murphychen

Hey nurses - I am putting this out there, we will have a specific role as nurses as we see that the next administration is going to change or replace ACA/Obamacare. Our nursing voices should be at the table, our profession will have a role (and now I am thinking about nursing's legacy, when have we not played a major role) to be watchful and to advocate against potential changes that legitimizes the active discrimination of our patients (for example limit the rights & respect of LGBTQ families & patients), that will increase barriers to women's health & their access to reproductive health care, and impede our movement forward towards more equitable, accessible, affordable and universal health care for all. I plan on doing what I can to go to Nurse's Week in Washington D.C. in 2017 - I need to be there, I need to see what is going on with my own eyes and ears, and network with nurses who want to get stuff done at that level, and vent over happy hour about what we can do and stand for. Please reach out to me, if we can network together and what we can do, if not just in our states, cities or in our work places. I don't know really where to start, but I have a passion to start somewhere. Right now I am have nothing concrete in my back pocket. (have a few brain stormed ideas) But I have an appetite to marinate on this more and see where I fit in. Maybe you do too? I think nurses being active and vocal and involved here is our profession's legacy, for the health and quality of life and dignity of patients & our communities, and the health of the natural world that we rely on. As some of you can already probably guess from the things I say, I am more left leaning and that is true on some things – especially health care. I am reaching out here with this post, to connect with people to think like me and more importantly people who think differently than me. I keep hearing and readying all this stuff about unity and the divide here in America, and yeah I think that is real. I am real tired of the demonization, the divisiveness, the disenfranchisement, the arrogance, the toxic vitriol, the assumptions, the inability to listen and hear each other – if you are tired too and interested in connecting, and figuring out what this means for us nurses together? Message me. I am done with the toxic stuff, so don't come at me sideways and don't assume because I seem liberal that we will agree on everything. Let's talk and awkwardly muck around and do this unity thing to get things done for patients, and the healing that seems to need to happen in this country.