Health Policy Analyst: An Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Subspecialty

Nurses have been involved in health policy for hundreds of years without formal education or advanced degrees. Advanced practice registered nurses' careers now include health policy or nurse policy analyst as a subspecialty; the role typically requires a master's or doctoral degree in health policy or a related field such as public health. Few nurses choose health policy analyst as a subspecialty when obtaining an advanced degree. This article discusses barriers and obstacles to choosing the subspecialty health policy analyst and offer recommendations to encourage participation by nurses in this field.