When one thinks about policymakers, the automatic visualization are legislators, like congressmen. That is the direction my mind immediately took. Do you know how difficult it is to reach a senator or representative via cold call or cold email? I didn’t know before, but I do now, and I wonder why so many people tell us to reach out to our congressional representatives like it’s the easiest thing in the world. I guess it would be important to ascertain support or disdain for a piece of legislation, as long as you don’t expect a reply.
So, when that door was closed to me, I then contacted a physician who had experience with public health initiatives. After some back and forth, I was eventually ghosted, and had to move on.
Then, I started to think about how professional associations might impact policy and legislation, and reached out to Marinor Condes, a former president of the Philippine Nurses Association of Arizona (PNAAZ), of which I am a member. I asked her if PNAAZ, and the national chapter, Philippine Nurses Association of America, had any interest in healthcare policy, and was given affirmation that they did (M. Condes, personal communication, April 20, 2026). As a result, she and I had a nice chat about how professional associations like PNAA and PNAAZ influence healthcare legislation.
The Philippine Nurses Association of America is a non-profit, professional nursing organization that was first established in 1979. Initially, PNAA had a vision of endorsing and liaising a positive relationship between Filipino and Filipino-American nurses and the US healthcare culture. Over the years, this has evolved into developing programs to foster nurse leaders, improve clinical practice, promote public health, and uphold professional excellence.
Now, with over 5000 members (::sidebar:: this seems VERY low to me, given that 1 out of every 20 nurses in the US is Filipino/Philippines-trained (Nazareno et al., 2021)), the association has grown to over 50 subchapters throughout the United States. As such, their influence, and responsibility toward stewardship has grown along with it. PNAA now has an entire committee committed to legislation, to help advance their mission of reviewing and acting on legislation that affects nursing practices, and healthcare as a whole.
The legislative committee of PNAA has many position statements, including their stance on the killing of nurse Alex Pretti in January 2026, their opposition to the exclusion of nursing as being considered a “professional degree” by the Department of Education, their support for the ICAN Act, and their commitment to advancing health equity. Oftentimes, the organization shares its credence with other nursing or professional associations to strengthen their collective voices on various topics or events. Ms. Condes mentioned to me that PNAA also feels a strong sense of obligation toward protecting potentially marginalized nurses (such as minority or foreign-born) from exploitation. She gave examples of how PNAA has rallied around members by assisting with legal fees, in addition to moral support (M. Condes, personal communication, April 20, 2026).
The local chapter, incorporated in 2001, is not as involved with politics and legislation, though I am told that they often align with the Arizona Nurses Association’s stance on most issues. I asked Ms. Condes if PNAAZ also had a legislative committee to mimic that of the national association, but was told there was no formal committee, however, one could be convened, if necessary, with volunteer members (M. Condes, personal communication, April 20, 2026).
During the course of our conversation, Ms. Condes had mentioned to me that she would like me to join their committee of Advanced Practice Providers, to help promote public health and clinical excellence (M. Condes, personal communication, April 20, 2026). I agreed, because after taking a class on health equity and social justice during my first semester of grad school, I felt like I had a calling toward lending my voice, and talent, and skills to help those less fortunate than myself.
Now, I’m thinking that I should advocate for the creation of a permanent, local legislative committee with PNAAZ, because healthcare policy is too important to just sit on the sidelines.
References
Nazareno, J., Yoshioka, E., Adia, A. C., Restar, A., Operario, D., & Choy, C. C. (2021). From imperialism to inpatient care: Work differences of Filipino and White registered nurses in the United States and implications for COVID-19 through an intersectional lens. Gender, Work, and Organization, 28(4), 1426-1446. https://doi.org/gnjntg
Marlo, I really enjoyed reading your post and appreciated your honest reflection on the challenges of engaging directly with policymakers. Many nurses are encouraged to contact legislators, yet as you pointed out, access can be difficult, and the process often feels discouraging when outreach goes unanswered. Your experience highlights an important reality: professional nursing organizations may offer a more practical and influential avenue for policy engagement by serving as collective voices for the profession. Your discussion effectively demonstrates how associations such as the Philippine Nurses Association of America not only advocate for legislative and regulatory issues affecting nursing practice but also provide meaningful support and protection for their members.
I also found your conversation about PNAAZ’s potential for expanded legislative involvement particularly compelling. Advocating for the creation of a permanent legislative committee within your local chapter reflects strong initiative and forward-thinking leadership. Establishing formal policy advocacy structures at the local chapter level could further strengthen member engagement and expand the organization’s impact on state and regional healthcare issues. Recent literature supports this concept, emphasizing that organized nursing advocacy through professional associations enhances the profession’s ability to influence health policy, promote health equity, and address systemic healthcare disparities (Williams et al., 2021). Your willingness to step into this role demonstrates the type of leadership needed to advance nursing’s voice in policy and public health advocacy.
Reference
Williams, S., Phillips, J., & Koyama, K. (2018). Nurse advocacy: Adopting a health in all policies approach. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3). https://doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol23no03man01