There is no time to waste to begin implementing strategies that empower nurses to address health inequities. Because for too long, health inequities have negatively impacted far too many people in the United States. In this final episode of the Future of Nursing, we explore the goals that can be achieved by 2030, the practical steps that must be taken to move forward on the lessons we’ve learned, and how nurses around the world are stepping up to improve the health and wellbeing of the nation.

Nurses have experienced some of the most intense moments in nursing history during the COVID-19 pandemic. They worked to protect the public, often at the risk of their own physical and mental health. Yet, many nurses expressed that they did not feel equipped or trained to respond to this pandemic. Nurses are on the frontline of public health emergencies, including pandemics, environmental disasters, and mass casualty events. The nursing workforce must be prepared to respond to these events, and be protected as they respond. In this episode, frontline nurses share about their experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies, and explore how nurses should be strengthened, prepared, and protected for the next emergency.

There are many moving parts in equipping nurses to address health inequities. Therefore, it’s important for all nurses, nursing leaders, and organizations to be on the same page in understanding how health equity should be advanced. To advance health equity, nurses and nursing organizations must collaborate to establish an agenda that addresses social determinants of health. In this episode, nursing experts explain why a shared agenda is critical, how nurses and organizations can collaborate with each other to create this agenda, and how nurses can use their voices in nontraditional ways to create solutions that address health inequities.

Nurses have substantial expertise that can help more people access high quality care. But often, nurses across the nation are restricted from practicing to the full scope of their education and training. Removing barriers to nursing scope of practice is critical to advancing health equity. In this episode, we hear stories from advanced practice nurses who were sometimes not allowed to practice at the top of their education and training. They, along with other health experts, share how they responded, how these barriers impact health outcomes, and how they can be removed. We also explore how valuing nurses’ contributions through reformed payment systems allows nurses to further address health inequities.

Nurses’ work is often demanding and exhausting. Nurses face physical, mental, emotional, moral, and ethical challenges everyday. These challenges can poorly affect nurses’ health and well-being, resulting in a burnt out workforce and decreased quality of care. Nurses’ health and well-being must be supported so they can effectively care for patients, advance health equity, and improve the health of the nation. In this episode, we hear from frontline nurses and other health experts on how nurses are impacted when they experience challenges like burnout, racism, or are reluctant to report bad situations; and focus on what strategies should be taken to better support nurses and whose responsibility it is to do so.

As the U.S. population becomes increasingly more diverse, nurses must be prepared to treat people from all backgrounds and experiences. However, schools and health systems have not always equipped their nurses to understand, identify, and act in addressing health inequities. Now more than ever, nurses must be prepared to recognize when an individual is struggling due to health disparities and feel equipped to deliver the appropriate care to that person. In this episode, we hear the stories from nurses and other health experts that explore how educators and employers can better prepare nurses to understand and address health equity through strengthening nursing school curricula, mitigating implicit bias, and increasing diversity in the nursing workforce.

Millions of Americans experience poor health outcomes. Often, this is due to factors outside of their control, such as where they live or where they work.These factors can result in health inequities一systematic differences in opportunities to achieve optimal health between groups of people. Often, these differences lead to unfair or delayed treatment, preventable diseases, and adverse health outcomes. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report strategizes how nurses can work to achieve health equity. But first, we must understand the reality of health inequity and how it impacts people across the nation. We’re going to hear from health equity experts, nurses, and physicians who have witnessed the impact of health disparities on the individuals they care for and explore the causes behind poor health outcomes, the social determinants of health that influence an individual’s health outcome, and how health inequities can impact the entire wellbeing of the nation.

The health of the nation is at stake, the need for change is urgent. Nurses play a pivotal role in addressing health inequities across the nation. In this episode, we begin exploring the influence nurses have on healthcare, why nurses are key leaders in addressing health equity, and what practical work must be done to better equip nurses in this mission. Nurse Practitioner Dr. Scharmaine Lawson takes us through the stories of frontline nurses and other health experts to learn how they are confronting health disparities, and also introduces us to the report that provides practical guidance and recommendations for nurses addressing health equityーThe Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieving Health Equity.

This is the Future of Nursing, a series from the National Academy of Medicine based on the recently published report - The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. In this series, we’ll be hearing the stories of nurses and other experts who are confronting health disparities. And together, we’ll learn specific strategies for how nurses can use their unique skills, knowledge, and dedication to address health inequities and overall, improve health and well-being for all. This podcast is for nurses, those involved in any health sector, those in academia, or anyone who wants to know how we can create more equitable health outcomes for all people in America, no matter their experience or background.