The Institute of Pediatric Nursing: a unified voice.

Each of us as pediatric nurses, regardless of our role, setting, or population, faces barriers that impede progress toward our goal of optimum health for children. Now, a collaborative approach among multiple pediatric nursing organizations has created a strategic alliance and a priority agenda to reduce barriers and advocate for improved health care for all children. Pediatric nurses appreciate the impact of significant socioeconomic, disease, and disparity issues on the health of America's children Table 1. Of the 74million children ages 0 to 17 years in the United States, 14.1 million live in poverty, an increase of 2.5 million since 2000, and 8.1 million (1 in 10) still lack health care coverage (Children's Defense Fund, 2010). The United States has the second highest infant mortality rate among 30 industrialized nations. In addition, 30%of US children have health issues ranging from asthma to depression to special care needs, whereas almost one third of all US children are overweight or obese (Children's Defense Fund, 2010). Everyday across the country, pediatric nurses provide health care to children, in children's hospitals and community hospitals; in primary care settings and specialty clinics; in homes, schools, and neighborhood health centers; in schools of nursing and research centers; and in partnerships with families and with a broad range of health care providers. As the largest group of pediatric health care providers, pediatric nurses serve not only as caregivers but also as change agents working tirelessly to improve children's health, as well as the communities where they live and the systems that impact them. This work continues in spite of challenges such as workforce shortages, limited resources, and increased complexity of systems and technology that may compromise the implementation of innovations and solutions on behalf of children's health. Although the challenges of strengthening quality care to children continue to grow, the pediatric nursing workforce remains a small proportion of all nurses in the United States. Of the 3.1 million registered nurses (RNs) in the United