The AMSN Advocacy Toolkit was developed to help medical-surgical nurses build confidence and competency in advocacy. The toolkit introduces nurse advocacy with essential topics, tools, and examples. It will aid any nursing professional—from student to CEO—in becoming more confident and engaged. While this toolkit prioritizes the medical-surgical nurse perspective, the principles and recommendations apply broadly and are based on resources and tools found in more general advocacy and legislative training.

Click to view the AMSN Advocacy Toolkit User Guide

Advocacy begins with awareness, grows through engagement, and creates change through collective action. Because nurses witness healthcare challenges firsthand, they are uniquely positioned to identify barriers, elevate concerns, and influence meaningful improvements for patients, nurses, and healthcare organizations. Advocacy is not limited to politics or legislation. It occurs whenever nurses use their knowledge, experience, and professional judgment to help others make informed decisions.

Many nurses hesitate to engage in advocacy because they believe they lack expertise, influence, or time. In reality, advocacy often starts with speaking up about challenges that affect patient care, workplace environments, or professional practice. Individual voices become even more powerful when supported by professional organizations and collective nursing expertise.

Advocacy Definition

Advocacy refers to efforts to promote a position or influence a decision or outcome. While legislative and political advocacy focus on influencing government policy, advocacy also occurs in everyday practice settings where nurses identify concerns, share expertise, and work toward solutions that improve outcomes.

The Med-Surg Nurse's Unique Voice

Medical-surgical nurses care for an exceptionally diverse patient population and experience the realities of healthcare delivery every day. They see how policies, regulations, staffing decisions, and operational processes impact patient care. This perspective gives medical-surgical nurses valuable insight and credibility when advocating for change. Effective advocacy helps transform frontline experiences into meaningful improvements for patients, families, and healthcare teams.

Click to view Why Advocacy Matters

Advocacy occurs wherever nurses use their expertise to improve outcomes and influence decisions. Opportunities exist across healthcare settings, communities, professional organizations, and government. Whether advocating for an individual patient or contributing to large-scale policy discussions, the same principles apply - : identify the issue, communicate effectively, and work toward positive change.

Patients and Families

Patient advocacy remains one of the most fundamental nursing responsibilities. Nurses routinely speak on behalf of patients and families to ensure needs are recognized, concerns are addressed, and care plans support the best possible outcomes.

Unit and Hospital

Healthcare organizations provide numerous opportunities for nurses to influence decisions affecting patient care and workplace environments. Meaningful improvements often begin when someone is willing to raise an issue and participate in addressing it.

State and Federal Government

Although policy advocacy may feel intimidating, nurses bring practical expertise that policymakers frequently need. Professional organizations and advocacy networks can help amplify nursing perspectives and support engagement in legislative and regulatory processes.

Click to view Where Advocacy Happens

Successful advocacy requires more than recognizing a problem. It relies on a set of skills that help nurses communicate effectively, build credibility, and influence change. These competencies can be applied in virtually any advocacy setting, whether speaking with a colleague, presenting to organizational leadership, or meeting with elected officials.

Competency #1: Understanding a Problem

Effective advocates begin by fully understanding an issue before proposing solutions. Healthcare challenges are often influenced by multiple factors, and lasting improvements require a clear understanding of what is happening, why it is happening, who is affected, and what evidence supports the concern. Gathering objective information helps ensure advocacy efforts focus on root causes rather than symptoms.

Competency #2: Framing a Problem

The way an issue is presented often determines how it is received. Different stakeholders may prioritize patient safety, quality outcomes, workforce well-being, regulatory requirements, operational efficiency, or financial stewardship. Effective advocates frame concerns in ways that connect the issue to priorities important to their audience while remaining accurate and patient centered.

Competency #3: Building & Maintaining Connections

Advocacy is built on relationships. Trust develops through consistent, respectful engagement with colleagues, leaders, community partners, and policymakers. Strong professional relationships increase opportunities for collaboration and create pathways for nursing perspectives to be considered when important decisions are made.

Competency #4: Asking for Action

Identifying a problem is only part of advocacy. Meaningful change requires a clear request for action. Effective advocates communicate what they are asking for in a way that is specific, realistic, and actionable. Clear requests help decision makers understand how they can respond and support a desired outcome.

Competency #5: Follow Through

Advocacy rarely ends after a single conversation, email, or meeting. Many improvements require persistence, continued communication, and ongoing engagement. Following through demonstrates professionalism, builds credibility, and increases the likelihood that ideas will move from discussion to action. Sustainable change often results from consistent effort over time.

Click to view Advocacy Competencies

Advocacy is most effective when information is communicated clearly, professionally, and with purpose. Regardless of the communication method, successful advocates focus on a specific issue, support concerns with evidence and experience, understand their audience, and make a clear request for action. Effective communication helps transform expertise into influence.

Email Communication

Email is often one of the most accessible advocacy tools. Effective advocacy emails move beyond general statements and explain why an issue matters, how it affects patients or healthcare professionals, and what action is being requested. Strong advocacy emails are professional, concise, and supported by relevant examples or evidence.

Phone Communication

Phone conversations can establish relationships, provide clarification, and reinforce advocacy efforts. Whether speaking with leaders, legislative staff, or other stakeholders, preparation helps advocates communicate confidently and ensure their key message remains clear and focused.

In-Person Meeting

Face-to-face conversations often provide the greatest opportunity to influence decisions and build long-term relationships. Successful meetings require preparation, professionalism, a well-defined purpose, and a clear request for action. In-person engagement also creates opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and future partnership.

Click to view Advocacy Communication Tips & Tools

Advocacy principles can be applied to a wide range of issues affecting patients, nurses, and healthcare organizations. Successful advocacy efforts typically follow a common process: identify the concern, gather objective information, understand organizational structures, communicate professionally, propose solutions, and remain engaged throughout implementation and evaluation.

The examples in this toolkit demonstrate how nurses can apply advocacy competencies to real-world challenges such as safe staffing concerns and workplace violence prevention. While every situation is unique, the same advocacy principles help nurses move from recognizing a problem to influencing meaningful change.

Click to view Advocacy Exemplars

Advocacy is a skill that develops through continued learning, engagement, and collaboration. AMSN and other healthcare organizations provide resources that can help nurses strengthen their advocacy knowledge, stay informed about healthcare issues, and participate more effectively in efforts that improve patient care, workplace environments, and professional practice. The toolkit includes professional resources, evidence-based references, and additional advocacy guides to support ongoing development.

The toolkit appendix includes practical templates and communication resources that nurses can adapt to their own advocacy efforts. These tools provide guidance for communicating with legislators, organizational leaders, and other stakeholders and can help nurses organize their message, clearly communicate concerns, and confidently request action. Resources include sample emails, phone scripts, and meeting guides.

Click to view References, Additional Resources, and Appendix