Valerie Boatwright RN CAPA
PANANM Governmental Affairs
There is nothing like a pandemic to make us face unfortunate truths. It is what we choose to do about these exposed facts that will define our future. The United States is not where it needs to be in regards to healthcare and emergency preparedness. Now our inadequacies are plain to see as we are challenged to deal with overwhelming odds to save lives. How did we get to this point? There is a lot of information out there that is hard to sift through. More importantly we should ask, “How can we overcome and prevent future public health failures of epic proportion?”
Nurses are in a unique position to affect change. We interact with the public every day, on and off the job. We know that citizens, friends, family and patients value our firsthand evidence-based knowledge of health matters. They look to us to provide our expert knowledge to help them decide how to be healthy and safe. In fact, we are obliged by our code of ethics, Provision 8.3 to “… educate the public; facilitate informed choice, identify conditions that contribute to illness, injury and disease; foster healthy life styles and participate in institutional and legislative efforts to protect and promote health” (Code of ethics,” 2015, p.32). More than ever it is clear that we must fulfill this obligation.
It has come to light in our health care crisis that we depend on help from our municipal, state and federal government for action plans and resources that are crucial to saving lives. From where can we draw strength in affecting this? By being informed about what our elected legislators are supporting and what our government executives are approving nurses are equipped to use their collective voices to affect desperately needed change. We all need to dig deeper into what is happening at the legislative level. Echoing sound bites from various syndicated news shows offer very little of the details. One way to educate ourselves is by taking advantage of our professional nursing organization. ASPAN Advocacy has resources providing tools to guide you in your action. Please go to the websites below for information.
Vote and contact your representatives. Let them know what is needed. Together, our voice is a weapon promoting advocacy.
References
American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. (2020). https://www.aspan.org/Resources/Advocacy
Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only
Concerned citizens for nuclear safety. (2020). http://nuclearactive.org/
How to contact your elected officials. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Last Updated: March 18, 2021 by Connie Hardy Tabet
Advocacy is Our Weapon in the War Against Disease
Valerie Boatwright RN CAPA
PANANM Governmental Affairs
There is nothing like a pandemic to make us face unfortunate truths. It is what we choose to do about these exposed facts that will define our future. The United States is not where it needs to be in regards to healthcare and emergency preparedness. Now our inadequacies are plain to see as we are challenged to deal with overwhelming odds to save lives. How did we get to this point? There is a lot of information out there that is hard to sift through. More importantly we should ask, “How can we overcome and prevent future public health failures of epic proportion?”
Nurses are in a unique position to affect change. We interact with the public every day, on and off the job. We know that citizens, friends, family and patients value our firsthand evidence-based knowledge of health matters. They look to us to provide our expert knowledge to help them decide how to be healthy and safe. In fact, we are obliged by our code of ethics, Provision 8.3 to “… educate the public; facilitate informed choice, identify conditions that contribute to illness, injury and disease; foster healthy life styles and participate in institutional and legislative efforts to protect and promote health” (Code of ethics,” 2015, p.32). More than ever it is clear that we must fulfill this obligation.
It has come to light in our health care crisis that we depend on help from our municipal, state and federal government for action plans and resources that are crucial to saving lives. From where can we draw strength in affecting this? By being informed about what our elected legislators are supporting and what our government executives are approving nurses are equipped to use their collective voices to affect desperately needed change. We all need to dig deeper into what is happening at the legislative level. Echoing sound bites from various syndicated news shows offer very little of the details. One way to educate ourselves is by taking advantage of our professional nursing organization. ASPAN Advocacy has resources providing tools to guide you in your action. Please go to the websites below for information.
Vote and contact your representatives. Let them know what is needed. Together, our voice is a weapon promoting advocacy.
References
American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. (2020). https://www.aspan.org/Resources/Advocacy
Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only
Concerned citizens for nuclear safety. (2020). http://nuclearactive.org/
How to contact your elected officials. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
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