Nursing education at the crossroads: political passages.

Transitions in the nation's health care and education systems demand the involvement of nurse educators in local, state, and national policy processes. The federal government's support of the Nurse Education Act (NEA) has been critical to the nursing profession. This article presents a case study of the Tri-Council for Nursing's political strategies during the 1991 to 1992 reauthorization of the NEA. Federal government participants had significantly different perceptions of organized nursing's political strategies than did the Tri-Council participants. Both political strengths and limitations of organized nursing in national policy-making are noted. Timely political implications and recommendations for nurse educators are provided.