Established in 1969, the AACN currently represents over 875 schools of nursing in universities nationwide, UConn being one of them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The conference was held on March 30-31 in Washington, DC, open to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students. Only two students from each AACN member institution can attend and permission from the dean is acquired.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cNurses play a crucial role in health policy advocacy, influencing healthcare legislation and shaping the future of healthcare,\u201d said Dean Victoria Vaughan Dickson, PhD, RN, FAHA, FHFSA, FAAN. \u201cThe Student Policy Summit provides student nurses with the unique opportunity to experience how nurses can effectively advocate for changes that benefit patients, their communities, and the broader healthcare system.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Davis, a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) was nominated by her advisor Joy Elwell, DNP, FNP-BC, CNE, FAAN, FAANP, based on her DNP project which deals with recognizing CRNAs as advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) in her home state of New York, which is the only state in the nation that does not recognize them as such.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The conference was an invaluable experience for Davis. She was able to witness a panelist who, like her, is a CRNA. Seeing him advocate on a federal level inspired and motivated her to continue doing the same.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cHaving these people in bigger platforms and on the federal level, just advocating for our profession is really nice to see,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Like Davis, Flaherty has always had an interest in the legislative side of nursing, and after being nominated to go to the conference by the dean, he couldn\u2019t say no.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cI looked at this and I thought what a great opportunity, to go to Washington DC and do something completely different than what we traditionally are doing in this four-year program, which is nursing completely at the bedside,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Sharing similar remarks to Davis, Flaherty said the conference was very insightful and showed him a side to the nursing profession that he is not used to seeing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It was humbling to see \u201chow complex the field of nursing is and how many different alleys you can go down and still be extremely successful and influential,\u201d Flaherty said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cIt sounds so simple,\u201d he added, but it was really \u201clearning about the government.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n A key takeaway for both Davis and Flaherty was how nursing can go beyond the bedside.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cHearing some of the speakers and the panels, how they advocate and what they advocate for is just so inspiring for me to want to take it beyond my practice of doing nurse anesthesia and take it more politics and health policy,\u201d said Davis.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The importance of advocacy and being exposed to multiple nursing avenues was a crucial part in the students\u2019 experience at the conference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cTo be involved in the other side of nursing, this legislative making process with all of the rules and regulations, the laws and the practices of what we [as nurses] practice by was really neat to kind of open my eyes to that side of nursing,\u201d Flaherty said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The conference taught Davis a lot \u2013 how to speak to legislators, write letters, and follow up \u2013 but what she really learned, was how to use her voice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u201cWhat I got from it in terms of applying it to my DNP project and even as a UConn student is to not be afraid to use my voice when it comes to advocating for something that I believe in or something that my profession needs, such as being APRNs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n They had the opportunity to visit with Connecticut Senators and Representatives \u201cto discuss the importance of support for nursing, nursing research, and nursing education,\u201d said Dickson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Specifically, they discussed the importance of the PRECEPT Nurses Act and the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/AACN-RyanDavis-1-225x300.jpeg\")
Beyond the Bedside<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Using Your Voice<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n