- Feb 12, 2026
Teaching Students to Advocate for Patients and Themselves
- Dr. Sellars Educate, LLC
Advocacy is at the heart of nursing practice. Nurses advocate for patient safety, equitable care, ethical treatment, and access to resources every day. Yet advocacy is not always intuitive for students. Many hesitate to speak up in clinical settings, question authority, or express concerns, especially when they are still developing confidence and professional identity.
Teaching students to advocate effectively for both their patients and themselves is an essential responsibility of nurse educators. When advocacy is intentionally integrated into nursing education, students graduate not only with clinical skills but with the courage and clarity to use their voice.
Why Students Struggle With Advocacy
For many nursing students, clinical environments can feel hierarchical and intimidating. They may fear appearing incompetent, disrespectful, or “difficult” if they question a decision or raise a concern. Inexperience, uncertainty, and a desire to please instructors or staff can further silence them.
At the same time, students may not fully understand what advocacy looks like in action. They often associate it with confrontation rather than collaboration. Without guidance and modeling, advocacy can feel risky rather than professional. Recognizing these barriers is the first step in helping students develop confidence in speaking up.
Defining Advocacy Clearly
Before students can practice advocacy, they must understand what it truly means. Advocacy is not about challenging authority for the sake of disagreement. It is about promoting patient safety, protecting dignity, clarifying concerns, and ensuring that care aligns with ethical and professional standards.
In the classroom, educators can use real-world examples to demonstrate advocacy in action. Discussing scenarios where nurses identified safety risks, addressed communication breakdowns, or supported vulnerable patients helps students see advocacy as a professional responsibility rather than a personal choice.
Modeling Professional Communication
Understanding what advocacy means lays the foundation, but students also need to see what it looks like in practice. Once advocacy is clearly defined as a professional responsibility, the next step is demonstrating how to communicate concerns effectively and respectfully in real clinical situations.
When educators model respectful, clear, and assertive communication, they demonstrate how to raise concerns constructively.
Using structured communication tools such as SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) can help students organize their thoughts and speak with clarity. Practicing these conversations in simulation or case discussions builds familiarity and reduces anxiety before students encounter real clinical situations.
Creating Safe Opportunities to Practice
Modeling alone, however, is not enough; confidence develops through active participation. Providing structured opportunities to practice advocacy allows students to move from observation to application. Role-playing difficult conversations, analyzing ethical dilemmas, and debriefing clinical experiences strengthen both skill and self-assurance.
During post-clinical discussions, educators can ask questions such as:
“Was there a moment when you wanted to speak up?”
“What made it difficult?”
“How could you approach that situation differently next time?”
These reflections help students identify barriers and develop practical strategies for future encounters.
Encouraging Self-Advocacy
Advocacy extends beyond patient care. Nursing students must also learn to advocate for themselves—whether requesting clarification, seeking support, or addressing learning needs.
Encouraging students to ask questions, express concerns respectfully, and communicate when they feel overwhelmed fosters professional growth. Teaching self-advocacy does not promote entitlement; it promotes accountability and ownership of learning.
When students feel empowered to speak for themselves, they are better prepared to speak for others.
Building a Culture Where Speaking Up Is Valued
Advocacy thrives in environments where psychological safety exists. Educators set the tone by inviting questions, responding thoughtfully to concerns, and reinforcing that patient safety always takes priority over hierarchy.
When students see that raising concerns is welcomed and handled professionally, advocacy becomes normalized rather than feared.
Preparing Nurses Who Lead With Courage
Teaching students to advocate for patients and themselves is not an optional add-on to clinical education. It is foundational to safe, ethical nursing practice. When nurse educators intentionally develop advocacy skills, they help shape professionals who are confident, accountable, and prepared to lead with integrity.
By modeling respectful communication, providing safe practice opportunities, and reinforcing the importance of speaking up, educators empower the next generation of nurses to protect, support, and champion those in their care, and themselves along the way.