Education Advocacy & Policy White Papers
The Education Committee supports advocacy activities to promote and advance the educational aspects of community health nursing/ public health nursing. Additionally, we support policy in collaboration with the Policy Committee when policy impacts educational factors for community health nursing.
POSITION STATEMENT: Upholding Public Health Principles April 2025
The Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE) represents academic and practice leaders committed to advancing public health nursing through education, research, and policy. Over the past three months, the sustained issuance of executive orders and mass dismissals at the federal level have undermined public health infrastructure, disrupted essential services, and contradicted evidence-based principles central to health promotion, disease prevention, and community well-being. ACHNE strongly condemns policies and actions that erode public health systems, politicize science, and destabilize the public health workforce. We remain committed to the ethical and evidence-informed practice of public health nursing to strengthen the health and well-being of our families, neighborhoods, and communities. We call for the protection and strengthening of the public health system in the United States.
JOINT COMMITMENT STATEMENT on CLIMATE CHANGE and HEALTH
Nurses recognize that climate change is threatening life as we know it. In light of the current and increasing health threats from climate change, nurses are committed to investing in the necessary knowledge and skills to address the physical and psychosocial health needs of the American public, to engage in mitigation activities in our personal and professional lives, to participate in climate change-related disaster responses, and to support and engage in policy discussions to ensure equitable care for all Americans in the face of climate impacts.
ACHNE’s Response to the AACN Draft Essentials
The Education Committee supports advocacy activities to promote and advance the educational aspects of community health nursing/ public health nursing. To that end, we provided feedback on the Draft AACN Essentials. Please see the attached document that highlights our overall feedback, the survey and responses taken from our membership, and comments on each domain.
ACHNE Review of the AACN Supplement
In 2019, the Education Committee completed a thorough review of "AACN’s Public Health: Recommended Baccalaureate Competencies and Curricular Guidelines for Public Health Nursing: A supplement to the baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice" (2013). In January 2019, The Education Committee and the Executive Committee submitted the following letter and review documents, with comprehensive recommendations to AACN for their consideration. These are valuable contributions of the Education Committee and its advocacy and efforts towards policy changes.
The Education Committee has completed an extensive review of the AACN supplement and submitted the following letters to AACN in this process:
ACHNE Contribution to the Future of Nursing 2020-2030
The ACHNE Education and Policy Committee and the Board of Directors submitted this contribution to the Future of Nursing 2020-2030:
ACHNE Graduate Education for Advanced Practice Public Health Nursing: At the Crossroads
Prepared by the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE) Task Force on Graduate Education for Advanced Practice Public Health Nursing
The Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE) has developed a number of documents designed to delineate the scope and functions of community/public health nursing educators, researchers, and practitioners. Societal and global health issues, disciplinary challenges including changes in graduate education in nursing, and requests from ACHNE members led to the decision to develop this position paper, Graduate Education for Advanced Practice Public Health Nursing: At the Crossroads (2007). The position paper complements the ACHNE Essentials of Baccalaureate Education (2000), and Research Priorities (2000) documents and supplements the Essentials of Master’s Level Nursing Education for Advanced Community/Public Health Nursing Practice (2003) document.
Academic Faculty Qualifications for Community/Public Health Nursing (2009)
The Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE) has developed a number of documents designed to delineate the scope and function of community/public health nursing (c/phn) educators, researchers, and practitioners. Consistent with the mission of ACHNE this position paper entitled Academic Faculty Qualifications for Community/Public Health Nursing has been developed by the Faculty Qualifications Task Force.
