The American Academy of Nursing Jonas Policy Scholars Program: Mentoring future nurse leaders to advance health policy

Abstract

Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health," calling for a transformation of the nursing profession in education, leadership, and practice (Institute of Medicine, 2010). Consistent with the call to transform nursing and its role in health and health care, the American Academy of Nursing (the Academy), an organization of approximately 2,500 nursing leaders from around the world, created the Jonas Policy Scholars Program. The purpose of this editorial was to provide an overview of the Jonas Policy Scholars Program and describe how the program has empowered emerging nurse leaders to improve health policy outcomes domestically and abroad.

Leading change during the convergence of an epidemic and a pandemic

“…Beyond local action, nurses can lead at the state‐level through advocacy for policy (Hallowell et al., 2020; Oerther et al., 2018) and the creation of legislative liaison programs (Oerther, 2019b). For example, this year the Missouri state‐chapter of the American Nurses Association (ANA) worked with the Office of the Governor of Missouri to achieve two wins for Advance Practice Nurses (APRN), namely: (a) eliminating barriers to chart review, and (b) securing a temporary waiver to the 1‐month practice period.…”

Midwest Nursing Research Society News

“…As individuals, engagement in research leadership can open doors to further training, promotion, or additional leadership opportunities both through serving the organization and through the mentorship and networking that naturally occur. For example, evidence of leadership is a requirement to be able to apply to be an Academy Jonas Policy Scholar (Oerther, Hallowell, Rossiter, & Gross, 2018). In academic settings, leadership is usually a requirement for promotion and tenure.…”

Leveraging the NAM’s 'Getting Nurses on Boards Coalition' to Promote NAE’s 'Changing the Conversation' Campaign

“…For the purposes of this current manuscript, it is important to emphasize the similarity among the recommendation by the NAE, namely, "individual proponents who spread the (new) message in one-on-one and group interactions," [3] and the recommendation by the NAM, namely, "nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States," [12]. But unlike the, "Changing the Conversation," marketing strategies developed by the NAE, nurses and the profession of nursing within NAM have developed a strategy to train-up future nurse leaders [13] who can then exert influence through leadership of policy-focused organizations thereby bringing a nursing perspective to leadership and serving as role models to increase the visibility of nurses through the, getting "Nurses on Boards," coalition [14]. Begun in 2014 to mobilize the approximately three million registered nurses (RNs) in the United States, the goal of the coalition is simple, "10,000 nurses on boards by 2020 where board is defined as a decision-making body with strategic influence to improve the health of communities nationwide -including corporate, government, non-profit, advisory, or governance boards or commissions, panels, or task forces that have fiduciary or strategic responsibility," [14].…”