Jackie Iseler, DNP, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CNE, FCNS, NACNS President
It was an honor to represent NACNS at the Nursing Community Coalition to the Thank a Nurse Congressional Reception on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., last week. This congressional event was held at the Rayburn House Office Building, where staffers and healthcare allies gathered to celebrate nursing, and stand strong in promoting the field during a time of challenging professional proposals.
Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Nursing Caucus, delivered heartfelt remarks praising nurses’ critical role in healthcare, sharing a personal story about a family member’s newborn who required NICU care, and the awe she felt witnessing those nurses’ compassion and expertise firsthand. Rep. Bonamici also participated in a bipartisan, bicameral resolution recognizing National Nurses Week.
Nurse advocates used the occasion to urge congressional support for:
- Reauthorization of Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs
- Increased funding for Title VIII and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
- Reclassification of graduate nursing programs as professional degrees under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), expanding access to higher federal loan limits
The following day, celebrations continued with an event hosted by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Bureau of Health Workforce, Division of Nursing and Public Health. The occasion marked National Nurses Month and the Division of Nursing’s 80th Anniversary, an agency that predates HRSA itself.
The theme, Advancing the Nursing Workforce: The Impact of Title VIII Investments, brought together grantees and national nursing organizations to highlight Title VIII’s lasting impact amid a projected 30% nursing shortage. Participants were also encouraged to complete the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. If selected at random, individual nurse responses matter.
As the president of NACNS, a clinician, educator, and innovator, I shared one of our biggest challenges: it comes from within.
Nurses have to stop working in silos. ADNs, BSNs, DNPs, PhDs, NPs, CNSs —are one profession. The competition for preceptors, the internal turf wars, and the fragmented advocacy are holding us back. Medical residents receive priority placement because hospitals receive Federal Medicare GME Funding to support their training, a financial incentive that nursing students do not benefit from. This must change.
We also need to invest in how we teach. A terminal degree is not a teaching credential. Evidence-based education matters. And every nurse deserves to practice to the full scope of their education and license.
Nurses are stronger united. It’s time to demonstrate that fact.