Abortion Care Training Programs for Nursing Students (And You Don’t Have to Live Nearby)

As the battle over abortion rights continues in state houses around the country following the Supreme Court’s seismic 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, access to abortion care has become more restricted and complex for millions of Americans.

The same holds true for education on abortion care, which has always been difficult for many nursing students to find and receive.

Nurses have always been integral to abortion care. Whether provided through medication or an in-clinic procedure, abortion is widely considered to be simple, safe, and effective — when performed by trained professionals.

There is evidence that abortion bans do not prevent abortion but rather lead people to self-administer abortion care or seek this care in untrained and ill-equipped environments, especially in areas with fewer overall healthcare resources.

Unsafe abortion care poses health and safety risks, including:

Even in areas where abortion and abortion training are getting harder to come by, national programs exist that can help nursing students receive this training and practicing nurses maintain their licenses.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion was immediately outlawed in 13 states, and there has been a surge of anti-abortion legislation introduced across the U.S. Because of this, the environment for nurses providing reproductive healthcare has become increasingly hostile.

Healthcare workers in many states have faced harassment and even prosecution for providing their patients with evidence-based reproductive healthcare.

We spoke to Anna Brown, BSN, RN, Director of Education for Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health (NSRH), the nation’s leading provider of comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) education for nurses and nursing students, about the complex realities of abortion education.

Nursing education around abortion care has always been largely self-directed and self-funded, Brown said.

While some states and institutions offer abortion care training as part of their curricula for physicians, many nurses must pursue abortion care training independently. Abortion education is often learned on the job. Nurses working in SRH offices, emergency departments, urgent care, and primary care clinics, in particular, all should and will be educated and prepared to provide abortion education and resources to their patients. Some of the programs listed have educational opportunities for nursing students as well.

This education gap predates the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision, as nursing education on abortion has always been minimal. This is in large part because comprehensive SRH topics are not covered on board exams such as the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) and, therefore, not prioritized in training.

However, as advanced practice nurses have continued to gain independence in many states, this gap in nursing education has become even more salient. The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade makes accessing abortion education even riskier. As abortion providers close and doctors refuse to train in states hostile to reproductive health, there are even fewer educational opportunities for nurses.

The resulting educational patchwork can be unreliable. However, remote training programs like those offered by NSRH have existed for many years, offering opportunities to nurses seeking this training.

Still, forcing nurses to pursue and fund this education on their own creates barriers to education and ultimately hinders clinical care. The research is clear: when nurses do not have access to the latest evidence-based practices, patient outcomes suffer.

Twenty states allow advanced practice providers to perform medication or procedural abortion, according to AP Toolkit. Therefore, training opportunities for nurses to learn about abortion are extremely limited.

Didactic training is the traditional “classroom” form of learning, which seeks to increase the nurse’s knowledge about abortion care administration. This kind of training is easy to convert to remote learning environments. Therefore, registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) can find more didactic learning opportunities than hands-on experiences.

Exact training requirements vary by institution, job, and state. Specific job duties within abortion care also vary, although RNs and LPNs are often responsible for patient counseling, emotional support, and aiding in patient referrals when necessary.

Therefore, it’s essential that nurses understand physiology and pharmacology as it applies both to pre-and post-procedure contexts, as well as after-care instructions and general case management.

APRNs looking to perform a procedural abortion will need clinical instruction to gain competency in that area, which must be taught in person.

To prescribe medication abortion and perform procedural abortion, an APRN must have a license in good standing in a state that allows advanced practice clinicians to provide these services.

The first step for nurses interested in learning about abortion care training is to understand their state’s laws and nursing scope. The Center for Reproductive Rights, a global pro-choice advocacy organization, provides an interactive map that shows the legal environment for accessing abortion care in each state.

If abortion is illegal in your area, understanding how and where to refer patients is critical. The website I Need an A is a resource that helps nurses and other people find trained providers nearby.

Another organization that offers valuable education for nurses and other healthcare providers is If/When/How, which provides crucial legal information on topics such as abortion reporting requirements.

Forty-six states and Washington D.C. require routine reporting of confidential abortion data to state and federal agencies. Healthcare providers and institutions only have to provide abortion data for abortions they performed. This reporting does not include abortions managed at home or in a different location.

These complex legal nuances underscore the importance of proper training and education for all nurses.

“There is no reason a nurse would ever have to report a patient for having an abortion, no matter what. So we must mitigate any unnecessary reporting that criminalizes our patients,” Brown said.

These innovative U.S. programs offer abortion care education and resources for nurses and nursing students.

While the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has made accessing and learning about abortion care more difficult, it is still available. It is now more important than ever for nurses to seek abortion care education to safeguard the care of patients.