2022-2023 Policy Dialogues

The American Academy of Nursing invites you to attend the 2022-2023 virtual Policy Dialogue Series, which reflects the 2021-2022 Policy Priorities of Advancing Health Equity & Championing Wellness, Promoting Innovation & Sustainability, and Reducing Patient, Provider & System Burden. Each dialogue will be 90 minutes and 1.5 contact hours will be available for purchase at $20. Registration is open to Academy Fellows at no cost, students at $20, and non-members at $75. 

This page will be updated throughout the year with additional information, resources, and registration links.

Nursing Continuing Professional Development

The American Academy of Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

The fee for Contact Hours is $20 per policy dialogue. A total of 1.5 contact hours will be awarded by the American Academy of Nursing following the completion of the virtual event and the post-event evaluation.

Conflict of Interest: There are no relevant financial relationships ­­identified for any individual in a position to control or influence the content of this activity.
 

2022 Previous Policy Dialogues

August 16, 2022

Quality of Care in Nursing Homes

Policy Priority: Promote Innovation and Sustainability

• The Informatics and Technology Expert Panel, in collaboration with the Expert Panel on Aging, will discuss implications for nurses resulting from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report on the quality of care in nursing homes.
  
  
• Presentation Slides
  
• Resource List
  
  Purpose Statement:
  The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the longstanding and critical need for reform in the care of older adults provided in long-term care settings. In April 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released "The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff." The report provides an opportunity for dialogue on policy-setting agendas for the nation’s 15,632 nursing homes and long-term care provided in those settings. This policy dialogue, presented by the Expert Panels on Informatics & Technology and Aging, will explore the impact of the report’s recommendations on nurses working in nursing homes, residents, staff, and caregivers, and address the policy implications of strategies to support the critical reforms needed.
  
  Learning Outcomes:
  
  As a result of participating in this event, attendees will…
  • Contribute to public policy, research and care delivery design to improve outcomes for residents and staff in US nursing homes;
  • Review the NASEM Committee findings and recommendations to improve staffing;
  • Discuss the NASEM Committee findings and recommendations related to financing and health information technology;
  • Describe the NASEM Committee findings and recommendations to improve quality assurance and emergency planning; and
  • Determine actionable steps to achieve the NASEM Committee findings and recommendations to improve nursing home quality in the US.

June 29, 2022

Finding Gain in the Losses: Strategic Solutions to the Mental and Behavioral Health Crisis in Children and Youth

Policy Priority: Promote Innovation and Sustainability

• The Child, Adolescent, and Family Expert Panel, in collaboration with the Expert Panels on Psychiatric, Mental Health, and Substance Use and Violence, will address strategies and best practices to mitigate the effects of the national crisis of chronic stress on children, youth, and families, explore the impact of nursing on mental health resources, and address these policy implications.
  
  
• Resource List
  
  
• Presentation Slides
  
  
• Purpose Statement
  The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental and behavioral health of U.S. children and adolescents and increased awareness of societal inequities in a public health crisis that raises the frequency and intensity of stressors for children, youth, and families. This policy dialogue, presented by the Expert Panels Child, Adolescent & Family and Psychiatric, Mental Health & Substance Abuse, and Violence will address strategies to mitigate the effects of chronic stress on children, youth, and families, explore the impact of nursing on broadening mental health resources in schools and communities, and address policy implications for increasing resiliency in children and youth by promoting compassionate wellness strategies to support families connections to school and community.

• Featured Speakers:
  Bridgette Brawner, PhD, MDiv, APRN
  Richard and Marianne Kreider Endowed Professor Nursing for Vulnerable Populations
  Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing
  
  Jill Bohnenkamp, PhD
  Core Faculty & Clinical Assistant Professor
  National Center for School Mental Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine
  
  Melissa Gomes, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FNAP, FAAN
  Associate Professor
  Hampton University School of Nursing
  
  Annie Lewis O'Connor, PhD, NP-BC, MPH, FAAN
  Founder & Director
  C.A.R.E. Clinic, Brigham and Women's Hospital
  
  Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD
  President
  American Academy of Pediatrics

May 18, 2022

Optimizing the Nursing Workforce: Exploring Innovative Reforms and Policy Implications

Policy Priority: Reduce Patient, Provider, and System Burden

• The Building Health Care System Excellence Expert Panel, in collaboration with the Expert Panels on Quality Health Care and Acute & Critical Care, will expand the 2021 Policy Dialogue Healthcare Systems Post-COVID: Exploring Reforms and Policy Implications to focus more specifically on policy issues associated with current workforce shortages, projected workforce demands, and novel models of care that optimize nurses’ and other members of the team’s scope of practice and build on the strengths of the nursing workforce.
  
  

  Resource List
  
  Purpose Statement 
  Existing nursing and health workforce shortages have intensified worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses and the nursing profession are uniquely positioned to lead the design of value-informed models that improve the quality of care and the experience for patients and clinicians. This policy dialogue will provide participants the opportunity to gain insights from leading experts on novel models of care that build on the strengths of the workforce and optimize nurses’ and other members of the healthcare team’s scope of practice while considering current workforce shortages and projected workforce demands. Participants will explore policy implications related to these issues and how the profession can advance them.