“Our Most Powerful Strength as Nurses Is Our Voice”
My time at the 2026 AACN Student Policy Summit was inspiring and reminded me of why so many choose this profession. For many, the profession is seen as a calling. Events like this are critical in maintaining the flame that drives the nursing workforce.
Without being treated like the professionals we are, the resources needed to safely provide patient care, and the representation that we deserve, the health of our communities will suffer. In a profession of over 4.5 million nurses, it might feel like our voices are small as if no one thing we say can involve meaningful change.
The reality is that our most powerful strength as nurses is our voice. It is our ability to advocate and voice the experiences of the patient from the beginning of life up to the end. The power of our stories and the role we play in caring for our communities across America is extremely impactful.
The power of our stories and the role we play in caring for our communities across America is extremely impactful.
Opportunities to share with our leaders, whether it was in higher education or in our government, our stories resonated with many and reflected the realities of what healthcare looks like in America. Meaningful change and productive conversations does not always look like coming into conversations with the objective data and statistics, rather it is also our stories that shine light onto the subjective aspects of nursing care. Sharing those moments at the bedside, oftentimes led by that feeling of a “nurse's intuition,” reminded me of why it is so important to continue to advocate for ourselves as professionals, but also for our patients.
If we are unable to be supported as a profession, how are we going to be able to keep our communities healthy? Our leaders are not present in the hospital at the bedside, in churches, in community clinics, in homes of families, or in rural communities of America providing nursing care. For that reason, it is why we must continue to bring these stories of our patients and community members to our leaders. It is so that they can understand that nursing care is not bound to the walls of only a hospital, but that it takes form in all aspects of our lives.
