preparation allows an individual
to efficiently share information
as they advocate for a particular
issue and follow the outcomes.
Figure 2. Personal advocacy plan
environment while supporting
environmental protections re-
lated to human health. Accord-
ing to the Alliance of Nurses for
Healthy Environments (ANHE),
the role of nurses leading climate
action is crucial (http://envirn.
org/). ANHE provides education
to members and supports ac-
tivities in the areas of education,
research, practice, and policy
advocacy. They assist in integrat-
ing environmental health into
nursing education, greening work
environments, adding environmen-
tal exposure questions to patient
histories, developing anticipatory
guidance for pregnant women and
parents, researching environmental
health issues, and actively advocat-
ing for environmental health (http://
www.climatenetwork.org/profile/
member/alliance-nurses-healthy-
environments-anhe, n.d., para. 2).
Nurses are considered to be trust-
ed, ethical professionals. There-
fore, nurses’ voices carry weight.
The environment has a significant
impact on health and wellness.
Thus, environmental advocacy
meshes well with nursing practice.
When nurses become personally
involved in advocacy, they move
practice from a patient focus to a
systems level, focusing on health
and wellness for the community
as a whole.
A personal advocacy plan fo-
cuses on legislative activities and
priorities which are relevant to an
individual (see Figure 2). Involve-
ment in many foci may diffuse the
effectiveness of an individual’s
plan. It is important that an
individual become knowledgeable
about existing evidence related to
their issues of support. Informa-
tional resources include legislative
reports, regulations, pending or
proposed legislation, legislative
sponsors, and calls for action. A
plan should include an “elevator
speech” to provide an overview of
the topic and key points. An ele-
vator speech is a 30-second sound
bite to communicate an issue,
offer recommendations for imple-
mentation, and discuss its benefits
(for example, organizational,
community, regional, etc.). This
The Pennsylvania General As-
sembly website allows users to
find their legislators’ names and
contact information (http://www.
legis.state.pa.us/). In addition,
the site has a “Find Legislation”
section to search for bill numbers,
keywords, sponsors, and commit-
tees. Users can access a bill’s text,
resolutions, and amendments.
The Pennsylvania Code (contain-
ing 55 titles), the Pennsylvania
Bulletin (containing court rulings,
executive orders, etc.), PA State
Statutes, and the PA Constitu-
tion are all available on the site.
Federal legislation can be accessed
on the Congressional website
(https://www.congress.gov/) to
discover the same information for
federal legislators and legislation.
Although nursing practice is regu-
lated at the state level, legislation
and regulations that impact the
environment may be found on
both the state and federal levels.
CONCLUSION
If you are hesitant about get-
ting started with advocacy,
the American Nurses Associa-
tion (ANA) offers an advocacy
toolkit at www.nursingworld.
org/practice-policy/advocacy/
ana-advocacy-toolbox/. Step by
step instructions are provided for
e-mailing or calling your member
of Congress, setting up a meeting,
sending a Letter to the Editor,
and visiting Congressional town
halls. The Pennsylvania State
Nurses Association (PSNA) also
offers a Legislative Ambassador
Program (LAP) for its members.
Issue 73, 2 2018 Pennsylvania Nurse 19