PAP 2024: Adrianna Nava Discusses Goals of the NAHN

PC: Could you describe the goal of the NAHN?

Nava: We actully have two missions. The first one is to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce by creating more pipelines for Hispanic individuals to be interested in a career path in nursing. The second one is to really advocate for the healthcare needs of the greater Latino community within the US.

PC: What inspired you to join this non-profit professional association?

Nava: I was really interested in joining them early on in my career. There's an underrepresentation of Hispanic nurses within our nursing workforce. In a workforce of about four million nurses, around seven to eight percent of them are Hispanic. So we really want to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce to better meet the needs of our patients within the greater health system. I saw an opportunity there for me to contribute to building that pipeline and making sure that as nurses come into our profession, they're ready to take on more leadership roles within their communities so that they can be advocates advocating for their needs. Each community is unique.

PC: How have your experiences treating patients influenced your professional goals?

Nava: A lot of times, when we're growing up with our own lived experiences, we notice gaps and opportunities to make improvements. So for myself, one of the opportunities I saw was in health care access and noticing that when I was in nursing school, I was actually not insured because at the time, before the passage of the Affordable Care Act, individuals who were a little bit older than being able to be on their parents' insurance didn't have access to care because they didn't have a job. In noticing that gap there, I was really interested in seeing how I could play a bigger role in health care access. That's kind of what inspired me to continue my education, to learn a little bit more about policies related to access to care, but also to serve as a leader within my community so we can get other nurses interested in health policy in general.

PC: What has caught your eye thus far at Access USA?

Nava: I'm really excited that we have a lot of patient advocates here. A lot of times at conferences that I've been to, we don't necessarily get that close patient perspective. So I think it's really great that we're able to integrate a conference where we can learn about different diverse needs of communities from the front voices, so I really enjoy that. Especially, the focus on healthcare access, and even once you have insurance, what are the opportunities to make sure that we have better accessibility and coverage and affordability for the patients that we're serving?

PC: How do you envision the future of patient assistance programs, especially pertaining to underserved populations?

Nava: I see it as an opportunity for us to build bigger partnerships. I know with the Hispanic Nurses Association, definitely partnering with the PAP programs and sharing resources. I think there's an opportunity there for us to work together to reach even more individuals than we could reach alone. So I think partnership is a really great way for us to continue the work going forward.