Policy imperatives for nursing in an era of health care restructuring

Nursing faces a markedly different health policy landscape from that which it saw during efforts for national health care reform. Sweeping changes in both the practice and political environments have required refocused policy priorities for nursing, which largely concentrate on issues of utilization of RNs and its effect on patient safety and quality of care. Nursing will need to work hard to preserve the level of unity that was achieved during health care reform but that remains critical in the face of important new challenges to the profession.