Dawn - Social and Political Activism: A Form of Caring

Dawn -







I'm proud that I'm a nurse, but it took going back to school and broadening my view of what nurses do to feel that pride. Returning to school helped me discover the community and leadership aspect of nursing by experiencing community work and being challenged to make a concrete difference. When a nurse executive in a hospital where I worked early on advised me to get a Bachelors degree, I was skeptical. I was a terrific nurse, why would I need a BSN? Later I had to go back and tell her "Thank you. You were so right."

I learned the values of our profession from the nurses on the faculty at the University of Washington-Tacoma. They broadened my world to extend beyond the bedside. One of the first papers I wrote was Social and Political Activism: a Form of Caring. And now I'm in the Washington State House of Representatives.

I chair a long-term care taskforce for the State of Washington, and we've been going around the state holding Town Meetings."If all the caring professions in this nation got together, they would be a powerful force. I'm talking about social workers, firemen, policemen, physical and occupational therapists, mental health professionals and others - the people in caring professions." A man spoke up at one of the meetings and said, 'I'm a conservative Republican and I agree with everything my friend the liberal Democrat just said about the need for long term care." Not all Republicans would agree, of course, but there's a growing consensus that we must do better in the health care area. I try to be open and listen for what we have in common. Nurses are educated to be advocates and that is what I do when advocating for affordable quality health care as a lawmaker - health care tragedies affect all families. We all want to live our lives with dignity whether we are disabled or elderly or ill.

One year the state had a huge budget deficit, and the only solution offered by big business was to cut education, health care and workers that provide care for elderly and individuals with disabilities and only give business tax breaks. I challenged them to become part of the solution - while we must grow the economy we can’t bankrupt our children’s future and neglect our vulnerable. A budget is a moral document in that it reflects the values of those who write it. A nurse asked me the other day if I could identify the biggest problem we have in this state and in the nation. And I said, "Pure unadulterated greed." It's in health care and everything else. How much money is enough?

The big pharmaceutical lobbyists say to me, "Dawn, you don't believe in free enterprise." And I say back, "I don't believe in obscene profits at the cost of lives." That's what we're really talking about. People's lives.

It's not OK to be forced to choose between staying home to take care of a sick child or losing your job. It's not OK if your child gets sicker because you don't have health insurance and you end up at the ER. There are more kids with asthma now than ever, and it has to do with poor air quality and environmental toxins. These are political issues.

A journalist who covers the state house told me, "I've noticed a change in the legislature since the nurses have been there; a softness has happened." Of course, all of us were
laughing because we don't think we're soft. What we do is, we tell our stories, the very personal stories that reflect what we see and what we hear. What we know. Don’t ever ask this nurse legislator to give health care coverage to only “some children”.

The nursing voice in the legislature--there are eight of us now--has made a difference, because when we tell a story about someone who died because they couldn't afford their medication, the legislators have to listen. They can't argue with it. We have powerful human stories.

If all the caring professions in this nation got together, they would be a powerful force. I'm talking about social workers, firemen, policemen, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, mental health counselors - all the people in caring professions. But they can't seem to get together. They get torn apart by issues like abortion while working together for a just society would help us solve many moral dilemmas. We don't realize the power we could have.

Nurses on the job need to learn that too--what our real power is. I say to nurses, "Walk into that room and take their hand and say, 'I'm Dawn Morrell and I'm the registered nurse on duty and I'm in charge of your care tonight. I'm the person who's here to help figure out what you need. Can you tell me what's at the top of your list?'" We need to let patients know who's in charge of their care, and we have to demand acknowledgment of the importance of that. I have a button on my nametag that says “you need a nurse to save your life.” It is true, who is the person responsible for catching the error at the bedside that may harm your or your loved one? The nurse.

We have to talk about empowering the people who work at the bedside and letting them make the decisions. And we have to be respected and paid for that. It amazes me that hospitals are willing to pay inordinate amounts for traveling nurses and agency nursing, but they try to save money by cutting back on overtime for the regular nurses.

The other night I took my heart attack patient down to the ICU, and the charge nurse said, "I'm here by myself with a floor full of travelers and agencies who can't get into the computer. They don't have codes. They don't know the doctors. And I have my own patient load." I told her, "You need to write a quality assurance memo right now. Say, "I am in an unsafe situation. Send it up and keep a copy." But sad to say, most nurses won't to do that, and there is precious little time to do the paperwork. I've said to my nurses, "You know what? I'm gonna get damn portable backbones and pass them out to you guys!" Stand up for yourselves and your patients. Nurses have powerful voices when they speak individually or collectively. That is what I do as a legislator in Olympia I stand up and advocate for the people I serve.

Power Strategies: Community, Collaboration, Influence
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