In our attempt to contact key stake holders for the National Nurse Act 2011, we received very little response. Response regarding the National Nurse Act from the Virginia Senators stated their recognition and thanks of our concern for this legislation. Both representatives sent encouraging words to keep up with the legislation and that should progress be made they would keep our groups thoughts and opinions in mind. In contrast, we received no response at all from Representative Upton or Goodlatte. In addition, we contacted the offices of Rep. Morgan Griffith and Rep. Joe Pitts regarding our concern towards H.R. 1119 and have yet to receive responses from them.
Getting in touch with the leaders of local organizations at JMU, we were able to receive responses from JMU’s Nursing Student Association as well as JMU Democrats. They have expressed their interest in our concerns about the bill and we plan to follow up with them and discuss more about H.R. 1119. The JMU Democrats have even asked us to speak about H.R. 1119 at their meeting. We have also created a facebook group to increase awareness about the National Nurse Act 2011 and create a place to discuss H.R. 1119. We invited students in the nursing program here at JMU to join this group as well as health care groups at other schools in Virginia.
As an employee at Rockingham Memorial Hospital, I realized that I had an amazing opportunity to contact important stakeholders for the National Nurse act. Whenever the nurses on our floor were catching up on documentation or taking a moment to relax in the substation, I took this as an opportunity to speak with them about the possibility of having a national nurse. Overall, my coworkers seemed very receptive to the installation of a national nurse. Though the nurses on my floor seemed very enthusiastic, I don't know of any nurses on the floor that are politically active. So, it remains to be seen whether or not these nurses will act on that enthusiasm.
As a group, we have come to realize that the political process extends far deeper into the nursing profession than we had previously thought. Healthcare policy forms the foundation for the professional aspects of nursing, and so our capacity to change policy as needed is paramount. Because nurses, in turn, are advocates for our patients, policies that affect us will ultimately affect the level of care that we are able to provide for our patients. Due to this reason, we do not only have an obligation to be politically active for ourselves, but for our patients as well. Nurses are not often thought of as players in the political scene, and this is unfortunate because we represent the largest population of health providers in the healthcare system. Through raising awareness of our ability to bring about change from the local to national political scene, we hope to increase the role of nursing in American politics. It these points that are at the heart of the National Nurse Act—a more unified political voice for nurses in America to bring about positive changes for ourselves and our patients.
