Nurses working in politics

You're kind of casting a wide net at this point but if your interest is health policy and healthcare legislation, you 100% have to get a graduate degree in the field.  Your BSN can be a good starting point but in my opinion, the graduate degrees in nursing that we have now would not carry much weight in this field.  I would think more along the lines of an MPH in a reputable institution. 

There are also Master's degrees in health policy and administration...again the program you choose matters if you want to be successful.  It's going to be hard to maintain clinical practice as a nurse and be immersed in the field.  People who work in health policy typically work for non-profits called "health policy think tanks".  These are entities that fund research, publish data, and administer programs that influence healthcare policy and legislation.

The website for NACNS has a list of these non-profits: https://nacns.org/advocacy-policy/advocacy-resources/health-policy-think-tanks/.  If you look at the staff list in those, you may find that some have nursing backgrounds but have advanced degrees in the field.

Hello @EDNURSE20,

To add to @juan de la cruz's great reply, it would be a good idea to first get involved on a state level. Here's a U.S. state interactive map from the American Nurses Association (ANA): https://www.nursingworld.org/membership/find-my-state/

Good luck with your career plans.