Jobs in nursing in social justice

allnurses Guide · Oct 29, 2016

You've been given great jumping-off points to explore, so I'll add this small thought...
I hope to never work somewhere where everyone thinks too alike.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I also think that the "politics" of nurses does depend on where you live. Here on AN I've felt the odd-person out at times because I'm conservative however I love the comment about not working (or living) in a place where everyone is the same.

One of the comments I've made here over the years (my AN friends will probably groan ) is that nurses are not a monolith. Thank goodness! I really do appreciate having friends/family/colleagues from all political spectrums. Or . . . geographical areas. Etc.

Getting arrested to make a point is not a good use of your nursing skills. You've been given so many good choices here on this thread.

Personally, I work with a group that goes to Vietnam and spends 2.5 weeks in rural villages giving medical care to poor people. The man who started this organization escaped as a child with his family from Vietnam during the war. He became a physician with a heart for his family in Vietnam and has been taking medical care over there for almost 20 years. (See link in my signature line).

I've also worked in clinics for the homeless giving immunizations. And many other examples but I'll leave it here.

So, yes, you can use your nursing degree in social justice situations. Just don't get arrested. It cancels out the good work you can do.

Best wishes from a conservative nurse who has a lot of liberal and libertarian friends. :up:

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Oct 29, 2016

The first thing that comes to my mind is public health nursing, maybe working at Planned Parenthood or within a county health department. However, this may cause you to become disenchanted if you keep seeing systemic problems and feeling like you're not really preventing them (i.e. putting a band aid on the problem).

You can also look into nurse lobbying, depending on where you are and what organizations you're affiliated with. For instance, you could be a representative within your union if your hospital is unionized, or you could lobby with a local/state/national nursing organization (like the ANA). The main role of these organizations is to protect nurses, but the secondary goal is to make protect patients and ensure that healthcare is accessible. My guess is that you'd start out as an unpaid, part-time volunteer, but maybe it could be transitioned into a full-time paid role over time.

This article (forgive me, it's Buzzfeed) talks about the political influence of SEIU, a labor union which includes nurses, on presidential candidates:

Major Clinton Backer Makes Its Demand For Her First 1

DowntheRiver · Oct 29, 2016

I work as a Community Health Nurse for the local Health Department in Vaccine Outreach. I'm also cross trained to Refugee health, TB, and soon will be STD cross trained as well, meaning I will be an STD clinician! It is not the most pleasant job but I can go home every day feeling that I've done some good with my community partners. I primarily focus on immigrants and the homeless, specifically focusing on VFC for these populations as well. It's a wonderful feeling knowing that people are grateful for your services. However, there are certain populations that come from certain parts of the country that act as if you're inconveniencing them. My HD does not have the staff/budget to accommodate how many immigrants and refugees we see but we accommodate as many as we physically can so people often wait 2 hours for the appointment, and of course they're annoyed. They'll leave and never follow up but then get upset when their vaccine series is incomplete thus delaying their ability to apply for residency. I get to do a lot of patient education as well, which I enjoy. In this part of the country, only abstinence is taught in schools, so I often have to fill in the gaps of sex ed. There are still a lot of misconceptions about vaccines, something I really enjoy educating people on as well.

Anyways, it's Monday thru Friday 8 to 5 in both a clinic and office setting so I'm not losing my clinical skills. There's the occasional Saturday for health fairs but I get a day off during the week in place of it. The salary is ok - nobody ever gets in public health for the money. My state benefits are excellent - I pay $40/month for benefits. I also get a stipend from the state to go back to school for whatever I want for 18 credit hours a year. The county also pays my loans back $4,000/year up to 4 years. Furthermore, I joined the Nurse Corps, so my student loans will be pretty much gone after 2 years.

DeeAngel · Oct 29, 2016

As a nurse you need to have zero interaction with police based on your actions. There is no wiggle room or workaround on this.

RiskManager · Oct 29, 2016

Your local Federally Qualified Health Center, which is a Community Health Center, Migrant Health Center, or Free Clinic, takes care of the sick, afflicted and poor. Many of these clinics have an activism or outreach component that may be on point, but caring for sick and poor people is a type of activism in and of itself.

SKRossow · Oct 29, 2016

If you are passionate about an issue there are ways of supporting it rather than protesting against those who may oppose it. A nurse with an arrest record would have a difficult time keeping an RN license. Good luck in finding positive ways to support your beliefs and good luck in nursing! The first couple of years are tough. Build friendships at work, articles state having a BFF at work raises job satisfaction. Find ways to de-stress on your days off like hiking, biking, or yoga. Hang in there! SKR

allnurses Guide · Oct 29, 2016

While I wouldn't recommend actively protesting in a situation where you might get arrested you might be able to support these causes in different ways. Get in contact with folks who are offering medical/first aid to the core group and contribute that way. While I generally lean to right politically I have spent the better part of my nursing career working with some of the most disenfranchised groups there are. The homeless, The mentally Ill, the developmentally disabled and addicts and alcoholics. I don't make nearly as much money as some of my peers in nursing but I love what I do. Keep looking you will find a niche that fulfills your desire to be helpful to society at large

Hppy

BrendanO, MSN, RN · Oct 30, 2016

If you're open to relocating, look into the Indian Health Service. There's also the Global Health Service Partnership (the medical branch of the Peace Corps). Or, after you have a few years full-time experience, structure your work in the US in such a way (with PRN/locum and/or travel jobs) that you can spend part of your year volunteering overseas. There are TONS of opportunities for folks to provide direct care and train local human resources in healthcare, all over the world.

catsmeow1972, BSN, RN · Oct 30, 2016

^^this. i was going to suggest the Indian Health Service. Lord knows those folks need decent, caring health care. There's been a lot of suggestions posted already. Considering the possibility that you cannot up and do anything completely off the chain, i would suggest keeping your employment to nonprofit hospitals. I have worked in both and been a patient in both. The nonprofit culture seems to be different. I think part of it is that any profit is funneled back into the hospital in the form of better (read: working) equipment and care for the patient. I would rather work hard for the ultimate goal to be better patient care rather than pay for some executives second vacation home. I believe that for profit healthcare is one of the worst things to happen in our country. The idea of profiting off the backs of the sick and needy makes me feel a little dirty.

Another option is teaching hospitals. Again, different culture. There is also the opportunity to see and do things that you would otherwise never see. You may find you like it and not want to leave. if you do, you will take with you a huge amount of knowledge to aid in whatever more altruistic thing you want to do.

As the rest said, Do NOT, under any circumstances, get yourself arrested for ANYTHING! There are many more ways that do not involve handcuffs that you can be of assistance.

Trauma Columnist · Oct 30, 2016

Agree with others. I too consider myself socially aware. I volunteer with my state's prison activism group. They are an organization that has been in existence for >90 years. The aspect that I help with is prison oversight visits. I provide medical expertise during the visits. In this capacity, I've visited many of our prisons from minimum to max security.

It gives me a sense of giving back to the community as well as providing a service to a very disenfranchised population.

I think it helps to focus in on some aspect of social reform that you are passionate about. Something that brings a personal meaning for you.

For myself, my son is in prison, so this is something I do for him as well as for all his "cellies".

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Oct 30, 2016

I think VISTA and maybe Peace Corps are still around, maybe other groups sponsored by US government. Head Start or the group/agency that provides job training to older teens; Job Corps, I think.

Or do volunteer as a missionary with a religious group - Mother Teresa's group; lots of other missionaries are around, too, both in the US and other countries. Big help to people, great learning for you, get to travel and see the non-tourist areas.

I was particularly intrigued by the Doula who helps incarcerated pregnant women. These prisoners used to be shackled to a bed during Labor. It sounds totally horrible and I hope those days are over, but I'd bet that still happens sometimes.

God bless you for caring and I hope you find what you are seeking. Have you considered doing Parish nursing or Public (Community) Health nursing? I know you want to be bedside for a couple of years.

Is there a particular gender or age group or religion or whatever you are interested in? Immigrants? Teen girls?

Do you speak Spanish, French, other languages?

In my beginner days, I volunteered with a local clinic and was also a missionary nurse to a foreign country. Great experiences! I think my colleagues and I helped some and the people were grateful and friendly. I admit I was glad to get back home, but it was still a very broadening experience for me and I do feel that I/we helped people.

You might want to consider Teaching so you can influence students in the future.

I saw a show called "Body Bizarre" recently and it portrayed a young boy who was born with Talipes Equinovarus. If he'd been treated as an infant, he would likely have had normal or near normal feet with just casting a few times. But this occurred in India or wherever and there was no such thing, apparently, as Medicaid or volunteer medical care for this child. Somehow, his parents found out about available help when he was about 8 and the program showed them at his first doctor's appointment and getting his first cast to try to straighten the bones a little, then he would need repeat castings and surgery. No offense, but to this American, it seemed criminal that this child suffered for so long and endured so much pain with this relatively curable condition that, as far as I know, is treated routinely here in America. It would be so tremendously rewarding to be able to help people with conditions that can be corrected and to prevent severe, life-limiting things like blindness and disfiguring, painful impairments that simply do not have to be allowed to exist.

I am tremendously excited that you want to take this route!

Ruas61, BSN, RN · Oct 30, 2016

You don't have to get arrested for a cause to be a catalyst for change.

As a nurse there are many avenues to take your skill set out into the world to have an impact. There are organizations, causes, events that you can lend yourself to. Parish nursing, volunteer nursing for screenings and/or hands on for the aged, homeless, underserved- both urban and rural or even international. The sky's the limit.

I would also tell you that you don't have to be front and center in the most headline movement to be doing social justice work. The quiet hero is just as important.

By the way, being conservative does not equate to inertia. You may think you know someone but you don't. Your breath may be taken away by things that are done unsaid by people to do good in the word.

He who talks loudest may not walk the path.