for patients, hospitals often decide based on the budget rather than clinical need. Without a federal mandate, nurses across the country routinely carry more patients than is safe.
Get involved: NNU advocates for unionization, which can mandate safe ratios. Become a member and organize in your state.
2. International Nurses Society on Addictions
IntNSA supports nurses who work with patients experiencing addiction and substance use disorders. Founded in 1975, it has grown from national to international. Its mission is to advance excellence in preventing and treating addiction.
Get involved: Find a local chapter. Membership includes collaboration with colleagues, a subscription to the Journal of Addictions Nursing, scholarships, and continuing education.
3. Nursing Now Challenge
The Nursing Now Challenge extends the Nightingale Challenge. It works with employers, universities, and colleges to build leadership opportunities for nurses and connects nurses and midwives worldwide so they can share ideas.
Get involved: Join one of their Global Solutions Initiatives to share your expertise and help improve public health.
4. Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation
Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation is a joint effort of the American Nurses Association, the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the American Nurses Foundation. It engages nurses and their families in wellness activities that combat burnout and compassion fatigue.
Get involved: Register, take the health assessment, then pick an area where you will commit to a change and join the health challenges.
5. Sutter Health Institute for Advancing Health Equity
The Institute runs research and data gathering, builds partnerships, and acts as an incubator that brings community experts together to identify inequities and design solutions.
Get involved: Contact them directly about current opportunities.
6. Show Me Your Stethoscope
Show Me Your Stethoscope is a grassroots group that engages nurses and the public to drive change at the regional, state, and national levels. It has 650,000 registered members and runs on a simple motto: nurses take care of patients, we take care of nurses.
Get involved: Become a member and join their impact projects, which include medical missions, safe staffing campaigns, disaster response, and adopting families for the holidays.
7. American Nurses Foundation
The American Nurses Foundation funds groups working on new ways to solve nursing and patient care problems, generating new ideas and tools.
Get involved: Donate to the 501(c)(3). Past donations funded the Coronavirus Response Fund for Nurses, which supported mental, financial, and educational health.
8. Nurse Advocacy Association
The Nurse Advocacy Association is a forum where nurses identify and discuss issues affecting practice, with a focus on collaboration, education, and professional development.
Get involved: The group currently connects nurses across Texas. Membership is free and gives you a platform to discuss healthcare challenges openly.
9. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
NAPNAP advocates for the pediatric population and supports pediatric nurse practitioners through networking, research collaboration, and family education on the newest developments in pediatric care.
Get involved: Membership includes research data, clinical practice resources, and an advocacy center where advanced practice nurses raise concerns with state and federal representatives and help shape health policy.
10. American Association for Men in Nursing
AAMN works to shape practice and leadership for men in nursing through education and research. A nurse founded it in 1971 to support the growth of men in the profession and push back against stigma.
Get involved: The organization has roughly 2,300 members and chapters in 28 states, many on college campuses. Membership includes a vote at meetings, a quarterly newsletter, and the chance to run for office. It is open to anyone who wants to support the mission.
11. Nursing Organizations Alliance
The Nursing Organizations Alliance connects leaders from professional organizations nationwide to encourage collaboration and exchange best practices. It formed when two long-standing coalitions united to create a stronger, more cohesive voice.
Get involved: Membership is open to nursing organizations. The Alliance holds about three events a year focused on building nursing leadership and giving organization leaders a place to collaborate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should nurses join an advocacy group? Advocacy groups turn bedside experience into policy pressure. They push for safe staffing ratios, fair pay, and the resources nurses need, and they give nurses a collective voice that a single clinician rarely has on their own.
Which group focuses on safe staffing ratios? National Nurses United runs a long-standing campaign for safe registered nurse-to-patient ratios and organizes nurses to win those protections through union contracts and legislation.
How do nurses get involved in policy? Start local. Attend city and state council meetings, join an organization with an advocacy arm such as the ANA, and use its advocacy resources to track legislation and contact representatives.
Are these advocacy groups free to join? Some are. The Nurse Advocacy Association offers free membership, while groups like the International Nurses Society on Addictions and the American Association for Men in Nursing charge dues that include journals, scholarships, and continuing education.
What issues do nurse advocacy groups work on? Safe staffing, fair pay, nurse wellness and burnout, the nursing shortage, health equity, and vulnerable populations affected by addiction, poverty, homelessness, and human trafficking.