These are exciting times for nursing. ANA is leading the way through a number of initiatives to bring attention to nurses’ essential role in care coordination and to demand payment for these essential services as a distinct component of patient care. This includes reviewing and modifying curricula so that policy is included in all programs to varying degrees. This training at all levels of nursing education can help nurses to learn how policy and advocacy are central to patient care and the working lives of nurses and healthcare systems. Nursing is on a professional wave of news lately. ANA believes every single person, including nurses, should have access to the highest quality and safest care. FIND MORE ABOUT ANA’S POSITION ON CARE COORDINATION. However, nurses have not fully realized their potential when it comes to engaging in health policy, advocacy and leadership. The passage of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (often referred to as the ACA) – and recent high-profile attempts to change it – demonstrates how health care legislation is one of the most important issues facing our leaders today. We continually search for ways to make health care affordable and efficient for everyone. At this crucial stage in nursing’s development, key organizations around the world are voicing the need for nurses to become more involved in leadership, advocacy and policymaking. It is vital that the voice of nursing is heard during their decision-making processes. With serious nursing shortages facing many countries that are only expected to become worse, nurses can no longer afford to let others make health policies without their input. Such programs need to teach nurses to be more politically savvy to help shape policies, to gain access to and use resources wisely to improve health of people. Because nurses have an intimate knowledge of patients and their health status, and the factors that affect these, they can make unique and sustaining contributions to how health policy is shaped. and you may need to create a new Wiley Online Library account. Health care and public health systems around the world operate within frameworks of health policies. Number of times cited according to CrossRef: Privacy, confidentiality, security and patient safety concerns about electronic health records. If you do not receive an email within 10 minutes, your email address may not be registered, Nursing is the largest component of the health workforce everywhere, but the profession has not yet realized its ‘potential to profoundly … Moving nurses from being the recipients and implementers of health policy decisions to being leaders with a strong voice in the development or reform of policy will take concerted, strategic effort into the future. As the lead organization representing the interests of the nation’s 4 million registered nurses, ANA’s role is to articulate that voice at the highest levels in order to influence health policy. But with such potential comes a greater level of responsibility for nurses who, thanks to their place on the frontline, are key stakeholders in the implementation of any new practices and procedures. A number of reasons have been given for nurses’ lack of involvement in health policy and politics, and the barriers to nurses being more involved are complex and vary from country to country. For every new law or regulation, new or updated, policies must be created and be disseminated to staff. In concert with these events, the International Council of Nurses, the World Health Organization and other important bodies are asking nurses to step up to the mark and get more involved in leadership, policy development and advocacy. Nurses need access to well‐thought‐out policy training programs. Learning from countries such as the USA and UK where nurse policy involvement has increased and has shown success is vital.