Acute, progressive and critical care nurses must take an active part in shaping policies and regulations that enhance their practice and enable them to contribute fully. To influence these decisions, it is essential for nurses to be present and involved in the forums where patient care and professional standards are being discussed and determined.
Signed on to a letter to Congressional Leadership urging them to swiftly consider and pass the bipartisan Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R. 929/S.266).
3/18/25
AARP continues its collaboration with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses to support initiatives to strengthen the nursing workforce with grants from the 2025 Nursing Innovations Fund.
2/24/25
AACN, along with 62 other members of the NCC, signed onto a letter urging Congress to cosponsor and pass shared legislative priorities impacting nursing education, workforce, and research before the end of the 118th Congress.
11/18/24
AACN, along with 62 other members of the NCC, signed onto a letter urging the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees to consider and advance H.R.3428/S.1633, the United States Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act of 2023 in any legislative package honoring our nation’s veterans this year.
11/15/24
Currently, nursing is not consistently designated as a STEM field, which negatively affects funding for nursing education, research and other opportunities. In a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security signed by AACN and other professional nursing organizations, ANA describes how nursing, as an evidence-based profession, aligns with definitions of STEM disciplines, and points to other agencies that recognize nursing as STEM.
9/3/24
AACN, along with all sixty-four members of the NCC, signed a letter thanking the leadership of the House and Senate Nursing Caucuses for introducing S.Res.676 and H.Res.1208, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week, observed May 6 through May 12, 2024.
6/7/24
To celebrate National Nurses Week 2024, AACN and all 64 members of the NCC signed onto a letter urging Congress to take action on top appropriations and legislative priorities that impact nursing education, workforce, and research.
6/6/24
AACN collaborated with the American College of Emergency Physicians by signing a letter to Congress in support of reauthorizing the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act. Because of this act, health care workers have better access to education and training on preventing stress and burnout before they reach a point of crisis.
2/15/24
AACN signed on to an NCC letter to RDML Jennifer Moon, welcoming her as the new Chief Nurse Officer (CNO) at the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
10/31/23
Sixty members of the NCC, including AACN, sent letters to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D- MA) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY-17), along with a bipartisan group of 21 original cosponsors, thanking them for introducing the United States Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act of 2023 (S.1633/ H.R. 3428).
6/28/23
AACN signed an NCC letter of thanks to Senate Nursing Caucus Co-Chairs, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), House Nursing Caucus Co-Chairs, Reps. David Joyce (R-OH-14) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), and House Nursing Caucus Vice Co-Chairs and two of the nurses in Congress, Reps. Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) and Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), along with 40 bipartisan members in the House and Senate, for introducing S.Res.201 and H.Res.375 - a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week, to be observed from May 6 through May 12, 2023.
5/31/23
All sixty-three members of the NCC, which includes AACN, signed onto a letter urging Congress to take action on top appropriations and legislative priorities that impact nursing education, workforce, and research. This letter comes as we celebrate National Nurses Week 2023.
5/8/23
AACN joined with 62 other members of the NCC to thank nursing champions in Congress who are retiring or leaving Capitol Hill at the end of this year, including: Reps. Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40), Rodney Davis (R-IL-13), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30), and David McKinley (R-WV-01), as well as Debbie Jessup, a nurse and congressional staffer for Rep. Roybal- Allard.
12/6/22
AACN and 61 other members of NCC signed onto a letter urging Congress to pass top legislative priorities impacting our current and future nursing workforce before the end of the 117th Congress.
9/26/22
AACN and 61 other members of NCC signed onto a letter urging Congress to pass top legislative priorities impacting our current and future nursing workforce before the end of the 117th Congress.
9/26/22
AACN joined with 57 other NCC members on a letter urging the retention of Sec. 5103 regarding honors for the women who served as cadet nurses during World War II
8/23/22
NCC and AACN congratulated recently confirmed Under Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Shereef Elnahal, welcoming him to his new position and pledging to work with him to improve veteran's health through nursing care.
8/19/22
On May 13, 2022, former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse RaDonda Vaught was sentenced to three years of supervised probation after being criminally convicted for a medication error that resulted in a patient’s death. Vaught took responsibility for her part in the error and provided Vanderbilt University Medical Center with details of how it happened. Although Vaught received probation, AACN believes her criminal conviction and three-year sentence may lead clinicians to think twice about such open reporting of errors.
5/13/22
On March 25, 2022, Former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and impaired adult abuse due to a 2017 medication error that resulted in a patient’s death. AACN believes a punitive approach to healthcare errors drives problems into the shadows and decreases patient safety.
3/25/22
NCC sent a letter welcoming Dr. Robert "Bob" Otto Valdez, who was recently named director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
3/18/22
Fifty-six members of the NCC, including AACN, signed onto letters to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees urging them to pass S.1220/H.R.2568, the United States Cadet Nurse Corps Service Recognition Act of 2021.
2/14/22
AACN joined with other NCC members to welcome Carole Johnson as the new Administrator of the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA).
1/31/22
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health requested information on evidence-based strategies to prevent work-related stress and support health worker mental health. Our letter emphasizes the urgent need to improve the health of our work environments, address nurse staffing and include nurses in decision making groups.
1/20/22