Nursing leadership in policy formation

This article provides broad definitions of the concepts of policy, politics, and power, which will be developed further in subsequent articles. The article describes the critical role of nurses in health policy formation at local, organizational, and national levels and outlines the unique strengths and sources of influence that nurses possess and must employ if health care in the United States is to become safer, more accessible, holistic, and more affordable. Many of these same talents can be used at international levels to affect health care worldwide. The basic premise of this article-and actually of the entire issue-is this: When informed nurses are actively involved in shaping healthcare policy at any level, desired outcomes will be substantially improved.