Letter from the Nursing Community to Julie Sochalski congratulating her on her new leadership position as the Director of the Division of Nursing at the Bureau of Health Professions (Health Resources and Services Administration)

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September 13, 2010

Julie Sochalski, PhD, RN, FAAN

Director

Division of Nursing, Department of Health and Human Services

5600 Fishers Lane

Parklawn Building, Room 9-35

Rockville, MD 20857-0001

Dear Dr. Sochalski:

On behalf of the Nursing Community, a forum of professional nursing organizations representing over 850,000 Registered Nurses (RNs), Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), nurse faculty, nursing students, and nurse researchers, the undersigned organizations write to congratulate you on your new leadership position as the Director of the Division of Nursing at the Bureau of Health Professions. Your accomplished career in health policy and your expansive expertise related to the intricacies of the nursing workforce makes you an outstanding addition to the Health Resources and Services Administration.

With the implementation of healthcare reform being at the forefront of the Administration’s agenda, we are confident that your knowledge and experience will help inform efforts to expand the health profession’s workforce to focus on the unique contributions of RNs and APRNs. For years, the Nursing Community has collectively advocated to increase funding for the Nursing Workforce Development Programs (Title VIII, of the Public Health Service Act) to address the nursing shortage and most recently worked to see the Title VIII programs reauthorized through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. We stand ready to support the Division’s efforts to advance the Title VIII programs so that they effectively support the supply and distribution of nurses in the most underserved areas.

The members of the Nursing Community look forward to working with you on various issues impacting nursing education, practice, recruitment, and retention. Over the years many of the Nursing Community members have enjoyed working in collaboration with you on a variety of initiatives, so please let us know how we can be of assistance in your new role. Congratulations again on this new leadership position for the nursing profession!

Sincerely,

Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses

American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing

American Academy of Nurse Practitioners

American Academy of Nursing

American Association of Colleges of Nursing

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses

American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

American College of Nurse Practitioners

American College of Nurse-Midwives

American Nephrology Nurses' Association

American Nurses Association

American Organization of Nurse Executives

American Psychiatric Nurses Association

American Society for Pain Management Nursing

American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses

Asian American and Pacific Islander Nurses Association

Association of Community Health Nursing Educators

Association of periOperative Registered Nurses

Association of Rehabilitation Nurses

Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing

Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses

Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service

Dermatology Nurses' Association

Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association

Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association

Infusion Nurses Society

International Association of Forensic Nurses

International Nurses Society on Addictions

International Society of Psychiatric Nursing

National American Arab Nurses Association

National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists

National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health

National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations

National Gerontological Nursing Association

National Nursing Centers Consortium

National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties

Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs

Oncology Nursing Society

Visiting Nurses Associations of America

Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society