Advocacy Scholars Program
For more than a decade, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners has been fostering policy leadership skills for pediatric nurse practitioners and family nurse practitioners with our Advocacy Scholars Program. Participating in the program allows members to better understand the legislative process, develop advanced practice nursing and child health policy advocacy skills, apply these new skills when visiting members of Congress and translate these skills into their professional lives to benefit practices and patients.
Although the program is conducted at the federal level, newly acquired skills and knowledge are transferable to scholars’ advocacy efforts at the state and local levels.
Becoming an Advocacy Scholar
We encourage current NAPNAP members, including students, to apply. Preference is given to members already working with chapter or national health policy committees.
You can apply online during application season. The application requires:
- statements about your professional and advocacy experience
- a statement explaining how you plan to apply your newly acquired advocacy skills and Hill visit experience to make a difference in child health or NP professional advocacy at the state or national level
- curriculum vitae (CV) or resume listing your education background, involvement in professional organization(s) and any legislative, advocacy or health policy experience
Note: The online application allows you to create a user account so you can log on multiple times to update your application before the deadline. Use the same link on subsequent visits.
When the application season opens, the deadline date will be published.
Each selected scholar will receive a financial award to assist with conference registration, transportation and related travel costs. In addition, we recognize recipients as Advocacy Scholars on our website and in Inside the Beltway.
Scholars are required to attend the national policy conference and Hill visits as well as the NAPNAP pre-event child health policy orientation webinar.
After the event, we expect scholars to share information gained from the program with NAPNAP and its members and then report back to healthpolicy@napnap.org. For example:
- write an article for the Inside the Beltway
- actively participate in the Child Health Advocacy Learning Collaborative, perhaps leading a conversation
- present at your chapter meeting or educational conference
Former Advocacy Scholars Program or NIWIÂ scholarship winners are not eligible to apply.
Capitol Hill Day
As advocates for children, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) hosts a Capitol Hill Day in odd years, typically in the fall. Members from across the country are invited to join us in Washington, D.C., to learn about priority issues in child health and advanced practice nursing and how to best engage with members of Congress to educate them on the issues.Â
Fifty-four NAPNAP members from 23 states joined together in the nation’s capital to advocate for child health and advanced practice nursing issues in more than 95 meetings with Senators, Representatives and staffers on Nov. 4, 2019. We focused on key topics including immunization, vaping impact on child health, health of child immigrants at the U.S. border and nursing education funding.
