NLN Marks New Milestone Publishing 25th Vision Statement Offering a Roadmap for the Future of Nursing

NLN Marks New Milestone Publishing 25th Vision Statement Offering a Roadmap for the Future of Nursing

Advancing Nursing Education: Disability Access, Retention & Curriculum

Washington, DC — In a milestone 25^th NLN Vision Statement, the National League for Nursing has published Advancing Nursing Education: Disability Access, Retention, and Curriculum, a direct and forceful response to what has been deemed an urgent national priority: reversing systemic exclusion of and discrimination against people with disabilities in nursing education and clinical practice. This issue demands immediate action through proven effective measures to mitigate what is widely recognized as a civil rights and health policy failure, limiting access to nursing education as well as safe, equitable care for millions of Americans who live with a disability.

Advancing Nursing Education: Disability Access, Retention, and Curriculum establishes an expansive framework for understanding the complexities and evolving social and political landscape of disability as they have impacted health care education and delivery. Under separate headings and meticulously sourced, the Vision Statement presents historical and contemporary perspectives on:

• Definitions of Disability
• Disability and Nursing
• Health Equity
• Ableism and Structural Inequities, in two subsections:
  • Exclusion and Discrimination Targeting Disabled Students, Faculty, and Nurses
  • Lack of Disability-Related Content and Experiences in Nursing Curricula
• Nursing Education Curricula  
  

Finally, in a bold Call to Action, the Vision Statement outlines an extensive and detailed set of recommendations for the League itself as the leading voice for nursing education and deans, directors, chairs, and faculty of nursing programs across the spectrum of higher education from LPN/LVN to PhD, along with collaboration with practice partners to fundamentally alter the approach to disability education, inclusion and care. As noted in the Vision Statement’s conclusion:

“As the nation’s largest, most trusted, and most essential healthcare profession, nursing holds both an ethical responsibility and a strategic opportunity to lead the next era of health equity by fully valuing people with disabilities in education, clinical practice, and leadership…Preparing all nurses from LPNs/LVNs to PhDs to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care, including care for individuals with disabilities, is fundamental to advancing health equity for current and future generations. The future of nursing depends on systems designed for all of us, including those who live with disability today and those who will experience disability tomorrow.”

“Advancing Nursing Education: Disability Access, Retention, and Curriculum affirms the need for comprehensive, competency-based disability curricula, robust faculty development, and system-wide redesign to ensure that every nurse is fully prepared to provide high-quality, patient-centered care for disabled people. Advancing disability equity in nursing represents a professional obligation and a national necessity,” said NLN Chair Yolanda VanRiel, PhD, RN, MEDSURG-BC, OCN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, chair of the Department of Nursing, North Carolina Central University and patient placement coordinator at First Health of the Carolinas-Moore Regional Hospital.

“Disability is not a deficit to be fixed, but a natural part of human experience and diversity. Understanding disability through both civil rights and public health lenses is essential for building equitable nursing education and clinical practice. Dismantling ableism—the belief that non-disabled people are superior—in nursing education demands a systemic cultural shift that recognizes and values the expertise, leadership and lived experiences of disabled people,” said NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

Notably, Advancing Nursing Education: Disability Access, Retention, and Curriculum is the National League for Nursing’s third Vision Statement published so far in 2026 as part of the Vision Series. This year has also seen the publication of Integrating Chemosensation (Smell and Taste) in Nursing Education Curricula (#24, March 2026) and Academic Progression in Nursing Education (#23, February 2026).

For more information on the NLN Vision Series, visit NLN.org.

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