Calling All Alabama Nurses To Step Forth Into The World Of Politics

Alabama Nurse,  Mar-May 2004  

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Today, RIGHT NOW, it is crucial for nurses to become politically active. Nurses must not continue with the mind set that those in the nursing profession cannot and should not be involved in politics. More and more decisions that heavily influence healthcare in this country are being made by politicians.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) in its publication The Code of Ethics for Nurses states

"The nurse participates with other health professionals and the public in promoting community, national, and international efforts to meet health needs."

In addition, The Code of Ethics for Nurses states

"The profession of nursing, as represented by association and their members, is responsible for articulating nursing values, for maintaining the integrity of the profession and its practice, and for shaping social policy."

Although sometimes frustrating, the most influential way for "shaping social policy" is the political process. So it behooves all nurses to be cognizant of the political process, of elected congressional officials, and current issues affecting the healthcare industry.

The goal of the Alabama State Nurses Association's Annual Legislative Day is to promote political involvement to nurses throughout Alabama. (If you didn't attend this year please plan to next year.) This year the program focused more on functions of the lobbyist and "working" a Bill from development to passage.

As long as healthcare is a political issue, nurses need to assert their patient advocacy responsibilities and become actively involved at all levels of government. Nursing must have a voice when it comes to issues such as safe health care, safe work environments, standards of practice, access to health care, etc. The best way for nurses to have influence in the political arena is to get elected to political positions at the local, state, and national level.

In 2002, Jeanette VanderMeer, DSN, RN, a long-time Alabama State Nurses Association (ASNA) member, ran for the House of Representative, District 63. Although not successful in her first campaign for a political position, she said "it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done." Dr. VanderMeer ran in the 2002 political race because "it was time to tell the public and the media what nurses do. Time to get a NURSE elected to the Alabama Legislature." It is still time to get NURSES elected to the Alabama Legislature. But unless nurses become more politically astute, the chances of that happening are slim to none.

Where do you start? First become an informed voter. (ASNA hopes that all nurses become registered voters as soon as they are eligible.) Being an informed voter means knowing what the candidates support. Being an informed voter means knowing who is endorsing each candidate and what this means to the election outcome. Listen to and read about what the candidates have to say. A good resource is the local newspaper which frequently includes articles about issues and where each candidate stands of those issues. Groups such as the League of Women Voters usually sponsor events to get the candidates position out to voters. The Democrat and Republican political parties are good resources for information. But remember, just because a candidate is a member of a specific political party does not mean that the party view on an issue is the same as the candidate's.

Communicating directly with candidates is an excellent way to obtain information. (Included at the end of this article are helpful hints on how to get in touch with candidates.) Personal letters, telephone calls, and e-mails can get your views to the candidates and is another way to obtain insight into the candidate's position on specific issues. In order for candidates and elected official to know what the people want, they need to hear from their constituents.

The Internet is a marvelous resource for finding out about your congressional person. Depending on the Web site, it can be as simple as typing in your Zip Code and up pops the name, address, telephone number, and sometimes even the e-mail address of locally elected officials. The Internet is also a great way to keep track of what is going on with each Bill. It is vital that nurses keep abreast of Bills that might affect their practice.

Other ways to develop political savvy are to get involved in a political campaign, spend time with the ASNA Lobbyist at the Capitol, become a member of the ASNA Health Policy Committee, and /or volunteer for the ASNA Political Action Committee.

Healthcare will continue to be a major political issue at all levels of government. Nurses need to get involved now to make sure that issues such as patient safety and safe work environment are at the forefront of political agendas. Nurses are the largest component of the Healthcare Workforce, and they are experts when it comes to patient healthcare issues. Just imagine the impact nurses could have if every nurse was to become politically active RIGHT NOW.

Copyright Alabama State Nurses' Association Mar-May 2004
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