American Academy of Nursing: Mission, Policy, and Health Issues
This paper examines the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), focusing on its mission to improve health and achieve health equity through nursing leadership, innovation, and science. It reviews the organization's key policy priorities — including abortion care protections under EMTALA, firearm violence prevention, and sexual and reproductive health — and describes the mechanisms the AAN uses to influence policy. The paper also discusses the AAN's post-COVID-19 policy engagement, its emerging work on an AI Code of Conduct for healthcare, and the pathways available for nurses who wish to advance health policy through the AAN Fellowship Program.
- Mission of the American Academy of Nursing and Its Policy Impact: AAN's mission and health equity policy mechanisms
- Key Nursing and Health Policy Issues: Abortion care, firearm safety, and reproductive health
- Addressing COVID-19 Policy Through Organizational Action: Post-pandemic policy dialogue and nursing support strategies
- Nurse Engagement and the AAN Fellowship Program: How nurses can join AAN policy work through fellowship
- Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: The AAN's Emerging Policy Work: AAN's AI Code of Conduct and healthcare policy development
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds each policy claim in a concrete AAN action — letters to lawmakers, amicus briefs, and position statements — giving the analysis specificity and credibility.
- Covers a wide range of contemporary health policy issues (abortion care, firearm violence, AI, COVID-19 recovery) while keeping each section focused and well-scoped.
- Connects organizational mission to individual nurse engagement by discussing the Fellowship Program, making the paper practically relevant to nursing students.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates source-integrated analysis: rather than simply describing the AAN, the author weaves in specific 2024 policy actions, legislative references (e.g., H.R.8018/S.3109), and dated organizational outputs to substantiate each claim. This technique shows how to use primary organizational sources effectively in a professional or policy-focused paper.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a Q&A scaffold corresponding to five assigned prompts, each functioning as a self-contained section. The introduction/mission section sets the organizational context; middle sections address specific issues, COVID-19 policy work, and nurse involvement; and the final section addresses the emerging AI policy landscape. This structure suits response papers and professional organization analyses at the undergraduate or early graduate level.
Mission of the American Academy of Nursing and Its Policy Impact
The stated mission of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) is to "improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science" (AAN, 2024). Over the years, the AAN has shaped health policy through a range of mechanisms, including sending letters to the federal government, drafting position statements, hosting policy debates, and engaging with lawmakers, among other approaches.
For instance, in pursuit of its mission, the AAN in July 2024 collaborated with 107 other healthcare organizations to send a letter to Representatives Magaziner (Rhode Island) and Cammack (Florida), as well as Senators Capito (West Virginia) and Markey (Massachusetts), outlining its support for H.R.8018/S.3109 — the Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act. The Act seeks to reduce the burdens faced by caregivers in accessing social security programs, CHIP, Medicaid, and Medicare (AAN, 2024b).
Key Nursing and Health Policy Issues
Issues of particular importance to the AAN in the current year include abortion care, firearm safety, and sexual and reproductive health. In April 2024, the academy published a position statement addressed to the Supreme Court asking the court to uphold Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) protections for abortion care in cases where abortion is a lifesaving intervention — including in states that restrict or ban abortion (AAN, 2024c). The AAN's position is that pregnancy-related complications may arise that require emergency care (AAN, 2024c). In such emergency situations, terminating the pregnancy may be the only way to stabilize or treat the patient. It is therefore prudent that EMTALA protections include abortion care to ensure lifesaving emergency services are accessible to all, regardless of one's zip code (AAN, 2024c). On August 13, 2024, the AAN was part of an amicus brief sent to the Montana Supreme Court petitioning the court to overturn state legislation that restricts abortion. The academy joined a similar brief in March 2024 challenging Idaho's state law that bans abortion from EMTALA protections.
On the issue of firearm safety, the AAN has vocally supported policies aimed at eliminating firearm violence. The association believes that such policies are important in safeguarding the nation's health, given the rise in incidents of mass shootings and firearm-related suicide (AAN, 2024). The academy's position is that there is a need to invest in evidence-based research to identify at-risk populations and develop innovative interventions for reducing firearm-related injury and death. In 2022, the academy published a statement on Firearm Safety outlining policies for reducing firearm violence. In July 2024, the AAN sent a letter to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy supporting his firearm violence advisory, which declares firearm violence a public health crisis and calls for increased investment in risk-reduction and violence-prevention interventions (AAN, 2024).
The third primary area of interest has been sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH), where the academy has advocated for policies ensuring equitable access to the full spectrum of health services — including family planning, health screenings, and telehealth services for sexual and reproductive care (AAN, 2024). The academy has also been vocal in pushing for policies that support nurses as advocates for patients' safety, rights, and health (AAN, 2024). The AAN's position is that all healthcare services related to sexual and reproductive health ought to be grounded in evidence-based standards and scientific knowledge as a means to reduce morbidity and prevent unintended pregnancies (AAN, 2024). In May 2024, the AAN published a position statement on Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health, outlining the need for strong protections for SRH-related healthcare services.
Nurse Engagement and the AAN Fellowship Program
Nurses interested in policy advancement can get involved with the academy's work by joining the AAN Fellowship Program. The Fellowship Program offers nursing scholars an opportunity to participate in evidence-based studies aimed at improving health policy both domestically and abroad (AAN, 2024). The two-year fellowship provides scholars with a learning opportunity at the AAN's National Academy of Medicine (NAM), where they benefit from mentorship by elected NAM members and a $25,000 research grant to support their professional development (AAN, 2024).
AAN Fellows also participate in designated NAM boards, where they contribute to research studies and produce reports for projects aimed at integrating public health and medicine (AAN, 2024). While serving on these boards, Fellows interact with — and gain diverse perspectives from — experts including health professionals, scientists, health organization executives, industry leaders, government officials, and legislators, an exposure that deepens their nursing expertise (AAN, 2024). Fellowship participants also have opportunities to attend AAN health policy dialogues and conferences, receive appointments to the academy's national advisory council, and participate in Expert Panels to support the academy's policy recommendations (AAN, 2024). Collectively, these activities expose participants to a wide range of evidence-based research, the process of health policy development, and the various actions nurses can take to influence health policy.
References
AAN. (December 2023). American Academy of Nursing policy dialogue: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic — mobilizing nursing leadership to advance global equity. American Academy of Nursing.
AAN. (2024, May 3). Artificial intelligence in health, healthcare, and biomedical science: An AI code of conduct principles and commitments discussion draft. American Academy of Nursing. https://cdn.ymaws.com/aannet.org/resource/resmgr/policydocuments/2024policyactions/NAM_AI_Code_of_Conduct_Lette.pdf
AAN. (2024, April 24). Joint statement to the Supreme Court: Leading medical organizations urge the Supreme Court not to weaken EMTALA protections. American Academy of Nursing.
AAN. (2024). Who we are and what we do. American Academy of Nursing.
AAN. (2024b). Policy actions: 2024 policy actions. American Academy of Nursing. https://cdn.ymaws.com/aannet.org/resource/resmgr/policydocuments/2024policyactions/Alleviating_Barriers_for_Car.pdf
AAN. (2024c). Access to sexual and reproductive health position statement. American Academy of Nursing.
AAN. (2024d). Firearm safety and violence prevention. American Academy of Nursing.
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