When Nurses Talk, Legislators Listen: Driving Change in Health Policy
Webinar Details
Registered nurses have unique opportunities to be involved in health policy advocacy at the state and federal levels, yet too often do not have the tools and support to engage in this critical work. As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, nurses are uniquely well-positioned to engage in the policy process and advocate for change that can have a dramatic impact on both practice and patients.
Jonas Nursing is hosting a webinar offering insights into the policy process, providing background knowledge, highlighting engagement opportunities, and sharing practical tools designed to allow nurses to advocate for policy changes that influence their practice and patients. Participants will hear first-hand about the successful efforts of Dr. Rebecca Vortman to pass legislation in Illinois concerning Surgical Smoke Plume Evacuation and how participants can effectively advocate for causes they care about.
Objectives:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of nurses being engaged in health policy.
- Assess opportunities to advance healthcare policy.
- Describe the journey of two nurses leading a grassroots coalition advocating for a specific bill in Illinois.
- Develop effective communication strategies to convey messages to policymakers in oral and written form.
This Webinar is hosted by Jonas Nursing.
Speaker
Rebecca K. Vortman, DNP, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC
Clinical Associate Professor
Associate Department Head
DNP Health Systems Leadership Co-Program Director
University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing
Dr. Vortman is a Clinical Associate Professor, Associate Department Head, and Co-Director of the Health Systems Leadership DNP Program at the University of Illinois Chicago for the Population Health Nursing Science department and serves as a Perioperative Education Consultant, and Associate Editor for the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Novice Nurse Digital Publication, The Stitch.
She has over thirteen years of experience in perioperative nursing, education, and leadership. Dr. Vortman is recognized as an international, national, and regional leader and expert in perioperative nursing and is currently serving a second term as a board member for AORN.
Her policy focus is on workplace safety initiatives and surgical smoke evacuation practices. She has disseminated her scholarly work through publications and presentations at the local, regional, national, and international levels. She co-led a state-based grassroots coalition to successfully pass a surgical smoke evacuation law in Illinois.
Dr. Vortman received a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Illinois Chicago. She is certified as an operating room nurse (CNOR) through the Competency and Credentialing Institute and holds a nurse executive advanced certification through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Pricing and CE Credit
This webinar is free to all.
Continuing Education Credits
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.