Tamara - A Nurse Runs for the State Legislature and Wins

Tamara -







I have specialized in psych nursing since the early 90's, though when I was in nursing school, I never thought I would end up there. Psych nursing--working with mentally ill patients--is not about wearing scrubs with a stethoscope around your neck. It's partly about education: teaching patients about their medicines and how to manage their symptoms. And it's also about relating: I spend a lot of time helping angry patients calm down.

I got into the field when I needed a job--I had a new baby and my husband was out of the military and couldn't get a job. We needed health insurance, and I knew that state employees had good benefits. Western State hospital was advertising, so I got a job there, at first as a medical/surgical nurse, and later as a psych nurse, which I came to love.

After a while, I got involved in legislative issues through joining the nurses union. At first, I barely knew what a union was, and I was afraid to go to a union meeting because I didn't know anyone there. All I knew was jokes about Jimmy Hoffa. But I went anyway, and it was quite a revelation. I saw really strong women running the meeting and talking about important issues, so I was motivated to get involved. I was asked to do some lobbying at the legislature and getting nurses to testify before committees. I found out I liked doing that. At that time we were working on legislation to make it a felony to assault a health care worker, and we got it through.

I was asked to work full time for SEIU 1199, the main nurses' union in the state. I was the nurse organizer for all of the state employees--folks that worked at Western and Eastern State Hospitals, and at the Rainier school for the developmentally disabled, Fircrest. I was negotiating contracts with the head of DSHS."People need to get it that everyone needs to be covered." Some of the work was frustrating, because it seemed that the people making decisions didn't understand what happens at the bedside, where care is delivered. It's important that nurses be trusted in regard to treatment, which is a form of patient advocacy--doing what's best for patients. We weren't always seen that way, or understood. Some thought we were just working for our own self-interest, promoting better wages and benefits. It's true that we need employees who are satisfied with their work conditions if we want good care. The two things go hand in hand.

Working for the union as an advocate for health care, I got to know my representatives in the state legislature. One of them was rude to me, and very patronizing toward women. Once I was having a discussion with him, and when we disagreed, he told me "That's not what you really think," as if he was patting me on the head. So I went home and told my husband: "I'm gonna run." He thought I was crazy, and it definitely wasn't like me because I'm personally conservative. I had to look at the internet to decide which party I was going to join, which one I could live with. I picked the Democratic side because I liked their platform. I began meeting with people that I knew in politics, and they said "Go for it," so I ran in 2000.

Here I was, a naïve candidate, never having run for public office, and I was up against a four-time incumbent. I lost. But I did pretty well: 48.3% against an incumbent. I decided to run again in 2004, and this time there was a vacant seat. I was tired of complaining about things that were wrong, so I did something about it. I ran again and I won.

What some people don't get is that everyone needs care. We're all patients. Health care is about meeting people where they're at and giving them the resources they need to maintain the highest level of wellness they can. We need to get everyone covered! Everyone needs to have a home, a medical home, where they can go to get preventative care and when they have medical problems. I don't think everyone understands the stress of not having health insurance. People need to get it: everyone needs to be covered.

Nurses have a unique role in advocating for patients. Survey after survey has shown that nursing and fire fighting are the most trusted professions. People trust nurses because they've had a nurturing experience with a nurse when they were vulnerable. I remember when I was 12 years old and had surgery on my feet. I was very afraid, but somehow the nurses made me feel better. They explained everything and reassured me. To me they were like guardian angels.

In high school I wrote a report on Florence Nightingale. I was amazed that was born into an aristocratic family, and yet she wanted to work in hospitals. It wasn't easy. When she tried to help the doctors, they told her to get out of their way. But things started changing gradually, like doctors learning the importance of washing their hands, and pretty soon there was a new profession: nursing. I'm inspired by strong women like Florence Nightingale.. My nursing instructors in college were all strong women. I liked how they spoke their mind, but in a kind way. I used their example. I can think of several situations where I trusted myself, spoke up, and actually saved a patient's life.

Another thing I've learned is that good nursing takes a person who has an deep awareness of her self. To help other people you sometimes have to check your own emotions at the door. I've taken care of sex offenders, murderers, people I just didn't like. I had to say to myself, "This is a human being who needs to be treated with respect and dignity, just like anyone else."

I'm convinced that nursing doesn't stop at the bedside, and that's why I've done so much advocacy work through the union and in the legislature. As nurses we have a responsibility to move the profession forward, as my nurse instructors always told me. And a big piece of that, to me, is educating society about health care, and what is needed to make the system work for people. Right now we have eight nurses in our state legislature. I think we're making a difference. Obviously, we need a national solution for health care, but we have to do what we can in the meantime. It's a great big puzzle, and we're fitting pieces in wherever we can.

Power Strategies: Influence, Achievement, Community
go back to main page