Every year, nursing students from all over the country gather in Washington, D.C. to attend the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Student Policy Summit. The annual two-day conference immerses students in educational program sessions that specifically focus on the federal policy process and nursing’s role in professional advocacy. This past March, Fairfield University was represented by Fairfield’s nursing major and public health minor Autumn Ariel ’24 and Doctor of Nursing Practice–Family Nurse Practitioner student Ashley Portela accompanied by Dean Meredith Wallace Kazer, PhD, APRN, FAAN.

“As students from Fairfield, we were able to speak to staff members working directly with our CT senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, as well as the CT House of Representatives staff members working closely with Jim Himes and Jahana Hayes,” said Portela.

Throughout the summit, the students had opportunities to listen to speeches delivered by prominent nursing professionals who have worked on Capitol Hill, engage in a dialogue with policy leaders, and meet with staff members in Congress to advocate for certain policies, grants, and federal scholarships. The students met with the offices of Senator Chris Murphy, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Representative Jim Himes, and Representative Jahana Hayes. In these sessions, they advocated for nursing education and the nursing profession, with a particular focus on Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Act, increasing funding for National Institute of Nursing Research, and co-sponsoring the FAAN (Future Advancement of Academic Nursing) Act, which invests in the nursing workforce, nursing faculty, supports expansion of nursing schools and advancement of nursing programs. Additionally, the students attended the final congressional request, which calls for sustainable inclusive and innovative higher education policy including funding for federal student loan programs.

“My biggest takeaway from this experience was the critical need for nurses to advocate! We spend so much time advocating for our patients, and it is critical that nurses do so for themselves as well. As said many times at the summit, if you are not at the table, you are on the menu. Having a seat at the table, sharing my nursing education experiences and what policy is needed to support nurses in the coming years was empowering and inspirational,” said Ariel.

With nearly 400 students, deans and directors of nursing programs from across the country, the conference provided ample networking opportunities. The summit allowed students to directly engage with fellow guest speakers, leaders in the policy area, and congressional staff members.

Reflecting on her experience, Portela explained that the summit showed that there is power to make change when nurses unite for a cause. She stated, “The officials that we spoke to were invested in hearing about our collective experience as both students and nurses, and listened to why we felt supporting these bills was necessary. It made me want to become more involved in advocacy because our voices are really important and as nurses we are great advocates for patients but not necessarily ourselves. There is so much work to be done to improve healthcare and as one of the largest and most respected professions in healthcare we have a duty to speak up.”