Lobbying: Not a Bad Word, But a Core Competency

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

found @ panurses.org

lobbying: not a bad word, but a core competency

the gallup organization recently announced that nurses have topped their list of professions rated for honesty and ethical standards for the eighth year since 1999. four out of five respondents rated nurses as the most honest and ethical professionals, with pharmacists and physicians coming in second and fourth, respectively...

the most recognizable term for public policy advocacy is lobbying. unfortunately, this term carries an unfavorable image in today’s political environment. however, when the framers of the u.s. constitution spoke about an individual citizen’s right to petition his or her government, they affirmed every citizen’s right to lobby for an issue or cause that has an impact on his or her daily life. as such, each and every citizen of this country should be a lobbyist petitioning their state or national legislators to address their concerns as private citizens, members of a profession, or as members of any special interest group, such as environmental organizations. as a nursing student and a member of nsna, you have joined together with other nursing students in your state and national associations to identify issues and concerns that have an impact on your experience as a student, as well as those that you see influencing the practice of professional nurses. the resolutions and position statements that come from your state and national meetings identify the relevant and pressing issues that affect nursing students and nursing education. not only do they inform other organizations and the public of your concerns, but they also indicate that your organization is active and influential body.

“

[color=#333399]if nurses mobilize

[color=#333399]with a unified

[color=#333399]message of two or

[color=#333399]three critical

[color=#333399]issues,

[color=#333399]our collective voice

[color=#333399]could influence

[color=#333399]health policy and

[color=#333399]improve health

[color=#333399]care

[color=#333399]outcomes

[color=#333399]for all

[color=#333399]americans.”

[color=#333399]

http://www.panurses.org/new//page.cfm?sid=22&id=3&pid=248

[RN1989]

I totally agree with this. The problem lies in getting nurses motivated to actively seek change and later to follow through on everything - even with the threat of job loss etc. Too many nurses simply do not understand the concept of power in numbers and get intimidated too easily.

[Katie82, RN]

I prefer to use the term Advocacy - sounds much less negative than Lobbying....

[Katie82, RN]

I totally agree with this. The problem lies in getting nurses motivated to actively seek change and later to follow through on everything - even with the threat of job loss etc. Too many nurses simply do not understand the concept of power in numbers and get intimidated too easily.

I recently moved south from a Maryland. When I lived there, nurses were a voice that demanded attention. I attended more than one Rally on the Capital steps, and a lot of them were sucessful in achieving goals. The first one I got involved in resulted in a law preventing insurance companies from discharging maternity patients within 24 hours of delivery, as some companies were doing at the time. So far, I have not seen that same advocacy in North Carolina....