Reimagining Nursing Blog

When you think about improving health care, who do you envision leading the charge for a more equitable future? There are no wrong answers, but perhaps one that does not immediately come to mind—nurses. Brenan 2023), nurses’ front-line role in patient care makes them a natural force for expanding access to care and reducing health care disparities.

After a decade in the Army, Kenrick Cato, PhD, RN, CPHIMS, FAAN, was thinking about his next move. One simple question from his friend, a nurse practitioner, changed the trajectory of his future. “She asked, ‘have you ever considered being a nurse instead of a physician?’”

Sixty-four percent of nurses say they feel stressed, according to a newly updated survey by the American Nurses Foundation. While nurses play a vital role in health care, many do not feel supported. In fact, only 12 percent of nurses said they felt empowered in the two weeks before being surveyed.

How do you create something sticky enough to generate meaningful change? That question is at the center of the American Nurses Foundation’s Reimagining Nursing Initiative and one our grantees are attempting to answer.

Getting nurses to stay in the professions begins with educating them to succeed. Nursing schools understand the importance of making sure graduating nurses develop and master transferable skills they can apply in the real world.

"I have the best job because I can go in and just be creative," that's what Michael Ackerman, PhD, RN, FCCM, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, says about his role, which blends nursing, education, and technology.

The end of the year is a time for reflection and our grantees have given us a lot to think about and even more to celebrate!

It was a chance encounter at a startup event for business and tech entrepreneurs—there two nurses crossed paths. “It was just startup people. But then I saw her and was like ‘wait, there's another nurse here!’” Jasmine Bhatti, PhD(c), MS, RN recalls running into Ayan Said, MSN, RN, back in 2019. That was the start of a partnership that would transform their personal lives and the nursing profession.

As the U.S. population ages and health care demands change, nurses can play a key role in community health by working both in and outside hospitals. This is why Chamberlain University is taking an innovative approach to its education model and offering specialty-focused experiences so future nurses can practice anywhere—and thrive.

Who are the innovators behind the projects funded by the American Nurses Association’s Reimagining Nursing Initiative? As we continue to share more about the projects transforming nursing for improved access, care, and outcomes for all, we want to shine the spotlight on the people behind the ideas.

“Everybody knows that nurses are the center of health care and that if anything is going to happen and be sustainable, it’s going to be driven by nurses.”
–Former American Nurses Foundation Board President Tim Porter O’Grady