Course Description

This continuing education course examines the relationship between federal decision-making and the science-driven practice of nursing. Participants will explore how regulatory agencies, such as the CDC, CMS, OSHA, FDA, and others, provide essential services and uphold science-based standards that guide nursing care and protect patient safety. This course provides foundational context on how regulatory bodies function, why they matter to nursing practice, and how changes within these institutions shape the conditions under which nurses provide patient care. Through case studies and scientific analysis, participants will investigate how efforts to limit, restructure, or override regulatory authority can jeopardize patient safety. Participants will consider how deregulatory agendas can threaten evidence dissemination, public trust, workplace safety, and patient outcomes.

Designed for nurses committed to safeguarding professional standards and science-based practices, this course integrates policy literacy with practical implications for the nursing workforce. Learners will engage in reflective discussions about how nurses can resist changes that directly impede their livelihoods and their patients’ well-being, as well as how nurses can advocate for an equitable future. By the end of the course, participants will have a deeper understanding of how national policy trajectories intersect with the daily realities of nursing, and strategies nurses can employ to uphold scientific integrity and advocate for safer patient care conditions.

Learning Objectives

• Explain how decisions from key federal regulatory agencies can impact nursing practice and patient safety.
• Evaluate case studies and documented policy changes to determine how disruptions or alterations in regulatory authority can influence clinical decision-making, hinder evidence dissemination, and worsen patient outcomes.
• Develop and refine strategies that nurses can use to advocate for safer patient care conditions.

Instructors

Jonlyn Miller and/or Jane Thomason and/or Sarah Swinnerton and/or Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto and/or Rocelyn de Leon-Minch and/or Stephen Frum

Course Information

• This will be a 3-hour online class via Zoom for 3 hours of continuing education credits.
• You will receive Zoom information for this class, via email, a week before your class date.
• Registrations will close for these classes at 9am on the prior business day.

Dates:

• Wednesday, May 6 - 10am to 1pm PT/1pm to 4pm ET
• Monday, June 29 - 1pm to 4pm PT/4pm to 7pm ET
• Thursday, July 9 - 10am to 1pm PT/1pm to 4pm ET
• Wednesday, July 22 - 2pm to 5pm PT/5pm to 8pm ET
• Tuesday, August 18 - 10am to 1pm PT/1pm to 4pm ET
• Monday, August 24 - 1pm to 4pm PT/4pm to 7pm ET
• Wednesday, September 9 - 10am to 1pm PT/1pm to 4pm ET
• Tuesday, September 22 - 2pm to 5pm PT/5pm to 8pm ET
• Tuesday, October 6 - 10am to 1pm PT/1pm to 4pm ET
• Tuesday, October 13 - 1pm to 4pm PT/4pm to 7pm ET
• Friday, October 23 - 11am to 2pm PT/2pm to 5pm ET
• Thursday, November 12 - 10am to 1pm PT/1pm to 4pm ET
• Monday, November 16 - 12pm to 3pm PT/3pm to 6pm ET
• Wednesday, December 2 - 12pm to 3pm PT/3pm to 6pm ET
• Monday, December 7 - 1pm to 4pm PT/4pm to 7pm ET
• Wednesday, December 16 - 1pm to 4pm PT/4pm to 7pm ET

CE courses are free to National Nurses United members. Classes are only offered to direct-care and staff RNs.