Advocacy day preview from Nurse in Washington interns

AORN Journal, July, 2004 by Burke Beu, Norrie MacIlraith, Susan Duval

AORN's Public Policy Conference and Advocacy Day are scheduled for Sept 20 and 21, 2004, in Washington, DC. Previously called Lobby Day, the name of this event was changed to emphasize the importance of advocacy as a focus of AORN's efforts to achieve its legislative priorities. The Public Policy Conference and Advocacy Day will feature speakers who have expertise in successful advocacy and representatives of the two major political parties, who will highlight their federal candidates. Participants also will have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with members of Congress in their offices on Capitol Hill.

As perioperative nurses prepare to attend this year's event, it might be helpful for them to hear from two AORN members who had a similar experience in March 2004 as recipients of AORN's annual Nurse In Washington Internship (NIWI) award. Leonore "Norrie" MacIlraith, RN, MS, CNS, of Rochester, Minn, and Susan Duval, RN, CNOR, of Lexington, Ky, were this year's NIWI nurses. As a preview to Advocacy Day 2004, each shares her observations of the experience and the lessons learned.

NORRIE MACILRAITH

Advocacy is key to nursing endeavors that often are thought to apply solely to patient care. Before nurses can advocate as nurses, however, they must advocate as citizens and health care providers on issues affecting their daily lives and the delivery of quality health care.

The Nursing Organizations Alliance, a coalition of 60 nursing organizations including AORN, organizes and sponsors the NIWI program. The alliance was formed when the National Federation for Specialty Nursing Organizations (NFSNO) and the Nursing Organizations Liaison Forum (NOLF) united to create a stronger voice for nurses. The mission of the alliance is to increase the nursing profession's visibility and effect on health through communication, collaboration, and advocacy.

The NIWI program is the alliance's primary advocacy effort. This program provides nurses with an opportunity to learn how to influence health care through legislative and regulatory processes, Participants learn from health policy experts and government officials, network with other nurses, and visit members of Congress. A key objective is to identify techniques that advance legislative issues at the grassroots level with an awareness of economic forces that drive health care policy and delivery.

In Washington, 140 NIWI attendees, representing a variety of nursing backgrounds, gathered to network. Regardless of their specialty, these nurses had many issues in common (eg, the Nurse Reinvestment Act, patient safety concerns, access to care proposals, global issues affecting health care). The importance of speaking with one voice was evident as attendees learned about issues affecting specialty practices. AORN members present talked about reimbursement for RN first assistants and AORN's efforts to affect Medicare payment studies. The attendees learned how vital it is for nurses to support one another in legislative arenas because nursings' very existence depends on doing so.

Although all the speakers were wonderful and delivered a wealth of information, Denise Geolot, RN, PhD, FAAN, was especially insightful. Geolot is the director of the Division of Nursing in the Bureau of Health Professionals of the Health Resources and Services Administration, a division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. A summary of Dr Geolot's comments was published in "Health Policy Issues" in the May 2004 AORN Journal.

Dr Geolot said that entry wages for RNs have remained flat when compared to the adjusted value of the dollar. For me personally, this is an indication that nurses continue to underestimate their worth and often settle for less. This should be a wake-up call for our profession. Advocacy means speaking up. If nurses do not value nursing and advocate for nursing, others will make decisions for us.

The opportunity to put this perspective into practice came on the last day of the NIWI program during personal meetings with elected officials in Congress and their staff members. I have learned that grassroots advocacy begins at home. I am getting to know my elected officials, learning the public policy process, and communicating my knowledge of nursing. Legislation affects the well-being of everyone. Learning about the process and participating at some level needs to be part of the nursing agenda.

SUSAN DUVAL

To describe my experience at the NIWI conference in Washington, DC, I would have to confess to being a beginner. The incredible experiences and expertise of the other attendees, as well as the speakers, could not be replicated.

Attendees came from all kinds of subspecialties, and each had different hopes and needs. Throughout the conference, I heard voices calling attention to a vast array of issues and ideas. Collectively, however, attendees spoke about vacancies in nursing and the need for the Nurse Reinvestment Act. The conference developed into a true collaborative effort.

I came to the conference with one burning question that was answered throughout the week. I wanted to know what I could do, but I had other questions as well.