The Future of Nursing:Campaign for Action is an initiative to advance comprehensive health care change. It envisions a health care system where all Americans have access to high-quality, patient-centered care, with nurses contributing to the full extent of their capabilities. The campaign is focusing on the nursing profession because of the vital role of its more than 3 million members—the largest segment of the U.S. health care workforce. They deliver the most direct patient care and are trained in the coordination of care across the health continuum. Nurses are critical to transforming the health care system and ensuring that it delivers integrated, equitable and cost-effective services.

Campaign for Action launched in November 2010 following the release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” It is now moving forward on national, state and local levels, building on both the report’s recommendations and the long-time efforts of nurse leaders and nursing organizations.

The campaign is coordinated through the Center to Champion Nursing in America (CCNA), an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and includes 36 state Action Coalitions and a wide range of health care providers, consumer advocates, policy-makers and business, academic and philanthropic leaders.  CCNA also is working with more than 70 national organizations to develop strategies to implement the IOM report recommendations.  

Patient-centered care means that the right care is provided at the right time, by the right health professional and in the right setting.  It is the campaign’s goal that every patient should have a well-prepared nurse available to provide that care, now and in the future. Yet the issues confronting the nursing profession cannot be considered in isolation from other health care challenges. Therefore, the campaign’s approach is to seek collaborative solutions.

The objectives of Campaign for Action include:         

  • strengthening nurse education and training;
  • enabling nurses to practice to the full extent of their education and training;
  • advancing interprofessional collaboration to ensure coordinated and improved patient care;
  • expanding leadership ranks to ensure that nurses have a voice on management teams, in boardrooms and during policy debates; and
  • improving health care workforce data collection to better assess and project workforce requirements.

The United States is under pressure to transform its system and culture of health care, which will require full utilization of all health professionals—especially nurses. Campaign for Action’s focus on nurses recognizes the critical role they play in delivering, coordinating and improving care. Addressing some of the key challenges that confront nursing will have broad benefits given the increasingly interdependent roles of those working in health care..

To ensure that the IOM report recommendations are turned into actions, the campaign seeks to engage all health professionals as well as policy-makers, payers, business executives, licensing bodies, educational institutions, foundations and consumer advocacy groups. Together, we can create a system with high-quality care that is seamless, accessible, affordable and equitable for every American. 

Institute of Medicine Report

The Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action marks the implementation phase of a landmark study and report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and RWJF. Called the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the IOM, the study occurred over two years and resulted in a robust report and recommendations outlining ways nursing can contribute to an improved American health care delivery system.

Led by former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, the IOM’s 18-member committee was charged with developing a transformational report on the future of nursing, with solutions to improve the quality of patient care while controlling costs.

The Committee recommendations, announced in October 2010, describe a range of system improvements, including proven, solution-oriented ways to address the nursing and nurse faculty shortages in the U.S. and to ensure that the benefits of nurse-led models of care can be realized throughout the health care system. The recommendations also focus on the role of nurses in health care promotion, disease prevention and care at the end of life, including avoiding expensive conditions that are more affordable to treat at the outset. 

Advisory Committee

A distinguished Advisory Committee is guiding Campaign for Action at the national level. It is chaired by Sheila Burke, an adjunct lecturer in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, who served as chief of staff to former Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole of Kansas. Its members include leaders in health care, business, education, labor and consumer advocacy.