Health Education and Human Sciences | NewsMarch 07, 2025

Voices Heard at 2025 Nurses Day at the Capitol

Written By: Ian Silvester

Nursing students from the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith spent February 13 not in the classroom, but learning no less. The day was the annual Nurses Day at the Capitol. Nurses across Arkansas came together to “advocate for policies that support the nursing profession and improve patient care,” stated the Arkansas Nurses Association website.

It was a day dedicated to giving nurses and nursing students a chance to make their voices heard and influence legislation that impacts their work, advocacy training, and networking.

Assistant Nursing Professor, Dr. Sharon Nguyen, attended her first Nurses Day at the Capitol in 2023. She returned to UAFS knowing it was an event she wanted to ensure her students could experience.

“I presented the idea to our Executive Director [Dr. Paula Julian], and we were finally able to make it happen,” Nguyen said. “I feel strongly that this opportunity should be an annual event for all nursing students within our nursing program.”

Shaniah Balagtas, a senior nursing student, was among two cohorts of students who made the trip to Little Rock on Nguyen’s suggestion. It was her first trip to Nurses Day at the Capitol, and she said it was informative and beneficial for someone like herself who is close to entering the workforce.

“It opened my eyes,” Shaniah said. “When you’re in nursing school, you forget that there’s politics involved in nursing too. I feel like everyone, especially students, advocated for change in certain things.”

Nguyen echoed Shaniah’s takeaway: "Students were exposed to current challenges and trends in healthcare policy, such as nurse staffing ratios, healthcare access, and patient safety regulations. Understanding these issues from a policy perspective is essential for nurses as they navigate the evolving healthcare landscape.”

At Nurses Day at the Capitol, students and nurses learned more about maternal mortality and morbidity rates in Arkansas, the dangers of surgical smoke in the operating room, and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse legislation allowing APRNs to have prescriptive authority to independently prescribe Schedule II medications for ADHD, ADD, pain management, and narcolepsy.

To learn more about the UAFS Nursing Program visit: https://uafs.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools/chehs/health-sciences/departments/nursing/index.php/

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