What Is Advocacy in Nursing?

In the healthcare system, patients may encounter barriers that restrict their access to high-quality clinical and preventive care. Individuals in underserved communities and those living in states with outdated healthcare policies are at a higher risk of experiencing the effects of systemic health inequities.   

Nurses can support equitable care for these patients by providing essential care and advocating on their behalf. Through their efforts, nurses can center their patients’ rights, needs, and safety in healthcare delivery.Nurses should know what advocacy involves, why it’s essential, and how they can actively promote patient wellbeing at the individual and systemic levels. As a nurse, you can expand your knowledge through continuing education courses that focus on advocacy and related issues, such as nursing ethics, access to care, health literacy, and more to deepen your understanding of advocacy work and its impact on your community.

Nursing Advocacy Defined

Nursing advocacy refers to the initiatives nurses undertake to support, defend, and promote equitable care and pattern rights. It is rooted in nurses’ fundamental commitment to patients’ welfare and encompasses a range of activities and focus areas.

As front-line medical workers, nurses get the most face-to-face time with patients and their families. Their position makes them uniquely qualified to understand patients’ challenges, identify healthcare delivery gaps, and advocate for those in their care. The efforts of nurse advocates serve to improve patient outcomes overall. 

Nursing advocacy is a team effort. Individual nurses may not be able to enact change at a high level. However, when thousands of nurses organize to strategically address issues, they can collectively raise public awareness of systemic inequities, influence legislators and policymakers, and leverage their resources to create positive momentum.

At the macro level, nurse advocates can influence regional or national public health and healthcare systems. For example, the Rural Nurse Organization is one of the nation’s leading advocacy groups pushing for greater availability of healthcare resources in rural and remote areas. Their other areas of interest include indigenous patients’ health, immigrant patients’ health, and improved healthcare access for underserved communities.

Why Is Nursing Advocacy Important?

Nursing advocacy stems from the belief that all patients deserve fair and equitable treatment. Advocacy efforts are important because they:

• Promote a higher standard of care for patients that respects human dignity, protects patients’ rights, and fosters fair and equal treatment
• Connect patients and communities with valuable healthcare resources that support their wellbeing
• Can assist underserved patients experiencing financial, social, or logistical challenges that prevent them from accessing quality care
• Can help change or create healthcare policies that are more advantageous to patients and increase their access to care
• Help educate patients so that they can effectively advocate for themselves

What Are the Different Levels of Nurse Advocacy?

Nurse advocates address a myriad of healthcare issues in a broad range of scopes. Advocacy efforts typically fall into one of the following three categories:

• Facility-level advocacy: Efforts at the facility level address problems within a specific hospital or healthcare facility. Examples include a history of incorrect diagnoses, unacceptable or unsafe patient accommodations, or unqualified medical staff.  

• Policy-level advocacy: Policy-level advocacy concerns regulations at the federal, state, or local level that keep patients from receiving high-quality care. For example, some legal restrictions make it exceptionally difficult for patients to receive essential treatments or medications. 

• Individual-level advocacy: Individual-level advocacy is the most personalized form of advocacy, as it addresses the challenges a specific patient or community is facing. For example, nurse advocates can intervene if a patient’s family attempts to make medical decisions on their behalf that go against their wishes or beliefs.

If you are interested in patient advocacy, you can find plenty of opportunities to get involved. As an advocate, you can influence healthcare policies by participating in local, state, or national committees; professional organizations; or other platforms where healthcare decisions are made. You can assist with community outreach programs that support underserved populations. You can also participate in research that seeks to improve patient care and push to adopt these practices.

Contribute to Initiatives That Improve Patient Outcomes

Nursing advocacy is a cornerstone of effective and ethical healthcare. As healthcare delivery continues to evolve, the role of nurses as advocates will grow. Through policy involvement and community engagement, nurse advocates will help shape a healthcare system that serves the needs of all patients.

If you are interested in a nurse advocate role, you can increase your knowledge of advocacy and related issues through continuing education courses at NurseCE4Less. Offered courses include interventions for specific populations, such as Child Protective Services and Mandatory Reporting of Child Maltreatment, Adverse Childhood Experiences: Screening and Preventative Interventions, Transgender and Gender Diverse Access to Healthcare in Rural Communities, and Fentanyl: Clinical Utility, Precautions, and Special Populations. 

They also cover current issues and policies in nursing, including Empathy in the Clinician-Patient Relationship and in Telemedicine, Texas Nursing Jurisprudence and Ethics, and Infection Control: COVID-19 and Emerging Policies in Healthcare. 

Knowledgeable nurses with advanced clinical training and skills are well-equipped to deliver quality care and understand patient needs. The courses and subscriptions offered at NurseCE4Less provide an affordable, convenient way for you to increase your clinical competencies and keep up with changing regulations or requirements. 

Learn more about how continuing education at NurseCE4Less aligns with your personal and professional goals.

Recommended Readings

Telehealth and Nursing: Careers in the Remote Healthcare Landscape

How to Advance Your Nursing Career: 6 Tips

Sources:

American Nurses Association, Federal Advocacy

Indeed, “11 Patient Advocacy Examples in Nursing (Plus Types)”

Indeed, “Advocacy Strategies in Nursing: Definition, Benefits and How-To”

Johns Hopkins Medicine, “The Power of a Health Care Advocate”

ONS Voice, “Nursing Advocacy Creates Real Change in Health Policy”

Rural Nurse Organization, History of the Rural Nurse Organization

Back to Blog Home

Latest Articles

• The Debate About Lunch Breaks for Registered Nurses
• The Legal Implications of Not Meeting CE Requirements for Nurses
• 2024’s Top CE Topics for Nurses and A 2025 Outlook
• Nutrition and Diet Tips for Nurses: Practical Advice for a Busy Schedule
• The Best Nursing CEUs for Professional Development

Featured Course

Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy N544

Free Course

Drug Diversion Training